Shopping around for a 1994-96 C4.
 

Hi all:

I am toying with the idea of a new toy. My experience with Vett's is limited to working on 1968 427 Convertible many years ago. I am familiar with restoring 68-72 442/Cutlasses.

I have narrowed my search to C4, 1994-1996 and have been reading as must web stuff as possible.
I downloaded a PDF of the 1994 manual and have started to read the manual.

To keep the wife happy, must have two or more airbags (1994 or newer).
To keep me cool, must be factory R-134 Freon (1994 or newer).
And of course, a convertible.

Car plans: Just a weekend good weather toy and car shows, etc.

Here is what I am looking at this week, 1994-C4 Convertible. I found this car about an hour away and took a short test drive. The current owner has done a lot of work in the past year, including:

New: water pump, leather seat covers, distributor (I think this is the Opti-spark), tires, door weather stripping, brake pads and rotors. Millage over 70k.
Looks like most of the key items were serviced in 2018.
Is there any else that should be checked at this age and millage?

Test drive fair:
The car looks good. Paint, interior, roof all good.
Engine had rough idle at 600 rpm. Above 1,000 rpm ok, No smoke, no noises. No wind sound or whistling on the highway. No visible engine leaks. Passenger door sill wet after being washed.
Gage's moved, and dash displays seems to work.

All heating switches worked, and air came out the expected vents. Power windows ok, lights ok, forgot about the wipers. Too cold to try AC.
Rear view mirror screw loosed and bounces while driving. I hope the threads are not stripped.
Cup holder cover broken.

Multiple warning lights during drive that never cleared during the 15-minute drive.
Service LTPWS, Service ASR, Low/Flat tire.

Underside ok, Chin spoiler cracked, but there was a spare in the trunk.
Looks like a rock hit the metal support near rear tire.
Rest of the underside looked ok.

What are some of the loses parts that should come with a convertible, etc?
I found the owner manual.

Suggestions Welcome,
Miles

PS: Any C4 Experts in the Lowell Mass Area?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...3e133df4f9.jpg


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...b74958ed7e.jpg

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Top looks ok
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broken chin spoiler

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Lights work.

Had a little setback.
The dealer said,one of the employees backed into the C4. At first the dealer said, it had a 1 inch hole in a plastic part.
I was tentatively planning on picking up the car in a few days.
Then he sent me a picture.
It looks like a few parts. The obvious shattered panel.
The door center trim looks damaged. the upper PS fender look scratched.
the Inner PS wheel-well looks damaged.
Not sure what stuff is located behind the panels in this section of the car.
Is there anything critical?
What needs to be checked in the engine compartment side?

Of course he said, they will fix and paint everything.
We shall see. The car lives 90 minutes away. It not easy to visit.



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One inch hole!

The dealers for the 94 is not being very flexible. Very few details about the status of the repairs.
The good news is, I found 2 more convertibles that meet my requirements on the Web.
March is here and more cars are showing up every day and I like the prices.

I am trying to test drive two cars this week, 95 and 96. Already made appointment to see a car today.

Welcome to the site!

When I bought my '95 a couple years back, mine needed all new bushings and I also replaced the transverse springs while I was at it. That improved the ride greatly. 24 years on the rubber is just a bit much.

Good luck in your search! Don't be rushed and enjoy the search.

Thanks for the tip "thatGuy".

The 94-Converible (70k miles) I am looking at, just had a full disk/rotor brake job done. The ride and steering felt firm and responsive.
The car did not drift in straight driving or pull during braking.
The engine was rough at idle.
This was my first C4 ride. The overall stiffness of the suspension felt ok. More comfortable than I expected.
And must better than my experience in the 68-Converible.

I just drove a 95-Convertible (64k miles). It was also a smooth steady car. This car has not had any service visits at all in the past 5 years.
Only oil changes. No history from the previous two owners.
Engine idled great. I left the engine on, while I did my walk around, checking lights, heater and stuff.
Engine and exhaust are very quiet. New Car battery (only a few hours old).
I checked the garage parking space after backing out the car. No signs of leakage.
The only warning light on this car was the tire-pressure.

I also found a local 96-Convertible. The owner has not responded to my Text or voice mail.
This week I have more options than last week.
I will bring a CD with me on my next visit.

New topic: CD May not work after a battery replacement?
I read in one of the many web articles that if you remove the battery in a C4, the CD player my not work until you enter a special code number?
Where do I find this code and how do I enter it?

Had they replaced the rims? The rims themselves hold the tire "pressure sensors". There are many owners that replace the rims and don't ever worry about the sensors. On the other hand the sensors may just need some TLC if the original rims are installed. Gotta take the rubber of the rim to get to them though.

My radio was replaced when I bought mine and I replaced that one, so I'm sorry I can't help you with that one. I do have the TunerCATs software that can read and program the ECM. I'm quite sure I've never seen anything related in the ECM. Sorry, I'm not much help on that specific.

