Daily Driver

[CAJUN C4]

Lucky you don't live out here in the Southwest... You'd get very little driving time if you don't want to let it "bake"... LOL! Just like rain/snow doesn't hurt a Vette neither does the heat. I've driven mine through Death Valley in the summer out here at 130 degrees. It cruises just fine and stays nice and cool with the stock cooling and A/C system. Parking out at work at 110 to 120 degrees and driving home in city traffic is no problem either. A Vette is a pretty capable vehicle in nearly all weather conditions.

Corvette Coupe Cover, Ferguson, 1984-1996

I put this on during the Hot Summer Days.I really like it.Keeps it so much cooler and keeps UV's out.

 

[CAJUN C4]

Corvette Coupe Cover, Ferguson, 1984-1996

I put this on during the Hot Summer Days.I really like it.Keeps it so much cooler and keeps UV's out of the cockpit and off of the weatherstrip..

Good Investment

 

[screamin_conure]

I do..... 257k and still going strong...

Are you serious? You have 257,000 miles on a '93? WOW!

 

[Kenny]

My 93 must have been - got it with 150K on it. I drive it to work nearly daily till the snow comes then it goes to the garage to be the winter project. Have to finish getting the cherokee lifted before then.

 

[Roasted Garlic Chicken]

my Daily Driver I had the engine built it's new and new needs to be not new and I am trying to wear everything out, and get my money's worth.

Not abuse it or beat on it, but drive it within it's limit's which to say is very high.

 

[RacerAlex]

I have one of each. My 1987 coupe has been my daily driver since I bought it in 1998. I've placed about 110k on the car so it has roughly 160k presently. Its been reliable over the past decade only needing the normal C4 repairs like occasional alt, u-joints, etc but the engine is still strong. The car is all original and the paint has faded, interior has gotten rough - leather looking rough, seat foam rotted, some plastic is cracking - all from being parked outside during the summer. I plan on restoring the interior next summer.

The 1989 coupe is in showroom condition. Still smells new. It represents all the performance bells and whistles from '89 - red on red, 2 tops, 6-speed, Z51, FX3, sport seats, LTPWS, etc. 60k. I bought the car with the intention of it replacing my '87 as the daily driver. But after a day with the car I came to realize with the rarity of this car's features (only 1500 FX3 in 1989) combined with the condition its in, I'd be nuts to do the same to it that I did to the '87. So into storage it went and it comes out only for special occasions (of wish I manage to find quite a few ). As I've said to a few friends: I went to buy a car and ended up with an investment.

So I can relate to both sides of the coin. I don't regret having a daily driver Corvette for one second. I was at a point in my life where it was a great car for me. But I have also come to realize the special side of preserving the line and having that special toy in the garage. This summer after restoring the '87, I'll pass her off to a new owner - hopefully someone who will drive her daily and thoroughly enjoy it. I'll replace her with a new experience for me - a comfortable daily driver that's great on gas - knowing that when the conditions are right, that pristine red 6-speed Corvette is ready for any road I can throw at it.

 

[CLABORN1960]

Are you serious? You have 257,000 miles on a '93? WOW!

yep... totally serious... here's a pic from a few months back.....

 

[XLR8]

yep... totally serious... here's a pic from a few months back.....

 

[Ruby Fan]

I use mine mostly on special clean occasions, and there really are many of them. I always have the intention to use them when I buy, but somehow, they are too pretty to abuse. I use my Neon for grocery getting and Wally shopping. The Vette is usually a weekend machine for me.

 

[dreamcometrue4me]

Daily driver here..........and lovin' it always.

 

[Whitehorse]

It was intended to be a garage queen. However, it is currently my daily driver. When I was single I had 3 cars. Now I'm married and I only have 2. I drive it rain or shine and even in snow. Last year I had to leave it in the street in front of my house for a couple days. I tried to drive it in 6" of snow. I got out of the driveway (downhill) and that was about it. My old 1985 RX-7 would plow through a foot of snow. Oh well.

My Vette was a life dream. Now it's just a car.

My Chinese wife didn't think much of the car at first. :confused Two years later she decided it was sexy. This year she wanted me to trade the '95 in on a C6. (This should be a thread in itself).:L

 

[Rogue]

yep... totally serious... here's a pic from a few months back.....

Is that with original motor? Do you have pictures of your Corvette?

I have seen one in a magazine with 330k miles on it. It was a 1986 I think. It was beat up inside and out but it was still running and even attended Corvette meets across the country.

 

[CLABORN1960]

Is that with original motor? Do you have pictures of your Corvette?

I have seen one in a magazine with 330k miles on it. It was a 1986 I think. It was beat up inside and out but it was still running and even attended Corvette meets across the country.

yep original motor.... just replaced the original starter last month.... I'll take some pics of the interior later, the only thing needing repair is the driver's seat.....here are a few pics:

 

[Rogue]

Wow! I am impressed!

Okay. I gotta ask: is that the original paint? It looks very good for a car with that many miles.

Most C4's I see being driven are beat up. The front spoiler that likes to scoop up every driveway there is seems to be the first to get destroyed. I've seen some real sad ones. I had this co-worker who owned a '92 with a mere 35k miles on it. But man! He beat that car up! He would start ot up after sitting outside all day in winter time and without mercy would rev the crap out of his LT1! He would also leave the targa top off the car all day and make it sit in the scorching SoCal summer sun without any protection! I felt sorry for that poor C4.

 

[CLABORN1960]

Wow! I am impressed!

Okay. I gotta ask: is that the original paint? It looks very good for a car with that many miles.

