The C4 Corvette as a Project Car: Build it or Forget it? (2024)

• January 5, 2021
• Story By
  Mike Garrett

In case you haven’t been paying attention, in the last few years we’ve seen a big jump in both popularity and price of many sports cars from the 1980s and '90s.

Whether it's a BMW M3 or Toyota Supra, the cars from this era are enjoying a major renaissance, becoming as fashionable and desirable as they ever have been.

The C4 Chevy Corvette though hasn’t followed suit. Long overlooked in the 'Vette linage, the C4 just hasn’t enjoyed the same status bump that other performance cars of the era have—even American offerings like the Ford 5.0 Mustang and Chevy's own IROC-Z.

So what’s the deal? Is a C4 Corvette a great candidate for a project car or should they be avoided at all costs? Let’s take a look.

Reasons to Forget It

Initially, we'll discusssome of the negatives that surround the C4 Corvette. First up is horsepower. Quite simply, the C4 Corvette was a pretty lousy performer out of the box—especially the early ‘80s models that used the infamous Crossfire fuel injection setup.

Performance improved significantly in the following yearswith the addition of the 5.7 TPI small block and later the LT1 V8, but again even these engines are modest in outputwhen compared to the newer LS-powered Corvettes.

Another strike against the C4 is build quality. GM cars of the 1980s weren’t known for their superior fit and finish and the C4 is no exception. However, if you can get past the rattles and lowstock performance level, the C4 offers a lot for the enthusiast.

Reasons to Build It

First up is the price. C4 Corvettes are cheap, and for whatever reason they haven’t had a big risein value like many other cars from the era.

For less than $10,000 you can pretty easily get a nice, newer model with the more desirable engines, and decent drivers can be had for $5,00, where projects can be had for a few grand or less.

And one thing that you will get with the C4 is a distinct ‘80s vibe and a lot of old school flavor. The ‘80s-‘90s style might not be for everyone, but there’s no denying the C4 is one of the most recognizable cars of the era, and they’ve now aged into being bonafide “classics.”

What the C4 brings more than anything though, is potential. With the exception of high end models like the ZR1 its performance was pretty mediocre out of the box, but by modern standards the same can be said about pretty much any car from that era.

Its handling is decent even in original form and can be much better with aftermarket upgrades, and any variety of newer more powerful LS-based V8s can be swapped into a C4 with relatively little hassle, making any stock horsepower deficiency a moot point.

The strongest argument against the C4 Corvette as a project car might simply be the C5 Corvette, which offers superior performance, andin many people’s eyes, superior looks at a price that’s still affordable for many enthusiasts.

However, if you want to stand out from the crowd and embrace the ‘80s vibe and still have big performance potential with your next project, the older, cheaper C4 ‘Vette could be well worth a look.