1984 Corvette in Gulf Oil Livery Is Definition of Rare

Gulf Oil liveries were made famous on Ford GT and Porsche 917 race cars. Why is that paint scheme on a Corvette?

We really like C4-generation Corvettes around here, but the first-year 1984 cars are probably the most troublesome you can buy today. The L83 Cross-Fire Injection V8 is not the best system, and there are a few other early C4 issues that you’ll have to contend with. This car being an automatic makes it perhaps one of the least desirable Corvettes ever built. With just 205 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque, the car wasn’t as fast as a Corvette should be, putting in a 7-second 0-60 time, and tripping the lights in the quarter-mile with a sluggish 15.5 seconds at 88 miles per hour. Great Scott!

Though when we stumbled upon this Corvette in Gulf Oil livery via Corvette Blogger, we threw those 1984 caveats out the window. With gorgeous powder-blue over marigold-orange paint, this car is a knockout. The colors were made quite famous by racing cars throughout history, beginning in the 1960s. Unfortunately, none of the famous cars that ran the livery were Corvettes, or even Chevrolets.

This paint scheme is mostly known for use on John Wyer’s Ford GTs and later Porsche 917s. While a few privateer efforts have used the colors on various other race cars through the ages, we couldn’t find a single example of a Corvette bearing the distinction. Why paint this otherwise-stock C4 in a racing livery with a racing roundel on the hood and doors? For years people have been trying to put lipstick on a pig, and this Corvette might be the best example of such.

The Corvette is available for sale on Craigslist in Northwest Georgia if you’re interested in owning it. The listing provides almost no information, even excluding the car’s mileage or history, but demands a higher-than-expected $4,900 price. Had this been a 1996 model with 330 horsepower and a proper 6-speed manual, we’d be ecstatic at the price, but for a 1984 of any flavor, we’re inclined to let this one pass. Chime in with your thoughts on this strange car over on the forum.

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