The good news for 1986 96 c4 owners is there s a direct bolt in aftermarket solution designed by gordon killebrew.
C4 corvette chassis stiffener.
Vette2vette products calls it their c4 no flex kit.
Scott teeters the c2 c3 chassis had an amazing 20 year production run.
1984 96 corvette chassis reinforcement cc tech c4 corvette chassis reinforcement tips from central lsx fs for cross brace c4 frame corvetteforum chevrolet fs for cross brace c4 frame corvetteforum chevrolet.
Our pals at corvette central have once again expanded their tech library this time with a tutorial on the why and how of reinforcing the chassis on a c4 corvette coupe the why is actually pretty simple as author chris petris points out with the top removed corvettes of this vintage have a propensity to hinge a bit in the middle due to the lost structural integrity.
Corvette central offers a cross frame part number 184146 built from rectangular tubing that is much stiffer than the o e.
If you ever want to remove the cross frame it is easy to do because rivet nuts are used to hold the unit in place.
After 20 years of use the c2 c3 corvette chassis was finally replaced with a strong lightweight vastly improved chassis and structure.
It s a frame stiffener.
With the c4 no flex frame stiffener bar system installed you should be able to open either door or hood with the car jacked up.
How to take a body off of a c4 corvette frame we had wrecked one in the body shop back in 86 the whole thing is coated in abs plastic you have to break the pieces off just to straighten the frame there was broken plastic everywhere.
8 9 19 illustrations from gm archives grahics by k.
C4 no flex frame stiffener bar system benefits will work on both the coupe and the convertible there will be noticeably less body twist and roll when driving makes the frame more solid so the front end will not flex when driving on curves.
When dave mclellan took over as corvette s chief engineer in 1975 the corvette was overdue for a redesign.