what corvette came with a rollcage
i just recently bought a 1984 corvette with a rollcage and was wondering if that was factory installed. It is yellow but it looks like it was painted over from it being red it also has an emblem saying that it is a ZX-1.
6 Answers
RudeAwakening answered 17 years ago
It could've been a limited production run that also included some performance upgrades. Back in the day, Chevrolet and Ford were notorious for producing a limited number of cars that had a handful of great options.
According to the Corvette Black Book. There was never a roll cage installed by the factory. This has to be an aftermarket install, or maybe someone built it for the track.
Hi vette819, I don't believe this was installed from the factory. Unless your vehicle is a special model or has an insignia I would assume it was put on aftermarket. Hope this helps!
Roll cages are required by race and competition sanctioning bodies (Trans AM, IHRA, NHRA, SCCA, MCSRA, IROC and NASCAR) with each have their own specifications for roll cages. I checked the "GM Power Book" and I am confident GM did not install roll cages, not even in the COPO "race only" Corvettes. These were very limited production race-vehicles like the Daytona coupes, L-88, ZL-1 and ZR-1 cars of the mid-sixties to early seventies. GM central purchasing office would install the "race only engine" from the factory but the racers had to install the roll cage themselves in preparation for racing. The previous owner must have installed it.
They are most often installed by the more serious "club racers" too. So it could have been a weekend toy for someone and it may even have been installed years or decades after the date of manufacture.
You just bought a "beater" car. One that no doubt has seen many a race track. It's been repainted to repair the nicks and cracks from being bumped or crashed. Make sure your alignment on all four wheels are correct. Have the suspension checked for street running condition. You may have a low mileage motor and transmission due to a racing motor and trans having been replaced. If not, good luck. The 1984 Corvette was not one of the better year for Corvettes. It is a first year run on a new model and it was plagued with several issues. If this is a racer car, many of those things may have been changed and upgraded. Have an expert Corvette mechanic check your car out to protect you from any unseen problems.
