Vehicle Description
1987 Corvette Convertible
(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this Corvette on a
website other than our main website, it's possible that only some
of our many photographs of the car are shown due to website
limitations. To be sure you access all the more than 90
photographs, please go to our main website: GarageKeptMotors.)
"Little red Corvette, baby, you're much too fast
Little red Corvette, you need a love that gonna last." - Prince
The lyrics to Prince's 1982 song capture the timeless appeal of
every "little red Corvette," certainly including the C4 cars which
were in the late stages of development when the song hit the
charts. This fourth Corvette generation would endure for a dozen
years, from 1984 through 1996.
The C4 Corvette represented a major development for Chevrolet and,
over its long production run, featured many firsts for the
legendary marque. Not least of these was the replacement of earlier
Corvette body-on-frame construction with a steel "birdcage"
uni-body, and a center spine connecting the engine to the
differential and supporting the drive shaft. Body stiffness was
improved dramatically. The new exterior body design incorporated a
track-inspired clam-shell-style hood, hinged at the front, which
exposed the entire engine for easy-access servicing. A horizontal
rub strip bisected and surrounded the body and, in addition to
giving the car a design signature for its wedge look, also
concealed the seam where the two fiberglass body panels were
joined.
The C4 cars were lower, but also shorter than the final 3-series
Corvettes, and delighted owners with more interior room, and a more
comfortable seating position. Digital instrumentation and a
completely re-designed interior with new seating technology were
significant changes. Other innovations included power rack and
pinion steering, forged aluminum suspension components, fiberglass
transverse-mounted front and rear springs, and four-wheel disc
brakes. The C4 was truly an all-new Corvette.
While the eighties saw the government enforce mandates for
automobile manufacturers to increase fuel economy and reduce
exhaust emissions resulting in lower overall performance, the C4
Corvette was hardly weak-kneed in the power department. In 1985,
the more efficient L98 350 cubic-inch (5.7 liter) TPI (Tuned Port
Injection) engine rated at 230 horsepower came standard. On overall
performance, Hemmings Motor News declared: "... the C4 was a
world-class sports car, capable of 150 MPH and .95g on the skid
pad, at a fraction of the cost of a Ferrari."
As a well-maintained, one-owner example, the 1987
torch-red-over-black-leather Corvette convertible offered here
captures its time period perfectly. Purchased new in Holland,
Michigan (the original bill of sale comes with the car), with the
exception of a short stint with the same owner in Washington state,
the car has been a fair-weather Michigan car its entire life. At an
average of just over 2,000 miles-per-year, it's been babied, but
not stored on a shelf. The engine compartment is in order with no
sign of add-ons or aftermarket modifications. (Be sure to watch-and
listen to-the video of the car at GarageKeptMotors website to hear
the smooth, throaty L98 engine output.) The car's exterior paint
and its black-fabric convertible top are in outstanding condition.
Corvette-only cast-alloy wheels and tires are in pristine
condition. (Study the website photographs closely, and enlarge them
to appraise this.) Carpeting, door panels, dashboard,
automatic-transmission shifter, and steering wheel all display the
care rendered by the long-term owner. Inside, the bespoke bucket
seats created specifically for the C4 by Lear-Siegler show a patina
of light wear, free of rips, tears, or discoloration. Their ample
bolstering speaks to the car's nearly 1g skidpad performance.
Switchgear is vintage 1980s including the fully functioning,
colorful digital displays. The factory-installed Delco-Bose
system-in its day, a new level entertainment system in a
sportscar-operates as it should with ample volume for satisfying
open-air driving music. Cassette-tape storage in the center console
is a fun, vintage 80s touch.
"Red" and "Corvette" just go together. And from music to pop
culture, the eighties were a time when "much too fast" was pretty
much the way things were. If that decade was a coming-of-age time
for you, this just may be a time-travel machine to transport you
back to those good times. Just as it was for its only other owner,
this Corvette may just be your "love that's gonna last."