I would expect those low mile cars to need to rubber pretty badly. When rubber sits it dries out. When it is used it pushes oils though itself and helps prevent dry rotting. Goes with the old saying, a car is better ridden hard and put up wet than left sitting dry.

FYI, my 1995 is pushing 190K.

This link talks about how to rest the CD.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ry-change.html

I will bring a CD when i see the car again to see if it works, etc.
The Tires are the correct size and rating Front and rear.
I did not check the date codes yet.
Plenty of tread.
For now I will just assume the tires were low. The owner did fill up all 4 tires after we got back to his home.
I am not too worried about the tires at this time.
While we are on the topic of Tires. Any recommendations for Daily driver Z tires?


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The Colder Outside, the lower the price :)

Dash shot of the 95-white top.

The Rims on this 95-White top, look original?
The image is not clear enough to identify the brand.

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Yes, those rims look original. Normally if there is a problem with a tire sensor you will also get the LTPWS light you saw on the first one you looked at. I don't know a good brand tire for daily driving. I personally would not recommend driving your desired car as a daily driver. Vettes have their parts engineered differently every 2-3 years, which can make finding interior parts or odds and ends difficult to find and/or pricey. Many parts from the '93 do not work or have been changed by the '94 - '96 models. So, you basically have that 3 year window to get parts from.
If you are looking to use it as a daily, I highly recommend having the ECM reprogrammed to have the cooling fans turn on sooner. From the factory the 1st fan doesn't kick on until the motor is like 230 degrees. I was freaking out when I fist bought my car and saw the temps going that high. I programmed mine to turn on at 180 and am thinking about turning even lower for my hot state of Florida. If it is a manual, also turn off the 1st to 4th forced shift.

Check the coolant on any car you look at. To replace the heater core, properly, you basically have to take everything out from the dash down. I replaced mine while I was replacing my dash support fame, it still looked in great condition, but I was already there and with the age of the car I figured it was cheap insurance. Just be sure it looks like they've taken decent care of the cooling system.

Thanks for the tips "thatguy". I have a infrared temperature tool and can use to verify the values.
What do you need to Reprogram the fan settings. The fan start temp of 230 sounds very high.
I normally try to keep my Oldsmobile 180 for the small engines and 190 for the 400-455 ci.
The Vetts I am looking at will be Automatics.

I got my deposit back on the Red-94 with the damaged PS vent section.
The dealer said, it took a full week to get a NOS version of the vent panel. This car will not be back on the market for a full week, due to painting and gouge repairs to the hood.
The dealer was very understanding when told him I had found another Vett.
Humm, sounds like a Beatles song, instead of Vett, another Girl.

Today there are over 8x 94-96 Convertibles within 150 miles of Boston for sale. Priced 6-15k.
Going back for a second look and drive of a 95 tomorrow.

They sell relay's to trick the computer to come on early, but I bought TunerCATs software to reprogram the computer.
There is also a free software called TunerPro that will work too, but you need the OBDI with OBDII plug for a 95.
EEHack is another free software out there that is great for data logging if you wanted to tune your car for performance or fuel efficiency.

I bought mine for $5500 but am in almost 12.5K two years later.
Here is a short long list of what I've done:
Replaced all bushings with poly, replaced all suspension components.
Upgraded front brakes to C5-C6 style, with braided lines all around.
Replaced all vacuum lines (my cruise control works again)
Replaced the head unit, and made custom boxes for all speakers. When I bought the car I found out someone screwed speakers to wood and the wood to the car. I wondered why is sounded so bad on the test drive.
Replaced all corner lamp sockets. Most had blown bulbs fused to them.
Upgraded to five start C5 rims
Replaced a few wire harness plugs: Optispark vented wiring harness, Optispark distributor wire harness. MAP sensor connector pigtail harness
Rebuilt my steering column.
Valve cover gaskets and oil pan gasket.

Oh ya, if you plan on working on your car yourself at all, I highly recommend getting a C4 EZ-Jack or make something similar if you have the tools. Otherwise jacking up your rear end is a major pain. Also make yourself some ramps or buy low profile rams. The car only has 4 true jacking points so I usually jack from center points and then put my jack stands on the jacking points. Without ramps you can't get a jack to the central point in the front of the car.

The second test drive of the 1995 C4 Convertible went great.

All fluids toped off. All tires filled to 32 psi. Brakes good. No Warning lights.
I checked under the body.
Front spoiler intact, no signs of undercarriage damage from curbs or other stuff.
Accelerates straight. Brakes straight. No Pulling when breaking.
Engine smooth. All gauges worked and the digital readouts has similar values as the analog gauges. Air temperature was 45f, Engine temperature at 65mph was 195.

Sunny dry day. Light traffic.

100 miles later I was home.
Its mine now.

I guess will end this thread and start a new thread.
Thanks everyone.
I am no longer "Shopping Around for a C4".
Miles

Congrats on your purchase!