C4 Daily Driver: Bad Idea?
 

I know that a Corvette is not necessarily the best choice for a daily driver on a 100 mile round trip commute, but I am exploring the possibility. Before I proceed further, let me say the following:

1) I am in the Midwest, so snow tires are a foregone conclusion.
2) Yes, it's a RWD sports car, but at the end of the day it's just a RWD car, so I figure it can't be worse in the snow than a RWD truck given appropriate tires.
3) Gas mileage is not ideal for long drives. I get it.
4) I would purchase a foul weather beater ASAP, but would conscript the Corvette for one winter, maybe two.
5) This post is not for the collector types who will say that it is criminal to put a Corvette into high mileage four season daily driver duty.
6) Not even remotely considering a convertible.

My main concerns to assess are:

1) How good is the 6 speed manual transmission? I assume it is a T56.
2) What common failure/consumable/wear parts are NLA or notably expensive?
3) What are the common electrical problems that surface on C4s, especially late C4s? (say 1993-7)
4) Given that the rubber is in decent condition, does the cabin seal well enough to keep ice melt from finding its way inside?

Welcome to the forum.

FWIW, I drove my '73 daily for about 20 years on a 16 mile round trip. Never used snow tires in the KCMO area. Went thru up to six inches a couple of times. Usually the only problem was other drivers that didn't know how to drive in slick conditions.

Hi,I am new to the forum, I just got a 1991 corvette convertible after it had been sitting for around 9 years being driven just a little off and on. I drove it from Bowling Green Ky to Vallejo Ca. The only problem was a old water hose that started leaking. Thanks to some help from some good o'l boys in Oklahoma I got to a dealer to have it fixed properly. Then was stopped by a snow storm in New Mexico on I40. Thanks to the wife and rancher that run the Visitor Center just across the Texas border into New Mexico, they gave us a ride to Russels truck stop really nice place, to wait out the storm. They may have saved me from freezing to death sleeping in the car. The corvette's tires were not good in the snow nor was the car. But with proper maintenance and no really bad weather it would be a daily driver in my opinion.

Welcome to the forum.

I find my C4s very comfortable on long drives, and will/can poll North of 30mpg.
Though I'm not sure about driving one year around in snow and really bad weather.

Now that I'm retired with only short drives I have two Vettes as daily-drivers, though I usually just "sit out" a bad snow storm for a few days.