Most C4's I see being driven are beat up. The front spoiler that likes to scoop up every driveway there is seems to be the first to get destroyed. I've seen some real sad ones. I had this co-worker who owned a '92 with a mere 35k miles on it. But man! He beat that car up! He would start ot up after sitting outside all day in winter time and without mercy would rev the crap out of his LT1! He would also leave the targa top off the car all day and make it sit in the scorching SoCal summer sun without any protection! I felt sorry for that poor C4.

Its been painted twice.... once about five yrs ago, and then I got it painted this past summer because of being hit by road debris...

this is what happens when you are traveling on the interstate at 70 mph (that's the story I am sticking to) and the SUV in front of you runs over a piece of semi-truck tire debris causing it to go airborne and land conveniently on the nose of the vette.... I was going to have the nose repainted anyway because the clear was peeling.... insurance took care of it, estimated damage 1800 bucks.... had a guy spray the whole thing with 4 coats of clear for $1850....

 

[Rogue]

That explains it. Well it looks nice indeed. I love the sleek look of the C4. Nice wheels too.

I got mine back in '03 with just 31k miles on it. But the previous owner was an older lady and she really beat up the body! She could not see out of the car very well and must have hit every single thing in sight. I don't have a before picture but my front bumper looked almost as bad as your before picture. The worst part was the front fender had a major break in it. The doors were also filled with parking lot dings, and the rear fender was scratched up from what looked like too many grocery bags being rubbed on it. Suffice it to say the car was pretty rough outside. So I had it repaired and painted with a new front spoiler fitted too. Unfortunately, I had to pay out of pocket! Ouch! That was back in '03 and six years later my front spoiler is a bit scratched up thanks to those unavoidable scrapes on driveways and parking lot cement slabs. I try real hard not to hit it but sometimes it just happens!

Here's a picture of mine. The painters painted the fog light/turn signal bezel same color as the car. It should really be gloss black like OEM but oh well........

 

[CLABORN1960]

That explains it. Well it looks nice indeed. I love the sleek look of the C4. Nice wheels too.

I got mine back in '03 with just 31k miles on it. But the previous owner was an older lady and she really beat up the body! She could not see out of the car very well and must have hit every single thing in sight. I don't have a before picture but my front bumper looked almost as bad as your before picture. The worst part was the front fender had a major break in it. The doors were also filled with parking lot dings, and the rear fender was scratched up from what looked like too many grocery bags being rubbed on it. Suffice it to say the car was pretty rough outside. So I had it repaired and painted with a new front spoiler fitted too. Unfortunately, I had to pay out of pocket! Ouch! That was back in '03 and six years later my front spoiler is a bit scratched up thanks to those unavoidable scrapes on driveways and parking lot cement slabs. I try real hard not to hit it but sometimes it just happens!

Here's a picture of mine. The painters painted the fog light/turn signal bezel same color as the car. It should really be gloss black like OEM but oh well........

Looks nice dude!!!! I like that color, I haven't seen that often.....When I first bought mine I knew I would have to get it repainted as the previous owner had gotten some scratches in weird places. There were alot of scratches on the rear bumper including the area where the license plate sits... to make it worse, they tried to use touch up paint to cover the scratches and of course it didn't match... To make matters worse, they had replaced the regular 40th anniversary badges on each side with 40th anniversary ZR-1 badges... I couldn't believe it..... So I got the right badges, and painted it, the first time it was out of pocket, and the paint job was okay, not fantastic.... This time though the guy who painted it did a fantastic job and it is a night and day difference....

One project I am saving up for, will probably drop a modified LT-4 engine in it next year probably.....

 

[LastOfTheV8's]

I drive mine almost every day, right through the winter too (we only get a few days snow here max, and though I Know I shouldnt be driving her in freezing conditions I have done many times on Good Year Eagle F1's no less- a bad idea ?? ; PP )
I am of the belief that leaving her sitting days on end is worse for her long term than driving her regularly. Cheers all!

 

[Rogue]

One project I am saving up for, will probably drop a modified LT-4 engine in it next year probably.....

I came pretty close to swapping out my L98 with a ZZ4 but I decided against it. The cost was enough to buy a C5 and that simply did NOT make financial sense to me! I think the crate motor plus labor was going to be $10k and that's before the chassis mods I wanted. I was going to get the C5 brake upgrade, interior upgrades, etc. I could get a C5 for about $25k and that was more cost effective.

I'm still considering...but mine has low miles and it is so far very reliable. Plus, I have no idea why I'm thinking I want more when the car is already capable of 5 second 0-60 runs and 150 mph top speed! I think I will just put more intake mods in her (big tube runners and large bore intake, a TPI chip, and call it a day. I can't do much anyways since my car gets the customary Californication-smog inspection very 2 years!

 

[CLABORN1960]

I came pretty close to swapping out my L98 with a ZZ4 but I decided against it. The cost was enough to buy a C5 and that simply did NOT make financial sense to me! I think the crate motor plus labor was going to be $10k and that's before the chassis mods I wanted. I was going to get the C5 brake upgrade, interior upgrades, etc. I could get a C5 for about $25k and that was more cost effective.

I'm still considering...but mine has low miles and it is so far very reliable. Plus, I have no idea why I'm thinking I want more when the car is already capable of 5 second 0-60 runs and 150 mph top speed! I think I will just put more intake mods in her (big tube runners and large bore intake, a TPI chip, and call it a day. I can't do much anyways since my car gets the customary Californication-smog inspection very 2 years!

makes sense.... I think I can probably do the swap for less than 10k, I am hoping I can get it done for like 5k... would be a nice sleeper.... of course here in Alabama we don't have inspections so we can basically do anything we have the money to do...