Legacy of the 84 Corvette?

[BigBrakeFuelie]

It`s hard to believe it`s been almost 20 years since the 84 Corvette hit the scene.I remember first seeing it in Road and Track Mag. and being a big fan of the C3`s I was dissapointed.Ofcourse I was only about 13 years old and I didn`t understand what Chevy was doing with the Corvette.
The 84 Vette was very important to the history of the Corvette wasn`t it?The Cleaner body style and improved handling,braking it started to become a better allaround sports car.
I have never had a 84 Corvette but I have a real curiosity about them and how they have been percieved over the years.Some of you who have had or still have a 84 how do you feel about the 84 model and what it meant to Corvette history?I understand Cheverolet improved the C4 each year til they perfected it but still they had to start somewhere.
Thanks.

 

[DkBG]

Back when the C-4 was in developement , we had one where I worked . We built the rear ends for the C-4s . I too didn't like it much . Well , within a couple of years I came around 100 % . I bought an 84 when it was just a few years old . It was so good looking and so much fun to drive that I put up with the constant plague of problems . The very rearend we made for it at work went out twice in two years . I constantly worked on it . Mostly it had electrical problems , and it was no wonder . Up under the dash was a buttload of those little blue connectors that do such a marginal job of carrying electricity . The car was just out of warrenty and all stock , so I believe that this work must have been done by GM mechanics while trying to make everything work . The day I traded it in , the gas petal broke off of the floor .Hard to imagine that I loved that car , but I did . And your right 84 was a landmark year for Corvette . Cliff

 

[Ken]

 

[Steve92LT1]

Well.. here is a couple things about the 84.. You see tons of them, because it was the 2nd highest year for production losing to the 79 which was slightly higher.

It was the ONLY C4 with Crossfire injection (205 hp).

I almost bought one like 4 years ago (had a couple probs, dash etc...), but went with a previous Camaro that I had already bought and previous Mustang for awhile. I should have bought it and spent all the cash on it that I did on those 2 cars and the other 2 I have now. (looking to sell my 95 Z28 now) It would have 91+ ZR1 bumpers, brakes and a more modern EFI system and be a hardcore badass. But we're all dumb sometimes. Live and learn.

It was the first vette I ever drove. Then I got my 92 and now I'm hooked on em.

Steve

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

For having an output of 205hp. the 84 Corvette performs well.0-60mph. from 6.8-7.0 sec. and a top speed over 140mph. that`s nothing to sneeze at.I do believe any first year style will have some mechanical problems look at the 68`s.Chevrolet did work some of the bugs out.:eyerole

 

[bluehevn]

legacy of the '84

I became the proud owner of a very "cherry" '84 this past summer. I have always had a love affair with this body style.... the kids are just about out of college so I figured I owed it to myself.

I love the car and I feel that it broke some new ground in Corvette styling. I've driven many sharks over the years and I wouldn't recommend one for a long road trip... they're just too uncomfortable for me.

I feel that history will be kind to the '84 as it paved the way for a lot of the features on the C5. My only complaint is that !@#$%
Crossfire Injection system.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have bought an '85 or later with the EFI.... as I can't find much in "bolt on" performance parts.

 

[evolution]

I love my 84, even with the crossfire. It goes fast, it has been more reliable than any car I have had:

(84 Datsun b-210 wagon, 84 Isuzu I-Mark diesel, 78 Chevy Van, 77 Dodge Van and last but not least, 84 Toyota Cressida....... had a lot of 84s)

....I guess that isnt saying much.

I love the body style the most though. I remember when I first saw one....I didnt like it too much. I always thought they were too narrow to handle very well untill about 5 years ago. I peeked into my friends garage and he had a black C4. It just looked perfect. A closer look revealed that my ho-hum perception of C4s were all just..well, stupid. Low, wide and mean lookin. I knew I had to at least drive one once in my life.

