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Auto Detailing and AppearanceShare tips and tricks on how to make your Third Gen shine! Get opinions on products or how something tasteful looks on your Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird.
Interesting article as I just brought a 94 6-speed vette with 51k miles 2 weeks ago. Vette also just got an NCRS Top Flight award about 3 months ago.
Here is my take on both:
As a current owner of both (60k mile Heritage Z28 5.7 all original and a NCRS Top Flight 94 6-speed coupe with 51k miles) they are in only a few ways similar.
The z28 is a great cruiser with great low end torque. Great handling and gets alot of attention at the gas pump. Had this z28 22 years ago and sold it about a year later with 48k miles and got it back 17 years later with 59k miles. Got lucky.
The corvette I have only had it 2 weeks but love rowing thru the gears. Yes it is a little to get out but i love the "go cart" feeling while driving it. Got 25.5 mpg driving from OKC back to central Texas 2 weeks ago.
You dont see many C4's around here so this one has gotten alot of thumbs up the last 2 weeks.
I love both. Paid $8k for the z28 in August 2019 and $14900 for the c4 which included the previous owner meeting me halfway from Nebraska. Plus it just got an NCRS Top Flight award in September.
Both Chevrolets but 2 distinct cars. Best of both worlds imo.
Also kind of think that the c4 generation was the most hated of corvettes while the third generation camaro was reasonably liked in the world of camaros. the fourth gen is typically the most undesirable camaro unless its the later years with an ls1 under the hood. I guess what I'm saying is the c4 of corvettes is like the fourth gen of camaros. I would still buy a c4 or 4th gen in a heartbeat if the price was right and I had the space for it.
IMHO....the C4 is a WAY better bang for the buck - you can always find incredible condition low mile C4's - third gens have
gone up in price a LOT, especially recently - I recently sold this C4 - it was a 11,000 mile 6 sped - I will pick up another one soon, maybe an LT4 or ZR1
ALSO - that article compares a third gen to the same year C4's - BUT the 94-96 C4's were MUCH improved and will eat a third gen for lunch and look way better as well
I had two '94 Corvettes about 20 years ago. Way better car than the 3rd gen but when the rear comes around it REALLY comes around. The solid axle 3rd gen is much more predictable. There is a freeway on-ramp in the northwest that I re-arranged the landscape with one of my 'Vettes.
One was a stock convertible, auto trans, kinda slow. Other was a targa top, H/C/I 355 supercharged 6-speed with adjustable suspension and Lingenfelter launch box, fast street car for the day. Targa top was the bee's knees. That digital speedometer is seriously '80s corny though, I'd much prefer an analog dial.
My 3rd gen today is way faster than that supercharged Corvette. Yes, LS engines are that good.
I saw that article too. Lot of factors and lots of discussion to be had amongst the car enthusiast social media platforms I'm sure!!! ....From an aesthetic point of view, I love all of the c4's! They're such a good looking clean design! My favorite would likely be the later 80's models, though hard to argue with the mid 90's. They're all just such good looking cars!
I love C4s but I will walk by TWENTY C4s to look at a nice Thirdgen and so will most people. A lot more nice C4s out there than nice Thirdgens and the prices reflect that. With all the powerful cars built today C4s arent really impressing anyone much more than a Thirdgen in that respect either. Wish I had a nice TPI 6spd C4 myself but now the prices are going up on those also they get gobbled up quick around here
I'm in love with late 80's C4s like an 1989 manual. That or a Fierro GT in manual are the only two cars that could make me jump from the Camaro. Not sure why a C4 would be less with an obvious lower production and better foundation. Also who would want a stock C4 when upgrading the cars motor, cheaply, totally brings its performs numbers into the modern era.
Comparing 80s to 80s, I can see an IROC being more desirable than a C4. The new 1984 C4 was polarizing and a bit plain. But when the 90s rolled in, the C4's "softer" facelift, along with the ZR1 and its LT5, followed by the LT1 and LT4 engines and continued refinements to the car, the C4 vaulted to a whole new level, IMO.
I'm in love with late 80's C4s like an 1989 manual. That or a Fierro GT in manual are the only two cars that could make me jump from the Camaro. Not sure why a C4 would be less with an obvious lower production and better foundation. Also who would want a stock C4 when upgrading the cars motor, cheaply, totally brings its performs numbers into the modern era.
I am more of a stock/NOS type of car guy. Maybe simple mods that can be put back to stock in a weekend like exhaust, intake, computer chip, etc.
Well, the Camaro was an "everyman's" car while the Corvette was pretty much a special interest machine. Today the guys that were kids back in the 80s are looking to get what they wanted but couldn't afford back then and that interest sure raises the price for a quality machine. And like mentioned above, people walk by a nice era Vette to see that IROC.
I came to TGO originally looking for a 3rd gen and the price disparity drove me to end up purchasing my '94 Torch Red C4 in 2020. Many vettes were garage queens, sold off later for the latest model. I think it's much easier to find a clean C4 than a clean 3rd Gen and the prices reflect that. The 3rd gens that weren't taken care of simply didn't survive.
Still love the look of the 3rd gens, and still find myself logging in from time to time to check classified ads and vote in the COTM threads.
Will probably own one someday, but prices are a bit out of hand at the moment.
I'll never understand why some people don't like C4s. Although I don't agree with the person above who called it the "most hated" Corvette. It sold well for 13 years. Clean, timeless design and handling like a go-kart. Personally, it's my favorite generation of Corvette.
I think the answer to the price disparity is simple: supply. I see C4 Corvettes driving around very regularly. There's lot of them out there in good shape, lots for sale. I almost never see 3rd gen Camaros, really maybe once a year. At least where I live, they are almost non-existent (same with 3rd gen Firebirds). There's probably more around in garages than I realize, but they're a rare sight on the road. And narrowing it down to the IROC trim level really makes the Camaro rare.
Also too, I think Corvette owners, having paid a lot more for their cars originally, were the ones more likely to preserve the car. Camaros were more likely to be daily drivers. There's always been people who've bought Corvettes and immediately make them garage queens. And fiberglass bodies don't rust.
I had an 85 Corvette, tuned port 350 with the 4+3 transmission. This was our third Corvette. This machine had the 10" wheels on all fours and was really hard to drive on a worn highway with a lot of truck traffic. The wide track trucks wear the highway down and the narrow track Vette was a fight to keep it straight. Searched around for the best front end guy, took it in, he checked it over and the 4 wheel alignment was perfect. Nature of the machine I guess. But we were out at my parent's house for dinner one day. They live near the end of a long straight stretch so I pulled out, firewalled the gas pedal. At the top of third gear my wife started hitting me on the shoulder. Car was not especially fast but performed pretty darn good for the time. Traded it in for a new truck.
Well, the Camaro was an "everyman's" car while the Corvette was pretty much a special interest machine. Today the guys that were kids back in the 80s are looking to get what they wanted but couldn't afford back then and that interest sure raises the price for a quality machine. And like mentioned above, people walk by a nice era Vette to see that IROC.
Exactly this! C4 vs IROC performance means nothing. No one is buying old cars for their performance. The authors are being blinded by their own biases. A newer 50K mile used Z28 for the same price will wipe the floor and be more comfortable than a thirdgen. When people buy old cars they are doing it to remember a time or person and its usually your late teens and early 20s. What cars were cool in the 80s and 90s? The IROC Camaro. What drives up prices? Supply and demand. And now members like me who bought their Thirdgen for less than $5K are able to smile at $20K resale value. My collectors insurance valued mine at $30K 5 years ago.
12-17-2022, 08:30 AM
