1989 C4 Corvette Owner Interview

All Glory to God, God Bless!
Today I am joined by a returning guest and friend, Michael, and we discuss the ownership experience of a 1989 Corvette C4. We talk about the pros and cons of the car, as well as what makes the car a great retro sports car. We take it out for a spin on the road too, and put that V8 engine to work!
Thank you so very much for taking the time to watch my video. I have a deep passion for cars, which I have carried through my life for as long as I can remember. I fully believe this passion was given to me by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that now through this channel, I can bring glory to His Name through every single video I produce.
Chapters:
00:00 - 00:06 Intro
00:06 - 1:28 Why Buy a Corvette?
1:28 - 2:51 Car Overview and Design Philosophy
2:51 - 4:37 Pros and Cons
4:37 - 9:59 Test Drive
9:59 - 11:37 Maintenance and Modifications
11:37 - 13:11 Comparing the 89' to other Generations of Corvette
13:11 - Outro

[@mhicks5008]

I bought a 1996 C4 in November of 2023 and I absolutely love it. I've put over 4 thousand miles on it so far, including a trip from VA to the Corvette Museum. This C4 is getting driven!

[@LTCLLC]

Love to hear this, a trip to the Corvette museum sounds like an amazing roadtrip. Enjoy your 96’ C4!

[@mhicks5008]

@@LTCLLCenjoy yours too, they're fantastic cars.

[@EVLVET]

I did the same thing as you. I purchased a 1996 last year with the 6sp LT4 Z51 configuration. Absolutely love it.

[@michaeldmckenzie]

Last fall I bought an '89 convertible. Love it to death. No, it's not perfect, but it is so much fun to drive.

[@LTCLLC]

Love to hear this, enjoy your ‘89 convertible!

[@HotRodstigs]

I’ve just recently purchased my C4 this year and i absolutely love it

[@LTCLLC]

Congrats on your purchase, the C4 is a great car!

[@ryanle1293]

I have an 89 manual much like this, cept mine is the darker red paint. I've done the basic maintenance, suspension bushings, brakes. This was my second project car and it's been surreal to own.

[@EVLVET]

Absolutely a classic beauty. I currently own a 1996 LT4 with the Z51 suspension upgrade.

[@RomVlad]

Agreed. I own a 1996 LT4 with the F45 suspension- too bad I can't get replacement shocks lol.

[@vikingtrad3r]

sweet 89. 6spd. the z51 versions make some amazing track cars!! for cheap! to defeat the 1-4, simply reach up and unplug the harness connector from the big cylinder looking thing on the driver side of the trans. you don't need anything at all. that is a VERY clean looking 89

[@LTCLLC]

Thanks for your comment. I was very impressed with how well the C4 handled and took turns, I bet it carries over well to the track like you mentioned!

[@matthewp4980]

I have a 1989 red on red 6 speed. It had to be an 89 for all of the reasons you mention. It is my daily driver 9 months out of the year and I love it it and it is quite livable as a daily. 145k miles and still going strong.

[@LTCLLC]

Love it, happy to hear it's been a great daily driver for you. Keep on driving and enjoying! Thanks for your comment.

[@VroodenTheGreat]

I have a 1994 C4, they are great cars. Loved the vid, have a blessed day.

[@LTCLLC]

Thanks for your comment, have a blessed day as well!

[@davidmodglin3035]

I have an 89 with the zf6 as well. Such a great car.

[@frankpavan7865]

Great video ! I have owned a C4 1996 coupe since 2020. Really fun to drive. Couldn't live without it . Thank you. God bless !

[@LTCLLC]

Thanks for your kind comment! I really like the C4, it’s a great retro car like Michael mentioned in the video. God bless you!

[@Toyaddict81]

C4s are awesome!

[@matthewjacobsen9503]

Love my 89 C4, mines convertible

[@andrenj1970]

THE other way around dude: The C4 has more rattles. C5 has over 1000 less assembly parts and the platform is much stiffer. Yes corvettes are my thing etc…;)

[@mikebrady86]

My summer dream car😎

[@jackspence7779]

First and foremost, Jesus IS LORD and ALL glory to God THE Father! King Jesus, who doesn't treat my wife and I as our sins, especially mine, deserve, graced us with the very same "arrest me red", 1989 C4 Corvette, aka "LORVET the Corvette", with the "salad shooter" wheels and all in the Fall of 2022. Ours is an automatic however (wife CAN drive a stick, does not prefer) and has the red interior which with the black dash and trim I think looks quite "rad" ('80's ya know). Got her with only 27K miles on her, good and bad, and once she was mechanically up to snuff (stuff goes bad over time and without use), have enjoyed her immensely (praise God)! Since getting her, have installed upgrades such as the open air filter lid (no issues), K&N filter, throttle body air foil, a Hypertech chip (more aggressive timing and turns the fan on at a much lower temp which is good for Phoenix, AZ), RetroSound "Newport" stereo head deck (all modern bells & whistles), seat covers from Corvette Central (really sharp), MagnaFlow Street Performance cat-back exhaust (just the right amount of rumble with no obnoxious drone), LED interior lighting, LED headlamps, LED hood lights (huge difference) and have replaced the original digital dash with a rebuilt one that uses xenon bulbs (not quite as harsh as LED's). She's a lot of fun to drive, even with the automatic, and is definitely a very unique and cool ride 'round town! In my case, I graduated high school in '83 and the C4 debuted in '84 and was quite captivated at the time as you can imagine. Couldn't afford one back then 'cuz heck, they were 30K! But wait thirty-eight years and here we are! God is good, ALWAYS! Took her to the track last October which was a lot of fun, but Jesus is ALWAYS better of course! Anyway, really enjoyed the vid and you are a fellow bru'tha in Christ so you got yourself another sub beloved of God! Looking forward to more vids and may King Yeshua bless you and keep you!

