Early C4 Corvettes were among the classic cars from The Malaise Era that spent decades largely ignored by potential buyers, but a new generation of enthusiasts recognize these as affordable vehicles offering excellent handling. This 1984 model is one of those vehicles, and it offers something special for those searching for a classic to park in their garage. It is an original and unmolested survivor with a genuine 28,000 miles on the clock. Its presentation is all you might expect from a car of this caliber. However, it has one further ace up its sleeve, with the seller offering it for auction with No Reserve. The Corvette is listed here on eBay in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bidding has scorched to $6,100 as a result of intense action. Therefore, a new home is only days away for this stunning survivor.
Chevrolet introduced the C4 Corvette for the 1984 model year, and while it retained distinctive styling cues from its predecessor, its creators commenced its development with a clean sheet of paper. The seller states that the original owner recently passed away, with this classic emerging from his estate. He ordered this ‘Vette in stunning Code 33 Bright Red, and the fact it has remained garage-kept and carefully protected is reflected in its overall condition and presentation. The paint retains a mirror shine with no significant visible issues. The front bumper is an area prone to stone chips and other marks, but this one looks remarkably clean. The seller doesn’t mention previous repairs or touch-ups, suggesting it is as it left the factory. The panels are flawless, with the seller indicating the underside is equally clean and impressive. I can’t spot any glass issues, and the beautiful factory alloy wheels are in as-new condition.
The positive vibes continue when we open the doors to inspect the interior. This aspect of most classics will reveal much about the life they have lived because it is hard to hide evidence of abuse or neglect. There are no such problems here, with the Graphite leather on the seats showing no signs of problems, and even the wear-prone outer seat edges are in good order. The remaining upholstered surfaces are excellent, and the carpet is unstained. An LCD dash display was standard equipment for 1984, with this one’s lenses showing no signs of opaqueness that can result from using inappropriate cleaning products. The comfort and convenience features aren’t extensive by modern standards, but the original owner lacked nothing in 1984. They received air conditioning, power windows, power locks, power mirrors, cruise control, a leather-wrapped tilt wheel, and an AM/FM radio and cassette player. These items are intact, and there is no evidence of aftermarket additions.
This Corvette emerged during the height of The Malaise Era. Electronic engine management and fuel injection technology were still in their infancy, and the power available from engines like the 350ci V8 found under the hood of this Corvette remained relatively modest. Therefore, the C4 design team focused on handling and mechanical grip to provide the driving experience Corvette buyers expected. The transition from coil to leaf spring suspension may have seemed a retrograde step, but it was inspired lateral thinking. The fiberglass transverse mono-leaf springs weighed significantly less than coils, allowed the Corvette to retain four-wheel independent suspension, and acted as a defacto anti-roll bar. This approach endowed the C4 with impressive handling capabilities, further emphasized by the braking system featuring lighter aluminum calipers. This classic’s V8 should produce 205hp and 290 ft/lbs of torque that feeds to the road via a four-speed automatic transmission. It has a genuine 28,105 miles on the clock, and the ownership history suggests the seller may hold verifying evidence. It runs and drives perfectly, with no mechanical maladies or other issues. If the winning bidder wants to fly in and drive it home, that option is viable.
This 1984 Chevrolet Corvette is one of the cleanest and most well-preserved early C4s that potential buyers will find in the current market. Its original owner treated it respectfully, and the auction action confirms buyers like what they see. The price might be sitting at a modest figure, but it has reached it after receiving fifty-seven bids. People like it, and I can hardly blame them. This could be an excellent candidate if a C4 has been on your radar. Will you join the bidding war?
No, the Cross-fire injection system has a very bad reputation.
How do you know the Cross Fire Injection has a bad reputation? Have you owned one? As usual everyone has something to say about something they know nothing about just because they see it on the internet. I currently own two C4 corvettes, 1984 CFI and a 1992 LT1, both operate flawlessly on their original equipment. Lastly like the CFI I’ve heard all the BS about the Opti spark reputation and C4’s in general being substandard, don’t believe everything you read on the internet. The Opti’s and CFI’s work great if maintained and the C4’s are great cars…..
