Corvette Model Gallery
1987 Convertible
On the surface there were few differences for 1987. The wheel
centers which were black for ‘84-85 and silver last year
were now painted argent grey. Also, all convertibles and some
early coupes received black plastic external mirror wind
deflectors. Internally a number of changes were made to the
engine which boosted horsepower by 10.
For performance enthusiasts it was a notable year for Corvette.
For the 4th straight year Vettes would go undefeated
in SCCA stock racing and this would lead to a Corvette only
series in 1988. Nineteen eighty-seven would also be the first
year for option B2K. With the click of a pen GM would send your
new car to Callaway Engineering in Old Lyme, Connecticut where
Reeves Callaway and his crew would create a 345 hp twin turbo
super car. Car and Driver would host a gathering of the fastest
in August during which a Callaway reached a speed of 231 mph.
While aftermarket companies wasted little time bringing out add
on pieces for the new C4 one of the most attractive redesigns
came from the American Sunroof Company. Named the Geneve it
eliminated the belt line strip and deeply rolled under rocker
panels as well as creating more attractive front and rear ends.
The Geneve merely proved the potential of the C4 design which GM
never fully used.
While the popularity of the convertible continued to increase
with one third of all cars being soft tops, the actual Vette
production would decrease too just over 35,000.
The model:
I’ve nick named this rebuilt promo, "the Albatross" because of the numerous problems that I had while building it. It started as a 1988 promo with a shattered windshield frame that I should have thrown out but decided to restore. I soon realized that the breakage had been the result of the brittle nature of some plastics and more breaks would occur and be repaired before I was finished. The model also proved to be a paint headache which required two baths in CSC before I was finally happy with the polished GM code #81 Bright Red finish. Numerous detail bits and pieces were replaced or modified including the tire/wheel combination before I was finished. I even found a use for modern technology in this model. The smooth black screens of the C4 dash were replicated using small pieces of a floppy disk.
I’m pleased to say that my perseverence paid off and this curbside kit has made a nice addition to my collection.
If you have any questions or comments for Robert, you can email him at r.wheeler@sk.sympatico.ca
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Page updated 09/15/02