Ten Things ‘MotorWeek’ Taught Us About the 1984 Corvette

Facts big and small about the first year of the Corvette’s fourth generation.

Like many of you, we’ve lost untold hours watching old episodes of MotorWeek on YouTube. What can we say? Watching old car reviews is fun.

This very special episode from 1984 isn’t a standard MotorWeek review, though. Instead, the program’s entire half hour is dedicated to an in-depth look at the then-new C4 Corvette.

Throughout the course of watching the video, we learned a ton of fascinating facts about the earliest C4s. Here are ten of our favorites.

#1 — The Design

Everyone these days is excited about the upcoming mid-engine C8 Corvette, and for good reason. It’s not an exaggeration to say we’ve been waiting a while. Chevrolet has been experimenting with mid-engine Corvette designs since shortly after the car’s inception. Things really kicked into high gear with the rotary-powered Aerovette concept of 1976.

That concept car actually received the green light for production. However, it was ultimately cancelled. In 1977, the final decision had been made that the next Corvette — the first all-new design since the 1963 Corvette — would maintain the classic front-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration. That car became the 1984 Corvette.

#2 — The Headlights

We love pop-up headlights. Heck, that’s probably one of the reasons we love Corvettes so much. From 1963 to 2004, the Corvette featured those aerodynamic, hide-away headlights we love.

The C4’s unique mechanism didn’t just pop the lights up and down, it rotated them into position. Anyway, here’s a super nerdy fact for your next Corvette club trivia night — according to host John Davis, the mechanism seen on the C4 rotates the headlights exactly 167 degrees.

#3 — The Battery

The eminently quotable Benjamin Franklin once said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. We’d like to add a third undeniable truth to that statement — all Delco batteries have a familiar red, white, and blue label. Sure, the style has changed over the years, but each is as recognizable as the one that came before.

That’s not the case for the 1984 Corvette, though. The Delco batteries fitted at the factory have a unique black and silver label. Why? Chevrolet wanted it to match the black and silver motif seen under the hood of the then-new Corvette. Now that’s attention to detail!

#4 — The Hood

Speaking of the hood, it’s one big honkin’ piece of fiberglass. Upon the release of the original Corvette in 1953, it was hailed for its revolutionary use of fiberglass.

As it turns out, that spirit of innovation lives on in the C4 Corvette built over 30 years later. At the time, the forward-hinged clamshell hood was the largest single piece of fiberglass ever molded for a production automobile.

#5 — The Tires

The 1984 Corvette came standard with Goodyear Eagle GT tires, which were excellent for their era. However, the optional Goodyear VR50 tires were truly something to behold.

Developed from Formula 1 rain tire technology, the VR50 could handle sustained speeds of over 130 miles per hour — and last 40,000 miles in the process. Of course, tire technology has come a long way since then, but this was pretty heady stuff for 1984. The Goodyear VR50 tire became standard equipment in 1985.

#6 — The Wheels

Of course, those tires need to wrap around something. In the case of the 1984 Corvette, that something was a set of 16″ wheels. While the standard cars got meaty 8.5″ wide wheels all around, cars with the Z51 handling package could be had with even wider 9.5″ wheels out back.

This staggered setup would last just one year, as 1985 and later Corvettes received the wider wheels at all four corners. Staggered fitment would return to the C4 Corvette in 1990, when the ZR-1 received some truly steamroller-esque 11-inchers out back.

#7 — The Seats

There were three seat options offered for the 1984 Corvette. An overwhelming majority of these cars were ordered with the optional leather seats. As a result, you might be surprised to discover that cloth upholstery was standard equipment.

What’s even more surprising is that the optional sport seats were offered in cloth only. If you wanted leather, you had to order the standard seats — or wait until 1985, when leather sport seats were added to the options list.

#8 — The Breadbox

The large, rectangular padded section on the early C4 Corvette’s dash is known among enthusiasts as the “breadbox.” It’s a much-maligned aspect of the original C4’s interior, and many enthusiasts will actually disassemble the dash to remove it. Eckler’s sells a panel that fills the space and looks how the car should have come from the factory.

What you probably don’t know is that the breadbox was originally designed to house a passenger-side airbag. While it would be several more years before manufacturers began making airbags standard equipment on new cars, GM had actually been experimenting with the technology since the early 1970s.

For the record, the C4 finally got a driver’s side airbag in 1990, with the passenger side airbag arriving in 1994.

#9 — The Transmission

1984 Corvettes ordered with a manual transmission received the unusual Doug Nash 4+3 transmission. This four-speed manual offered an electronic overdrive on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear at sustained speeds. It’s a bizarre mix of high and low tech.

In all reality, this was an updated version of the Borg-Warner T10 that first debuted in Corvettes way back in 1957. Former racer Doug Nash purchased the design from Borg Warner, updated it, and mounted a clever (or infuriating, depending on who you ask) electro-hydraulic overdrive unit to the back. In 1989 the 4+3 was replaced with a ZF-sourced 6-speed on the Corvette options list.

#10 — The Factory

You probably know that the 1984 Corvette was the first one built at the now-famous Bowling Green assembly plant. However, this MotorWeek video sheds light on some interesting details we didn’t previously know about the facility.

While the Bowling Green workers were among the best and brightest at GM at the time, they still had their share of fun building the then-new Corvette (who wouldn’t)? All around the plant, we see whimsical signs at various stations where major parts of the assembly occur.

Early on in the process, the birdcage was welded together by a large robot. The employees dubbed this robot “Pac-Man,” and named the other welding robots after the ghosts you chase (or avoid) in the classic arcade game. As the robotic arms move, we see names like “Binky,” “Pinky,” and “Clyde.” How’s that for an ’80s throwback?

So there you have it — ten things we learned about the 1984 Corvette from MotorWeek. Did you learn anything new? Which fact was your favorite? Be sure to let us know in our forums.

.