If you could build the perfect C4 Chevrolet Corvette, what would it look like? For me, this is the car I’d configure if you could still walk into the dealership and order one. The color is called “Sunshine Yellow” and it is undoubtedly one of the rarer colors you can seek out if you’re on the hunt for the perfect C4. Additionally, this particular Corvette comes with the elusive Doug Nash 4+3 manual transmission, and finding a convertible model with three pedals is even more of a needle in the proverbial haystack than the if you were hunting a hardtop. All in all, this is a seriously cool C4 that stands out from the legions of ho-hum drivers.
The yellow paint scheme is more often associated with the pace car tributes models offered around the same time, and that’s an elusive model as well. The rarest combination of factors seems to be associated with the 1986 model year, as I’ve seen numerous online sources that point to how incredibly rare a C4 from that model year and wearing Sunshine Yellow paint is. For instance, according to a few sources, just over 1,400 1986 MY Corvettes were sold in Sunshine Yellow, and a mere 732 pace car tributes were offered in that paint code. Are those numbers inclusive of each other? Hard to say, but the bottom line is that if you want a rare C4, look for a Sunshine Yellow car.
The seller’s car is a 1987 model, but I doubt that changes things much. At the time, I’m sure a focus group revealed that most C4 shoppers wanted red or black, and yellow was a distant fifth or sixth in the color wheel championship. The other intriguing feature with a car like this is the so-called Doug Nash transmission. This gearbox has been seen as a bit of a curiosity for years, but it essentially boils down to being a stopgap measure until GM could develop a proper 5-speed. It amounts to a 4-speed transmission with button-activated overdrive on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear. I don’t know how pleasant it would be to drive today, but it still has to be more engaging than the slushbox that so many C4s came with. The interior appears to be in excellent condition.
1987 brought about a few changes that led to a 5 horsepower increase over the preceding year. New hydraulic and roller lifters allowed the 5.7L V8 to eek out the small bump in power foa total of 240 b.h.p. It’s not surprising so many cars were close to eating the Corvete’s lunch at the time, including the Pontiac Fiero in GT / 5-speed trim. Regardless, this Corvette looks like a nicely preserved example of a desirable model, plus it has the Z52 suspension package which got you Bilstein shocks absorbers and a quicker steering ratio, making this bright yellow drop-top even more of a home run. Find it here on craigslist for $11,500 in LaGrangeville, NY. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find.
7sp Banana 🍌 🏁
Well at least the plug wires match the body. Maybe its me and i know its a real pain in the butt having had done it on my dad’s Parisienne and mother in law’s Caprice but always go the extra mille and put the wires by the underneath, it makes a tidier engine bay. Aside that if i remember well the overdrive was automatic so when you cruised in o/d and depressed enough if you downshift automatically
My daily driver is a 4+3 convertible in black. There’s a button on the shifter that you can use to toggle the OD on and off. If you leave the button alone, if the throttle position is below a certain threshold, it automatically selects overdrive in gears 2-4. I drive like a little old lady, so mine typically selects OD.
It’s pretty important to change the fluid and filter in the OD unit annually. Simple to do, and keeps the unit functioning properly.
This is a good find, but I’m not into the color. I feel like it would be fun for a couple weeks, then one morning you go out the garage and say, “wow, I bought a yellow car.” Still a sweet car, and I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there who consider the yellow to be a feature.
The Corvette Black Book lists Paint Code 35 as “yellow” in 1986 and 1987. I believe the Indy Pace car was a 1986 model
It would be great to drive it as a school bus an pick kids up an drop them off at school..
I owned a 93 in this color, or at least a similar color. When the top was down the car took a lot of hits about the color. Loved the car though.
Doug Nash 4+3 manual transmission, NOT good.
To each their own I guess, I have a bum knee so a standard would not be my choice. Luckily for me I found a beautiful ( auto ) 1993 in Bright Aqua
and she gets a lot of attention at local car shows or just being out in public.
@Don- Bright Aqua Metallic looks great on a C4. What color interior? Happy Motoring!
Hi Frank, my ’93 has a tan interior but has a black roof
Note that GM went from 4+3 manual to the ZF 6 speed manual. No 5 speed manual factory installed in the Vettes. Never have seen Sunshine Yellow listed in advertising or elsewhere, Yellow yes. Nice ride.
Hi Joel;
The Corvette black book lists the color for 1987 as being
just ” Yellow “
It’s worth noting that the C8 Corvette’s already had a yellow option, but it’s the more highlighter-esque Accelerate Yellow Metallic.
Competiton Yellow is essentially the default racing color for the Corvette, as its name suggests.
A study found that the median premium for each major color group indicated white as the most valuable Corvette color, followed by yellow, purple and red.
Yuk.
In a recent study – I forget the source – it was found that yellow cars hold their value more than any other color.
The study must have been sponsored by the Chiquita Banana Company. Yellow seems pretty rare now. I know GM has gone nuts on yellow and I have seen a few Porsches with a brilliant yellow.
1984 production numbers show the quantity of Vettes painted
in Yellow as …. 1