I'm looking at an 84 Roadster, 350 - manual, one owner, 83,000, numbers match, car reported in "good" condition, no accidents, no reported problems; car was built in Aug '84. Asking $5900. Can anyone tell me what to look for, or what issues this year has had?
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Re: Any Problems with the '84 Corvette?
no roadsters were built in 84. what you're probably being sold as a roadster is in all liklihood a coupe. if in fact it is a true roadster(convertible top raises an lowers) then it can't be an 84. mike -
Re: Any Problems with the '84 Corvette?
Jonathan, my preference would be to get a later car for the TPI (tuned port induction). Committed owners say the "Cross-fire" gets a bad rap, but if you buying, why tempt fate. The manual transmissions on the early C4s also had frequent overdrive problems. An 86 or 87 will cost you a few thousand more, but you will able to get a true convertible...first year for the re-introduced convertible was 1986.Comment
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Re: Any Problems with the '84 Corvette?
According to my NADA Classic/Collectible Price Guide that is more than top dollar for any '84 model. Check it out at www.nada.com
I hate to knock Corvettes, but '84 was not a banner year. There were over 300 running production changes, though since your car is late it will have most of them. Many '84s have the Z-51 suspension and it is ROCK HARD - racing only. It was considerably softened in '85. The "cross fire" (sounds like an ignition anamoly) TBI engine is a kluge (read Dave McClellan's book) and though Car and Driver raved about the '84 initially their longer view was that the car was full of squeaks and rattles and lots of bugs.
The early C4 electronic dash boards are incredibly expensive to fix, if they can be fixed at all. GM has discontinued many parts, and there are few restoration parts available. Bottom line - the early C4s appear to be a dead end.
The car was vastly improved by '87 - revised suspension geometry, TPI engine (initially in '85) and the ZF six-speed replaced the cantankerous and pricey to repair (if it can be repaired at all) Doug Nash "4+3".
I think you're better off looking for a later car. Even if you find a nice one that is more expensive, it will probably be less expensive to maintain/repair in the long run.
DukeComment
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Re: Any Problems with the '84 Corvette?
Jonathan, I advise you get a copy of Cor-vette Specs by Mike Antonick, ISBN 0-933534-51-5, read it cover to cover several times before you begin to think about getting ANY C4. C4's are extremely different from C2's and after a fairly resonable purchase price they are very expensive to maintain unless you can really "do-it-yourself". Also visit and study the posts on www.corvetteforum.com to get an idea of what you'll get into. I'm going to buy one in the next few months but it won't be an '84. Good luck!Comment
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Re: Any Problems with the '84 Corvette?
I have an 84 and a 90. Coupe only in 84 but a later model convertible would be much better to me. I don't see the big deal about 84's not being sought after. I believe they will be just like all of the other sleepers in time (i.e. the 68 or 58 and ugly hood/irons). No one really wanted a 68 when they were readily available because of problems? Here is a little take on the 84:
1-make sure it has a good instrument cluster (black without numerics fading through and all function). Same goes for later models with same appearing cluster. Replacement panels and repair is very, very costly.
2-lots of items are the same through the 90 models and available from GM. There are items which are DISCONTINUED and difficult to locate too (like the throttle body long studs which hold the cleaner cover on). Enough folks are parting old ones out that you can come up with most items.
3-badly dimpled front and rear bumpers are real common (even on the later models). If they are real bad, look for a better buy.
4-not real sure but I think 85 and 86 heads are much "MEATIER(sp?)" than the 84's. One of the heads on my 84 was bad.
5-cruise control servo could be in two locations. Initially it was located in driver front bumper area. Later, it was relocated to the driver side upper cowl/strut area like on the later models. Think this was a campaign recall issue but not all folks may know this--maybe a safety issue? Mine is still located in the front bumper area and works fine.Comment
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