A manual gearbox and droppable roof make today’s Nice Price or No Dice Corvette a perfect summer sports car. We’ll have to see if its condition and price give us pause for that perfection.
Disguised as a London Cab, last Friday’s 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser looked about as British as warm beer and beans for brekkie. That little Chrysler compact had been built for a delivery company but was little used before that business went belly up. The outcome is that it still wears its corporate clothes but only has a mere 4,800 miles under its belt. Now offered at $8,000, it’s set to deliver some fun for a new owner. Few of you, however, were fooled by its thin veneer of pip-pip cheerio, seeing through that to the PT Cruiser that lay beneath. The general consensus in the comments was that the PT is the son of Satan, and not a single one is worth anything like $8,000, British boob job or not. The result was a 77% No Dice loss to close out last week.
Corvette summer
Speaking of weeks naturally segues into the discussion of months, and June just so happens to be a very pivotal month in the history of Chevrolet’s venerated Corvette. It was June 1953 when Corvette production began on a small line in General Motors’ Flint, Michigan, factory, which sits across the street from the hallowed halls of Kettering University. The first production Corvette exited the factory on the morning of June 30th, with the honor of its initial drive going to an assembly line worker named Tony Kleiber. Only 299 more Corvettes were assembled in Flint before production moved to St Louis for the 1954 model run.
Here we are now, 72 years and many Corvette iterations later, looking at a 1995 Corvette convertible, a member of the fourth generation of the clan. This model represents the penultimate year of C4 production, which saw a few tweaks over its immediate predecessors, including new side gills and the standard fitting of the big brake package that had been optional in previous years.
Row yer own
Perhaps most importantly, it sports a ZF-sourced six-speed manual behind its 300-horsepower LT1 small block V8. That’s a great combo, and according to the ad, is in excellent condition. Other aspects of the car seem up to snuff as well. The ad notes that the A/C blows cold, the clutch is in good condition, and the tires have plenty of tread left. Recent work done includes a rebuild of the headlamp flippers, new brake components, and replacement radiator hoses. It’s difficult to tell that any of that work has been done since the engine bay does look like it could stand a good detailing.
The ad also notes that the car has just 76,000 miles on the clock, which has resulted in what is claimed to be normal wear and tear. That includes some delamination of the clear coat on the front bumper, a tear in the leather upholstery on the driver’s seat back, and the failure of the stereo. None of those are major issues, and the ‘Vette seems solid on all other accounts.
Spinning records
The aesthetics look good too, and who wouldn’t want to cruise around in an arrest-me red Corvette, even if it’s a C4? We don’t get to see the top Murphy-bedded in the back, but up, it looks like it’s in great condition. The car also still rides on the factory alloys, which look to be in likewise perfectly acceptable shape. The cabin is… well, from an era when GM couldn’t do quality cabins to save its life. However, other than the driver’s seat tear and some general signs of age and use, it’s all serviceable.
Other plusses include a clean title and glowing report from the smog tester. There are also service records from a reputable Corvette specialist for the repair and maintenance history, and registration that will need to be renewed in September. According to the seller, the car has always been garaged and/or covered. They also call it the “Twin Peaks” model owning to its color and top, although the ‘Vette in that show was an earlier edition of the C4.
Will this C4 blow up?
The asking price for this seemingly short issue list Corvette is $8,500, which is just $500 more than what was asked for Friday’s PT Cruiser, making the result on that car feel all the more rational. Is this C4 worth that, though? This is, after all, one of the least-appreciated Corvette generations now that time has quelled animosity towards the late-generation C3s.
What do you think? Is this old-school Corvette worth that $8,500 asking as it sits and is presented? Or do the flaws and general distaste for the C4 generation make this plastic less than fantastic?
You decide!
Nice Price or No Dice:
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
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