America’s Sports Car, the Chevy Corvette, was in its 35th year of production in 1988 (they skipped 1983). Nearly 23,000 copies were built that year, with some of them customized by Greenwood Corvettes. Greenwood was founded by a pair of brothers and the company was into auto racing, custom bodywork, and performance tuning. This 1988 Corvette emerged from Greenwood’s shop 36 years ago but now needs cosmetic attention after 95,000 miles of what may have been hard use.
Greenwood’s credentials were many, Brother John competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 12 Hours of Sebring between 1971 and 1976. When it came to customizing Corvettes, Greenwood would attach a “radical” body kit to multiple model years of the C3 and C4 ‘Vettes, including a ground effects package with built-in lights. The hood scoop was modified, and a rear wing was attached bearing the Greenwood name.
We’re told this Corvette starts, runs, and stops as it’s supposed to, but the seller doesn’t go any deeper in defining the car’s mechanical health. It does have new tires mounted on expensive Italian-made wheels. The problem areas involve the exterior and interior. Some bodywork is needed and the clearcoat is peeling off the blue paint which looks black in some of the photos. The interior is said to be in rough shape, though the photos don’t take a deep dive.
The seller considers this a project car and has maybe priced it as such. Located in Marathon Shores, Florida (The Keys), this ’88 ‘Vette is available here on craigslist for $4,950. How much extra value, if any, does the Greenwood package add to a C4 Corvette? BTW, this is another fine tip brought to us by Rocco B.!
The Pontiac Corvette
My thoughts exactly. That cladding has to go, those Vettes look better stock.
The 88 is one of the last C4’s that you would ever want. It has a unique one year only front suspension and it still had the miserable 4+3 Doug Nash transmission. The Greenwood body kits were always garish and this one is very long in tooth to boot. If you want a C4 there are a lot better choices year wise. I had a lot of these when I worked for GM as Product Evaluation Plan (PEP) cars from 1989 thru 1994. If you want a C4 you really want a 93 or 94 car and if you can find one with a Z07 suspension package. Those were the best C4’s by far.
Almost. The 1995 and the 1996 were the picks of the C4 litter- Opti-Spark issues solved by 1995 redesign and 1996 offered the LT-4/ZF 6-speed combo. Z07 available in 1995, Z51 available in 1996. My dream team would be the 1996 Collector Edition Coupe, LT-4/ZF-6/Z51/Black interior.There were 156 made. Happy Motoring!
I haven’t looked at the Corvette suspension chart in a long time, and you are right that the Z07 was still available in 95, I was thinking it ended in 94. But the 96’s sucked. The 96 Z51 spring rates were 20% softer than the Z07 cars and the front bar was softer, down to 26mm from the 30 of the Z07. As a result the 96’s were pretty flaccid. They typically only made around 250 Z07 cars a year so they are still pretty rare. Those of us who were competing in C4’s found out that they only liked a “square” setup. Bigger tires on the back looked meaner, but the cars were faster with equal size tires all around. The 96’s just didn’t handle as well as the earlier cars.
Why buy a cheap roached-out C4 when not much more money buys a nice C4?
Why? Because almost everyone with a drivers license and grey or no hair has a corvette. This one is unique and somewhat collectible. Give it a chance and it will give just as much or more enjoyment at the local car gathering for not much money.