Three years later, my parents had picked an 84 up from a guy in the Bay Area (CA) and when they let me drive it....I think I wet myself. Not too long after, they got tired of working on it and sold it to me for the same price they had bought it for ($4500) and the rest is history.

Actually a funny story came from this. The person my parents had bought the car from orginally lived in Ocean Beach, San Diego which, coincidentally, is where I live. I was driving down the street and this guy cornered me in a Rite Aid parking lot right next to my house and was floored that he was looking at his fathers car.....seven years, a paint job and 20k miles later.

I think my baby feels good to be home

 

[billd]

I love mine

I've had mine for just over a year now and I love that darn thing. I Love dang near everything about it. Even the Crossfire injection (gives it character). I drive it pretty much daily and have had almost no problems with it. The only thing was the valve guide seals but I fixed those. It would have been easy but I screwed it up. Live and learn.

 

[nelson84]

I have had an 84 since 92. A great car. Only things I had to fix in 15 years is the rear end blew up, tans rebuild, temp sensor, intake seal. And I added some performance parts and now 0-60 6 flat and 1/4 in 14.1. I was going to swap in a superram and all the crap that goes with it, but it was going to cost $$$$$$. So I went on ebay and bought an 85 vette($4300) and will be installing a superram on it for the same price it was going to cost to put it on my 84. So now I kicked the wifes durango on of the garage and now I park both vettes inside.

By the way, a slightly modded 84 L83 is just as fast as a L98. These cars are so cheap right now everybody should buy them up while they last. 5 years from now they will double in price.

 

[geekinavette]

Wow how'd I miss THIS thread!

I won't post the history of my '84...that'd be a LONG post!

I'll just say it's...."unique".

Bill

 

[jim coulter]

Love mine and like "billd" said, havent had much trouble with it. Some general things like water pump, smog pump, and some flickering dash problems, but all in all a great car. Was driving it over 100 miles a day to work for many years. They get a "bad rap" as junk because of the cross-fire, but I think they are extremely dependable. Love the way it handles with the z51 suspension package. And yes Bill, yours is "unique"(I got to sit in the passenger seat of Bill's with a laptop and punch in program information for the computer for him at the cruisefest before last) Dont know if I'd call them fast (although have had mine to 125) but sure feels "quick" to me. I think it was a step in the right direction on the corvette evolutionary ladder.

 

[LlanoBill]

I had one of the first, red with glass top. Side windows leaked, could not read the instruments on bright sunny days and it was hard to drive on any kind of wet pavement. Chevrolet had possession of it as much as I did while trying to stop the leaks, rattles etc. Lost about half value on sale 24 months later. I love my 96 though! Completely different automobile!

 

[douglas foster]

father & son

84 Gold, z51,4+3,bbs rims,no mods,just great looking.What else is there!!!

 

[OldCorvetteFan]

I don't have an '84 - I bought a '95 in early '06.

I must be one of the few that loved the look of the '84 (inside and out) from the beginning. I was tired of the C3 style by the end of the '82 model year. The early C3's were a good looking car, but the drop in performance coupled with the '74 and up rear end just didn't have a lot of appeal for me (owning a '65 coupe probably didn't help my perception of the late C3's either).

When the C4 came out, I would drive down to the Chevy dealer at night and just drool over the Vette's they had.

In truth, my favorite C4 would be the '89 with the six speed. I prefer the early body style as well as the arcade dash over the look of my '95 (I'll admit that the LT1 engine is a lot of fun, though!).

I think that the C4 will begin to gain some level of respect when the C7 Vette comes out.

