‘96 Coupe Auction: LT4 Engine, 6-speed Manual
Bang for the buck and smiles per mile
The last few years of the C4 generation production produced some very desirable and pretty bulletproof cars. Although not everybody is clamoring to buy the late fourth-generation Corvettes, I consider these cars to be a screaming bargain. I can personally attest to the durability and fun-to-drive aspects of these cars because I owned a ‘93 Polo Green coupe that I loved.
This ‘96 coupe has covered 65,000 miles in Colorado, South Dakota, and Iowa. It was bought by the current owner in July 2021 after being owned for about 20 years by the previous owner. It’s not mentioned in the ad, but I happen to know that the ‘96 model year provided a nice surprise. If you ordered a manual transmission, the engine was automatically upgraded to the sweet LT4 engine with 330 horsepower instead of the 300 horsepower LT1 engine.
This Arctic White coupe with a black leather interior comes with the owner’s manual, service records, a car cover, a front end cover, a spare set of wheels, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Iowa title in the seller’s name.
Equipment includes 17″ five-spoke alloy wheels, a removable roof panel, fog lights, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, a Delco Bose sound system, a CD/cassette stereo, and automatic climate control.
The 17″ five-spoke alloy wheels are mounted with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires, which were fitted in September 2021. Stopping power is provided by four-wheel ventilated discs with ABS. The original 17″ sawblade alloy wheels with Nitto tires are included in the sale.
The cabin features bucket seats trimmed in black leather. Amenities include a power-adjustable driver’s seat, a Delco Bose sound system, a CD/cassette stereo, cruise control, automatic climate control, and power windows and locks. Bluetooth connectivity has been added.
This C4 is powered by a 5.7-liter LT4 V8 factory rated at 330 horsepower and 335 lb-ft of torque. It has the ZF six-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. This is the same transmission that I had in my ‘93 and I loved hearing the whine from the gears right under the shifter. I think the German ZF tranny is one of the most rugged units put in Corvettes - it was used in the ‘90 to ‘95 ZR-1 models and handled over 400 horsepower in the later ones.
If you’re looking for a thoroughly enjoyable sports car for very little money, these later C4s provide a wealth of smiles per mile. The bidding is up to only $9000 this morning and I’m pretty sure this will sell somewhere in the mid-teens. The auction ends mid-afternoon Tuesday, April 7th. It’s hard to beat the bang-for-the-buck quotient for these C4s.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1996-chevrolet-corvette-coupe-78/
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