People I know in the repair business who know of those systems needing to be replaced with something more reliable, that’s how. I’m glad to hear that yours works well. I’ve never owned a vette, I’m not a fan of them. If there is a body style of vette that I would like, though, it would be this 80’s style. It looks just like the one Dean Martin drove in The Cannonball Run II.
The early Optispark was a nightmare, they would fail for many reasons, no weep holes for moisture/condensation, water pump failure and engine heat, and if you have ever replaced one; (I’ve done well over 20), they take a lot of time to replace. The later ones addressed most of the issues and the aftermarket has pretty much cleared up the rest of the early issues. But to say the they were very reliable and all the negatives are overblown would be false.
I gave 800 for one, an 87 that sat for 10yrs. Rough inside, but the 5.7 TPI engine and drive train were in great shape with 120,000 on the odometer.
I’m putting it in my 84 Z28. Thats a very affordable fun car to take a drive in the country with!
The issue with the cross fire injection will keep the bids low but the overall condition of this one makes it a gem
The high bidder will be the one that either enjoys or hates it …
But for the onlooker , its a beauty…
I personally own an 89 vert , white , red interior, white top with a mere 40k kilometers, not miles
I treat it with respect but nothing close to other cars i have owned
It is a garage queen and i didn’t have to break the bank to get it
YOLO
C4 corvettes or any corvette require upkeep and regular maintenance depending on how they are used. For example if you own a C4 with an Opti just make sure that the water pump is not leaking if you have more than 100k miles on your C4. Other than that the Opti will last as long as any other standard distributer will. On the 1984 C4 corvette the Cross Fire Injection was used to fill the gap until the new L98 TPI came out. Due to manufacturing issues with the L98 GM didn’t phase it in until 1985. I think that’s why the CFI earns all the hate because it didn’t perform as good as the TPI. BUT the CFI ran very well and was very dependable if maintained.
Pretty nice example IMHO however I can’t see one like this without a flash back to The Big Libowski!
This car did not come out at “the height of the malaise era”. The height of the malaise era was nearly a decade earlier. 1975 was where the hp numbers bottomed out for the Corvette. Every year got better after that. 1984 was at the very end of that era, if anything. With cars like this and L69 F-bodies, fun was well on its way back. Also, while the cross-fire has a bad “reputation”, that’s all it is; a reputation and plenty of lore. There is nothing inherently wrong with CFI. It’s biggest issue is that it can’t flow much air and there’s not much to be done about it. With the TPI L98 coming in 1985, that has as much to do with tainting the 1984/CFI as anything.
Thank you. The writer is long on hyperbole and short on research. He has never met an auction where the bidding hasn’t “scorched” or “raced”. Suggesting fuel injection was in its “infancy” during the “Malaise” era is a double whiff. You also correctly point out the “old wives tales” regarding CFI from the BF Peanut Gallery. I am surprised we didn’t get the same spiel about the Doug Nash 4+3 transmission and the dashboard design. The 1984 Corvette was the start of the transformation of the Corvette into a world-class sports car. The execution was certainly not flawless. GM recognized the Z-51 suspension option was way overboard for most folks and dialed it back in 1985. I owned a 1984 Z-51, 4+3 that I sold on this page five years ago. The torque made up for the 205 hp and I never had any issues with the areas that folks who probably never sat in one. let alone lived with one, like to chirp about.
I had a 1984 Corvette that I enjoyed for a few years.
I personally never had any trouble with the injection system, although other people did.
The LCD dash would go out on these models also. Mine had to be changed.
A lot of people were skeptical of this first year of the unibody. I know GM had a lot of issues in the engineering department. It was so bad that they ended up scraping the 1983 model year completely and just calling them a 1984. Mine was actually made in 1983, but was sold as a 1984.
The only 1983 model Corvette that I know of is in the Corvette museum at Bowling Green, KY., with no VIN.
This particular Corvette looks about as good as it could possibly get.
Very original looking and very well preserved. I would not be scared of it because it looks so nice.
You can never go wrong trying to sell a red vehicle, whether you like red or not?
Just my oponion!
