1985 Corvette: How to Resuscitate

Corvettes are toys, and sometimes they get put aside for life’s other priorities. Can a 1985 C4 that has been off the road since 2001 be resurrected?

The C4 was a huge technological leap forward for the Corvette. It was a completely new design with state-of-the-art performance in 1984. The retro-cool LCD dash allowed the driver to control the information on the display. The suspension was completely new, and had a focus on lightweight. It used a composite mono-leaf spring on both the front and rear suspension. Step forward a year, and the 1985 C4, eschewing the previous year’s maligned Cross-Fire fuel injection for tuned-port injection, is an icon of American car sports car design. But are all 1985s worth saving?

As it goes with mass-production cars, some are kept pristine, while others get driven hard and put away wet. The lower-mile garage queens command a premium, and the dirty girls go for pennies. In this video from YouTube channel “TheCorvetteBen,” we go through the process of trying to revive a 1985 C4 that has been off the road since 2001.

This once bright-red C4 is a complete project car. The interior is rough, and so is the engine bay. The host, Ben, has a 1985 C4 himself that he fixed up. Steve, the owner of the red C4, reached out to Ben for help with the project.

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This story is a sad one, so don’t expect a happy ending. The process starts with the fuel, which is very old and has gone bad. With the gas out of the tank, Ben cleans out the rust in the tank. With fresh gas, gaskets, and a fuel filter the C4 is running. But it is running very poorly, and is misfiring. After changing out the cheapest parts, the spark plugs, the problem persists. He then replaces the injectors and it still won’t idle right. This is the snowball effect. The more you open and try to fix, the more problems or preventative maintenance you will need to do. Check out the full video to see the end result, and remember to care for your Corvette.

Let us know what you think in the comments.