- Seller: Gayla S (Contact)
- Location: Cynthiana, Kentucky
- Mileage: 39,876 Shown
- Chassis #: 1G1YY2185H5121433
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 5.7-Liter V8
- Transmission: Automatic
James Schefter’s book on the trials and tribulations of bringing the C5 Corvette to market might have been called All Corvettes Are Red, but if all Corvettes looked as good in yellow as this 1987 model, the C5’s predecessor, perhaps he’d reconsider his title. The C4 Corvette, produced from 1984 to 1996, has long been one of America’s great performance car bargains. Enough of them were built that you can wait for a good one to come along, and the mechanicals were so simple (by today’s standards) that anyone who’s willing to do a little research can maintain a C4 if they have a mechanical green thumb. If you’ve been looking for the right C4 to come along, you might have found it: This one has 39,876 miles on the odometer and has clearly been well-loved for the past 38 years. It’s being offered as a Barn Finds Exclusive in Cynthiana, Kentucky, with an asking price of $12,100.
Over 30,000 Corvettes were sold in 1987, and every one of them had this Tuned Port Injection 350 under the hood. It gained five horsepower in 1987 for a total of 240, but more important was the torque: 345 lb.-ft. at just 3,200 rpm. Even today, a TPI ‘Vette will feel fast unless you’re accustomed to driving a thirteen-second or faster street car. Contemporary road tests clocked the Corvette in the low-fourteens in the quarter mile, with zero-to-sixty runs in the high-fives. If problems should arise, it’s a Chevy small block, one of the most popular engines in the history of motoring, and one of the easiest to find parts for.
Behind the 350 was GM’s 700-R4 four-speed automatic, whose 3:06:1 first gear ratio helped the Corvette leave a couple wide black patches on the pavement if the owner was feeling like letting off a little steam. With a standard 2.59:1 rear axle ratio and a .070:1 overdrive fourth gear, it would also loaf on the highway and have plenty of revs available for a 150+ mph top speed. This Corvette’s cockpit in no way looks like it has 38 years between it and Bowling Green. The saddle interior looks great with the Yellow (that’s it’s name!) paint, and the digital dashboard will always be cool (at least if you were 10 in 1987 as I was). Yes, that’s still my favorite part of 1980s Corvettes.
The seller also says that this car was ordered with the “sport handling package,” which carried the Z52 moniker and included 16″ x 9.5″ wheels, Delco/Bilstein shocks, fast-ratio steering, an engine oil cooler, a “radiator cooling boost fan,” and a heavy-duty radiator. This car has later model wheels, but the originals will come with the car, in addition to the hard top storage cover and a car cover.
A lot of people were miffed when the C7 was introduced because it didn’t have round taillights. While that’s an argument I’m not willing to commit much brainpower to, you can almost see why. Corvette owners are passionate, and the tail of the C4 looks so…right…with those four round taillights.
While some people overlook the C4 for the author Mr. Schefter’s subject matter, the C5, there’s no substitute if you were a little kid in the ’80s. The ‘Vette was just so cool when it was introduced as a 1984 model, and it just got better as the years progressed. If you’re feeling a wave of nostalgia or simply want a performance car bargain, make an offer on this lovely Corvette. Maybe all Corvettes should be yellow.
Very good looking car. A few parts can be hard to find, but I did with my 86 and to be honest: it was fun to drive! Good luck on the sale.
Only colors I would buy a vette is yellow or white. Nice one, good luck!
If those tires have a lot of miles on them
My wife and I drove past a Chevy dealer one day in the spring of 87 when she spotted a red 87 convertible on the showroom floor. She said “let’s go take a look”. Long story short, we ended up driving it home. It was going to be her everyday car, which I was not in favor of her doing. She worked in a major city and my first thought was, it will be stolen quickly. I finally convinced her it was a bad idea, and the car, for the most part, became a parked fixture in the garage. Initially I was excited about the car, but the more I drove it, the more disappointed I was. I’d put my foot into it and it couldn’t get out of its own way. So we ended up selling it 4 years later with 2000 miles on the odometer. Lesson learned: never let your wife talk you into buying a car on impulse!