At $16,000, Does This 1986 Chevy Corvette Convertible Set The Pace?

With another Indy 500 now in the history books,  we’re going to look back at a pacer from the past. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Corvette has an interesting history and appears to be in great shape. Could that ensure its price takes the checkered flag?

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I can remember back from when I was a kid, seeing signs in mom-and-pop stores that would warn “You Break It, You Bought It.” For a little kid with typically just enough money scraped together in his pocket to buy a bottle of Coke, those signs pretty much terrified me.

The 1991 Dodge Daytona Shelby Turbo we looked at last Friday was broken. You couldn’t tell that by looking at it as the car, as overall it appeared to be in pretty decent shape. According to the ad, however, it suffered from the infamous crank/no-start/no-clue syndrome. You all were of the opinion that if it’s already broke, don’t buy it, and at $7,500, the Shelby went down in an overwhelming 83 percent No Dice loss.

This weekend saw the 105 running of the Indianapolis 500 race, anointed a long time ago as “the greatest spectacle in motor racing.” The pace car at this year’s race was a spankin’-new 2023 Chevy Corvette ZO6, and that was driven by the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton. This year marks the 20th time that a Corvette has paced the Brickyard classic.

Amazingly, it took over 20 years from the Vette’s introduction for the model to make its debut as the pace car at the race. That took place in 1975 and it would be a full decade and a year before the Vette would make a return visit. That same span of time saw the Corvette only offered in coupe form, with 1986 marking the return of the full folding-top convertible as well as the Pace Car honor.

It was Chuck Yeager that year who piloted a fly yellow Corvette convertible around the two and half mile track, setting the pace for the racers. Rains delayed the race for nearly a week with the checkered flag eventually being taken by Bobby Rahal for the Truesports team on the following Saturday after the Memorial Day weekend.

While General Yeager’s pace car was yellow—and that’s the expected color for all the replicas sold for ’86—the fact is the Pace Car honor was denoted on ALL Corvette convertibles sold that year via a dash plaque and (optional) gold side decals provided regardless of body color.

That makes this black-on-black 1986 Chevy Corvette convertible Indy Pace Car perfectly acceptable despite not being the real pacer’s iconic fly yellow color.

According to the ad, this ’86 drop-top also has a few tricks up its sleeve. The seller notes in the ad that it has “all kinds of new stuff. New tires, paint, seats, motor parts and more.” They also state that they “consider the car in very Good condition, but not quite excellent. Most Craigslist people would say like new or excellent.” I don’t know who these Craigslist people are but they sound kind of easy to please.

This model year didn’t just mark the return of the convertible to the Corvette fold, it also brought back performance with the introduction of the 230 horsepower “Tuned Port Injection” L98 350 V8. That engine looks very tidy in the ad’s photos and is backed up by an 700R4 four-speed automatic (sorry shifty folk) for worry-free cruising.

This model year also still had the retro-futuristic digital dash although on this car the goofy bread box on the passenger side has been replaced with a more practical fabric sleeve. A garish steering wheel cover and chrome-plated roll bar are the only other non-factory parts here, and everything else looks to be in perfectly serviceable shape.

The bodywork, later-model wheels, and beefy tires all do as well, with the overall package offering plenty of at-the-curb appeal. The car has 168,000 miles on the clock and comes with a clean title. All wrapped up, could that totally be worth $16,000?

What do you say, is this classic (yes, C4s are now classic) Corvette worth that kind of asking? Or, is that price totally off the pace?

You decide!

Reno, Nevada, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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