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 ne