Heavily-Modified C4 Corvette Is Proof That We Should Always Keep Our First Car

The owner of this C4 Corvette was wise enough to not only hold onto it, but also to mod and enjoy it at the drag strip.

Though we forget a lot over the years, one thing that most of us never forget is our very first car. The day we purchase (or are gifted) our very first vehicle is a special moment in life, even for folks that aren’t necessarily enthusiasts, as it’s somewhat of a rite of passage, a time when we truly become free – or at least as free as our parents let us be. However, most wind up selling their first ride for something better down the road, only to oftentimes regret it later on. That isn’t the case with Jarred Smith and his C4 Corvette, however, which he has wisely held on to and only made better over the years, as he recently explained to Chevy Hardcore.

Smith was obviously wise to choose a C4 Corvette as his first ride, given the fact that it’s a fantastic basis for modifications, though under-appreciated enough that they’re still cheap to buy. Over the years, he’s enhanced it in a big way and ditched the things that people aren’t exactly fans of, such has the tuned port injection setup. It’s long gone, replaced by an Accel Super Ram mounted to a stroked-out 383 small block that’s been fitted with an array of performance upgrades.

That list includes a Comp Cams camshaft, Air Flow Research heads, and a Holley EFI throttle body and injectors, helping the C4 make far more power than it did when it rolled off the assembly line. The beefed-up V8 is mated to a 700R4 automatic transmission, which itself has been upgraded with a 3,000 rpm stall converter.

Of course, adding power without upgrading the suspension is usually not a great idea, so Smith gave his Corvette a set of VanSteel coilovers, After Dark Speed rear strut rods, new sway bar end links, a Dana 44 rear end with 3.45 gears, and a set of C6 ZR1 wheels wrapped with Toyo R888R rubber.

Since all of that was completed, Smith routinely takes his C4 Corvette to the drag strip and even something called “Spectator Drags,” which pit multiple cars against each other over the course of five laps at the Lake Erie Speedway. Thus far, he’s run a best quarter-mile of 11.4 seconds at 118 mph, proving that we should never get rid of our first automotive love, even if it’s a bit too late for most of us to realize this.

Photos:Jarred Smith

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