1988 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe - One Great ’88

This isn’t one of them.

In fact, one of the last times that Guy Moyers’s ’88 Corvette was on a trailer was when it was shipped from Bowling Green Assembly to its original selling dealer.

And it had covered plenty of distance by the time he saw it for the first time, back in the mid-’90s. “My wife and I were at a funeral in Virginia, and we saw it for sale on a corner lot,” Moyers says. “We did a quick U-turn, and we saw that it was a daily driver that had a lot of miles on it.” In fact, the 74,000-plus miles on the car then were all highway miles.

Before long, that ’88 was in Moyers’ Exton, Pennsylvania, garage and workshop. Before any modifications or upgrades went on it, Moyers went through it. “I went all over the car to make sure that it was mechanically sound,” he recalls. “I did any repairs myself.”

That meant starting with the ’88’s body, which gained a Greenwood ground-effects kit that fit Moyers’ preference for C4 style and function. He then turned his attention to the suspension. “I put Bilstein shocks, heavy-duty sway bars, and higher-rate springs on, and polyurethane bushings from front to back,” he says.

Note that except for the driveshaft work, and the machining and reassembly of the short-block, Moyers did it all himself. That’s also how he upgraded the C4’s 350-inch L98 small-block and 700R4 overdrive automatic—all work done in his shop, except for machine-shop services.

When it came time to get into the powertrain, he’d sought out plenty of advice before he turned a wrench on it. “I planned the engine project for over a year before I actually started doing it,” Moyers says of his research, which led him to TPIS in Minnesota. “They gave me advice on how to keep everything compatible, so it works as a unit. The end result was an engine that exceeded my expectations.”

On the street, and on the twisty roads in and around the Delaware Valley, Moyers’ C4 is no less strong a runner. “The first time I tested it with the nitrous installed, my wife was scared to death of it—she thought it was going to explode!” Moyers says. “I opened it up on the [Pennsylvania] Turnpike, and she grabbed my leg and started screaming. I said, ‘I can tune out the screaming; just don’t grab me—that’s dangerous!’”

Since John Machaqueiro shot these pictures of the ’88, Moyers has updated it again, as he does each year when he has it off the road from October to April. “I changed the dash, and I’ve now got a complete Auto Meter analog gauge set in it. It’s gorgeous, with the white Phantom gauges.” The car has also thrown off some trouble codes, so he’s having TPIS reprogram his C4’s PROM to eliminate that problem.

Moyers also made one mod that’s really cool. “I moved the transmission cooler from the front of the car all the way to the back,” he says. “I’ve now got a big B&M cooler on there with a fan on it.” That change now lets his C4’s 700R4 run 15 degrees cooler, while the engine runs 10 degrees cooler, too.

I would suggest that you speak to as many credible sources as you can,” he says. “Openly discuss with them what your vision is for the finished product, and then bring a very big checkbook—unless you’re prepared to do it all yourself.

“There are so many people that want to give you advice, but you really have to be able to confirm their credibility. You do that by asking around.”

Spec Sheet

'88 Coupe