This 1990 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible looks smart in its triple black color combo, and it has the desirable 5-speed manual gearbox as an added bonus. With well under 40,000 original miles, it presents like a much newer car, but that’s not a guarantee of exceptional condition as a lot can still go wrong; however, this Corvette appears to have been cherished since new as the paint still gleams and the somewhat fragile GM interior shows no major signs of damage. Find it here on craigslist for $18,500 and thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for sending in this survivor-grade C4.
For a few weeks, I was on the hunt for a ZR-1, and got pretty close to pulling the trigger on one. But here’s the problem: there’s a perception that C4s, even a ZR-1, are perpetually available. One of the best pieces of advice I can give to someone considering owning an enthusiast vehicle is to buy one that is somewhat hard to find and highly-regarded as being a fine driver’s car. The C4 is a better car than it gets credit for from a dynamics and performance standpoint, but sadly, it is not hard to find a good one. It gets slightly trickier when you want to find one with a stick, so this one is more desirable than most of the cars for sale.
Now, 31K miles is indeed low, but it’s not ridiculously low. Plenty of damage and wear-and-tear can occur in that timeframe. This is even more likely when dealing with the notoriously cheap and fragile 1990s-era C4 interior. In the case of this car, I see no obvious damage to the cabin, and the seats – which face the double-dose of wear-and-tear damage not to mention sun exposure – look absolutely fantastic, if just a little bit dry. The seller notes that it will come with the rare factory hardtop, so perhaps the accessory roof was kept installed when the soft top was not in use. Whatever the case may be, someone clearly loved this ‘Vette.
One of the other pitfalls of a vehicle being familiar or otherwise perceived as commonplace is overlooking its attributes. The C4 was a solid performance car, especially by the time the 90s rolled around. With 245 horsepower and and 345 lb-ft of torque, the Corvette was capable of delivering out-of-the-box numbers that put it among the top sports and GT cars of the era. However, high production numbers likely diluted its achievements a bit, so don’t let that curse of familiarity stop you from owning one of these. I couldn’t pull the trigger on the ZR-1 due to other obligations but this would likely make an excellent summer cruiser for one of you!
That’s a six-speed not a five-speed Chief
There’s a ’94 tripple black manual with 25k miles for $13k on Craigslist los angeles.
ZF6 Six Speed Manual is definitely a plus, nice Vette!
Beauty. Real smooth back end treatment, no spoiler or coveted 🧳 luggage rack. Looks great 😎 🏁
C4 best bang for buck and this one looks great. Problem is for a few bucks more you can step up to the C5, and a few more bucks than that gets you a C6, each one better and more powerful than the previous. It just comes down to how much you want to spend.
For me it comes down to the styling. Love the C4 styling, especially after the refresh in the early 90’s. A C5 I can still get with, but the C6 to me is just not nearly as attractive as the C4 or C5.
Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen 6 speed (German trans) I have a 96 lt4 great car! 1990 first stlye C4 body, with the second style interior I like this year.
I Have a 2006 Silverado RCSB LS It is my driver and I love it. When I was looking for it I thought ,maybe I could find something in that price range that would be just as much fun. I thought of Vetts like this one. But of course a little more money. I was never able to pull the trigger on a Vette , but this one could come close.
From a styling perspective I think the C4 generation of Corvettes is more pleasing than the recent iterations . I believe that they are the most affordable combination of performance and modern amenities in the Corvette world. Even though I will always like the C3’s style the best; if I were ever to return to the Corvette fold this featured car would be an appealing choice. The manual transmission, convertible layout and triple black color scheme are winners for me. GLWTS
Nice example, odd that the seller has no pics of the hardtop. Those are very hard to find, and not cheap when you do. I picked one up last year for my ’92 convertible and lucked out finding a nice one locally in the same factory color as my corvette. I paid $1300 for it and it was missing the mounting hardware. Fortunately the hardware is readily available from Zips and other online sellers for only about $100.