[@LTCLLC]

thanks for your wonderful comment! Happy to have you here and glad to hear you enjoyed the video, thanks for sharing your story with your Corvette. God is good always indeed! thank you so much for the sub, and God bless you too!

[@3.2Carrera]

A few other comments about engine performance on these. Messing with the airbox cover on these is going to result in minimal gains. The L98 is tuned for torque using intake charge velocity over outright flow that builds HP as RPM rise. It is said that the intake runners were developed for the 305 C.I. engine and then changed to a 350 C.I at the last minute. Unfortunately this shows up on a 6m bad when the car runs out of steam around 5k RPM. The auto will shift and is less of a glaring problem. Anyway, the TPI can well if enlarged or siamesed along with the base manifold. 89's have the "113" heads and can be ported by LPE and new valve springs done at that time. The stock exhaust manifolds have ports that can be literally covered with a quarter so headers help here. A mild cam with more lift works great with TPI and I suggest installing correct length hardened pushrods with alignment plates and roller rockers and ditch the self aligning ones. This will wake up the engine and allow it to rev smoothly to 6k and get down into the 12's. Also, this needs to be topped off with a chip. Moates has all the good stuff to do that. Point is these cars have TONS of potential.

[@LTCLLC]

Thanks for sharing!

[@mariocooldude9092]

😂I went with a very large cam and it now pulls to 6500RPM!! total 180° change in character 😂 it's great 👍

[@3.2Carrera]

I enjoyed my time with my 1990 6M convertible. Very reliable and easy to service. Engine bay is a bit tight. CAGS dealt with in 10 mins. Chassis integrity sucks but can be fixed. GEN 1 sbc is awesome and better than the opti, IMO. 12s in the quarter mile is easy and cheap.

[@topherbec7578]

I had a real nice 86 red with tan interior vette. I sold it because like he said it's a pain to get in and out of. Building a 73 firebird now.

[@LTCLLC]

Have fun with your firebird project!

[@frankiodeelux3159]

Great cars - Got my black `88 auto cpe with less than 18k back in 2019 - Has 52k on the clock now - I bought to drive not look at - the point being I know what you can expect down the road a s far as "the little things" such as valve cover gaskets - blower fan motor - HEATER CORE !! WOW ! What a job to replace !! I'm a 65 yr old heart surgery patient who did this and it was a bitch job - Removed the "frisbie" AC dampener - check the seat bottom supports - they used straps later on but ours have steel rods that rot - carry an extra key in case your VATS acts up - had my stock non bose radio rebuilt and swapped out the stock rear speakers with some 6x9 Bass Rockers 8 ohm speakers - sounds great. - most of all my suspension bushings still need replacement - buy a head liner insert for your targa so the sun doesn't eat you up - Make sure the fuel pump is newer than original !! - Huge improvement in overall operation replacing the original fuel pump ! - replaced all fluids - headlight motor repair was fun -

[@laurentmx5444]

Merci depuis la France, Très belle voiture :)

[@the80sdudetil]

Can someone tell me how to change it that i can shift in second and third gear? I get the c4 from 1989 with the 6 speed Transmission too and i really wanna change it. But for me it's a big problem to find what you can do. I'm from germany so its much harder because the people in germany hates the c4

[@CD-sz7tf]

Shift blocking or “skip shift” is a feature of six-speed manual transmissions added to improve fuel economy ratings in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) system by preventing a driver from switching from first gear to second or third as would be done normally. A solenoid prevents the shifter from engaging these gears, forcing the driver to shift from first to fourth gear. The solenoid is computer controlled, and will deactivate if the throttle is opened wide enough, or the car reaches speeds above those typical in city driving. So just give the skinny pedal a bit more throttle and it will not engage, or companies sell a little plug in kit that is called a :Skip Shift Eliminator". Just crawl under the car and plug it in and that solenoid is bypassed and you can shift at any rpm level.

[@beuvonbertrand5511]

One of my favorite car, with perfect configuration. I need one ❤

[@FIipYap]

Get a Skip Shift Eliminator Bypass Kit

[@stephenc6955]

C4 foot wells are narrow and uncomfortable.

[@autk]

So what