If you want a cheap Corvette, this is the model to buy. I had a 84 and an 86, the 84 had been converted to a 4 bbl by a previous owner. It was a fun car, but the dash was crap. It would work, then segments would quit, then it would work right a while. I had to use an old gps unit for a speedometer. The 86 was upgraded with larger, more clear markings, and worked much better.
The C4 gets a bad rap, but they are comfortable fast cars. They are about as cheap as they will ever be right now, they should start moving back upwards in price soon, especially the high performance models.
Bama- Buying an 84 Corvette as an “investment” is a sure way to buyer’s remorse. Improvements to the early C4’s came quickly starting with the “softer” suspension setups and the L98 TPI engines and ZF6 transmissions. Buy an 84 to drive and enjoy. Join NCRS or your local Corvette club and learn about the cars.
All in until I saw “cross-fire injection”… ugh.
“All in” but unaware a 1984 has Cross-Fire Injection. You probably would not have liked the instrument panel either. Welcome to the Peanut Gallery. There is always room for one more.
I was mistakenly under the impression that that failed system was only saddled to the ’82 Vette but not everyone can be perfect like you Frank.
I had a digital dash in my ’87 GTA. Really liked it vs the standard gauges so I’d be ok with the Vettes but hey, you know me better than I know myself… “Frank”.
Own a ’84, work on early Vette’s all the time, nothing wrong with the cross – fire injection, just low on power. Mine currently runs a carbed built 355, runs circles around the old deal, TPI in 85 much better. This example looks fine for a less expensive way to own a Corvette.
From personal experience with an ’86 Convertible that was a stellar autocrosser, here’s how you could turn this into a corner carver that will do >1G on a skid pad with street legal tires, and do the quarter mile in the low 13s (maybe faster):
. Either buy a set of ’86+ heads and a competent porting job, or buy aftermarket aluminum heads. Swap the intake with a tuned port manifold. Buy aftermarket individual runners, port match the tubes. Use a cam from the old hydraulic lifter 350HP 327 CID, retard it for max torque if you want, and use 1.6:aftermarket rocker arms.
Source a Dana 44 differential from an ’84 – ’87 manual transmission car Get lower strut rod brackets (attaches to the differential) from an ’88+ Corvette and bolts, drill out the differential for the slightly bigger bolts. (Maybe an 88+ rear axle assembly will bolt in, and you can use the brackets Either replace the strut rods with tubes with rod ends, or replace both rubber bushings on each with spherical bearings (there is a size that fits with no machining, and you can use rubber donuts + Locktite to keep them in place. Use longer bolts on the outer rear leaf spring attachment to lower the car. Add a Herb Adams VSE rear anti-roll bar with rod end drop links.
If you want slightly stiffer springs, find a pair off of an ’86 – ’87 convertible, which are about halfway between the base and Z51 springs.
On the front, cur the rubber pads on the outer end of the leaf spring to lower the car. Replace the control arm bushings with Herb Adams tubular bushings that use Nyliner bushings. The upper control arm kit includes a bolt on brace that stops chattering during hard cornering. Replace the front anti-roll bar with a Herb Adams VSE front bar with rod end drop links.
For shocks, If you can find a set of the Z51 Bilsteins, they should work fine, even the earliest year. Remember, you aren’t changing the springs. For more tuneability, pick your favorite double-adjustable brand.
Replace the steering rack with one off an ’84 – ’87 Z51, which has a faster ratio.
Use about -1.5 degrees camber on the rear, about -1 degree on the front, and 3 degrees of caster, and 1/1″ to 1/8″ front toe-in. Use 3/16″ toe-in on the rear.
In a magazine test (All Chevy magazine) in 1990, this combo on my ’86 convertible was 2 seconds faster around the Streets of Willow Springs than a Guldstrand GS80, which had a 377 CID solid lifter Traco motor with the same driver, and he described it as very easy to drive. It was slightly faster from 0-70MPH than a C3 427 with 3×2 barrels.
I heard the same thing. I think I would rather have the tuned port injection, that came out a year or two later. It’s a beauty though.
Sold for $9600.00.
I would have guess around 10k?
About 6k more than the average run of the mill 1984.
That’s because it was exceptional.
Just my oponion!
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