Steven

 

[David-F]

Yes I remember the first 84 we got in it was the light bronze with bark bronze int. the car was dirty so it wasn't that impressive but the first red one that came in did look good.It's a car that move the Corvette forward and started it on to were it is today. Even today I'm supprised many people will take a late C3 over an early C4, the C4 has so much more over the late C3 now I admit the style of the C3 is unique and is pure Corvette but that's realy all it has over the C4. Now the 84 earned the poor reputation it got because there were so many things causing problems, window regulators, Bose speakers, rear upper panels cracking, paint pealing, squeeks, rattles, oil leaks, rear end recall, cruse recal, cailper recalls, the harsh ride of the Z51 which everyone though they wanted(which I liked). And of coures the 4+3 which in the begining was sure to fail. Many of the problems were corrected in 85 and up cars which is one of the reasons I decided to buy a new 86. But looking back if I found an 84 at thr right price I would buy one but it would have to be a Z51, 4+3 I can correct any of it's problems have had a lot of pratice at that.

David Fulcher

 

[speedmaster4]

84

priceless...a work of art...pity the poor fellow(s) at GM that were tasked to do better (and failed)

 

[John Robinson]

Here is another result of the C4 in it's early years

Corvette 50 Years

By​

Randy Leffingwell​

​

Then the new Corvettes arrived in 1984 and stunned their racing world. They won 19 races in 19 starts. For four years straight, they took every race in the series run first as the Playboy Challenge, then as SCCA Showroom Stock Grand Touring and finally as the Escort GT Endurance series. Drivers in lesser cars recalled nursing their ailing entries into corners in the rain, watching a Corvette storm past them implausibly fast, its driver adjusting the radio or the heater, then using the ABS to haul the car through the turn. Kim Baker owner and co-driver of his yellow #4 Bakeracing Corvette, won the series in 1985 and 1986, and von Dare reported that Porsche bought Corvettes to take apart and study. At the end of 1987, Porsche and others hinted that they might withdraw if the SCCA didn’t level the field. The SCCA banned Corvettes from its series beginning in 1988 but Corvette racers were not done.

​

 

[CAJUN C4]

I bought my 84' in 95'.it had 145K miles on it needed alot of work.I now have 240K on it. Only thing that's original are the lug nuts ...kidding.I changed the complete drive train, and lot's of other normal wear items.see my signature
I have a ZZ4 with 750 CFM bored TBI's,X-Ram Intake System,LT1 Exhaust,Gutted Cat, 1:6 RR Rockers It's a 4+3.and a bunch more. I can beat stock LT1's no problem.

 

[VIN_#_00521__Z-51_C4]

I became the proud owner of a very "cherry" '84 this past summer. I have always had a love affair with this body style.... the kids are just about out of college so I figured I owed it to myself.

I love the car and I feel that it broke some new ground in Corvette styling. I've driven many sharks over the years and I wouldn't recommend one for a long road trip... they're just too uncomfortable for me.

I feel that history will be kind to the '84 as it paved the way for a lot of the features on the C5. My only complaint is that !@#$%
Crossfire Injection system.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have bought an '85 or later with the EFI.... as I can't find much in "bolt on" performance parts.

I found my C4 on Ebay nearly 2 years ago( March of 2007 ) little problems here and there still its a killer car and a looker too lowered by the previous owner and looked as good as he described it when I showed up to take her with me...i haven't done much more that Upgrade the brakes with 13" Cryoed rotors that are Drilled and slotted and install the PBR 2-piston Calipers....runs great( Had really good mechanics taking care of her over the years in Southern California..) im sticking with this one for a while because of it was was one of the first 521 C4s out the door in bowling green, KY and this was a January 1983 C4

Recently had to have the hood tinted to match the newly painted front bumper( from someone hitting me a month ago ) Looks great now because i didn't have to shell out but 48 bucks to fill in some stone chips in the hood HAHAHAH set them back $1498 dollars, ( Thats what you get for running into my Vette ) as for long trips eh... its ok she ran like a real trooper and achieved 33 MPG

 

[CorvetteArchives]

I have had an 84 since 92.....

The thing I'm finding interesting is that back in 07 Nelson dug up a 5 year old post....it went 2 years then someone dug it up again!
THATS searching pretty far back for some people!