Our first car. Those three words can have different meanings for people. Some recall fondly the vehicle that brought them their newfound freedom. Others recall the heap of bolts they were “gifted” in a hand-me-down from an older sibling. There are also those lucky few such as Jarred Smith and his C4 Corvette, who are still making memories with their first car many years afterward.

Just like any red-blooded, American teenager, Jarred wanted his first car to make a statement. He wanted something cool, but it also had to be affordable. The C4 Corvette fit that bill nicely. When the C4 Corvette first hit the streets in the ‘80s, it was packed full of technology and took the world by storm. Future generations of Corvettes built upon the performance platform that was poured by the C4 and eventually, those 1984-1996 Corvettes began to lose their luster to many of the power-thirsty masses.

C4 Corvettes are still great cars and Jarred was fortunate enough to get one as his first car. He was also wise enough to hold onto it.

Nine years ago, when Jarred first received this 1990 Corvette, he had plenty of fine examples from which to choose. He found this Tune-Port beauty and instantly began making it more to his liking. Of course, we all know the TPI system on the early C4 Corvettes was a torque monster, but as the RPM rose above 5K, the engine came down with a severe case of asthma. A switch over to an ACCEL Super Ram helped the engine breathe so it could better use all the components Jarred added over the years.

Under that intake now resides a 383 stroker small-block with a set of aluminum Air Flow Research 195 heads. A little further down you’ll find a COMP 08-503-8 camshaft pushing a set of 1.6:1 rocker arms. Jarred topped everything off with a Holley EFI 58mm throttle body and 42 lb. injectors. Behind that is a 700R4 automatic upgraded with a 3,000 RPM stall converter.

While the C4 handled pretty well back in the day, Jarred modernized the way his Corvette puts the power to the pavement. He swapped out the factory shocks for a complete VanSteel coilover system so he could have better adjustability on how the car handles. He also upgraded the rear strut rods to a set from After Dark Speed and replaced the sway bar end links while he was at it. One of the biggest visual and performance changes to any car comes from changing out the wheels and tires. Jarred went with a set of C6 ZR1 wheels shod with some new TOYO r888r tires all around. To reliably put all that power down through those ultra-sticky tires, the Dana 36 rear which was factory-filled into all C4 Corvettes built with an automatic transmission, was replaced for the hefty Dana 44 variant fitted with 3.45 gears that the manually-shifted cars received.

C4 Corvette Still Has Performance That Thrills

Since Jarred has finished his fourth-generation Corvette to his liking, the only thing left to do is to enjoy it, which he does with a vengeance. We initially came across Jarred and his C4 in a video he posted in the Corvette Track Enthusiasts Facebook group. Since this is a private group, you would need to join the group to view the video. We’ve included a few screen captures for those non-members.

In the video, Jarred was tearing up the track in what is called a “Spectator Drags” event. In the video, Jarred pits his black C4 against several other competitors for five laps around the Lake Erie Speedway. Spectator Drags are a “run what you brung” type of event and many different vehicles are used. We will say that Jarred did pretty well in the video and wielded his Corvette through traffic to gain the lead by the end of five laps. Not to be a one-trick pony, Jarred also takes his Corvette to the dragstrip. He reports that his car has run a personal best of 11.4 seconds in the quarter mile at 118 miles per hour.

While some wouldn’t ever dream of driving their Corvette around a track with other competitors or using their Corvette in a drag race, Jarred has been enjoying this particular C4 Corvette for almost a decade. These cars are still a value-packed alternative to getting a performance car without blowing the budget as folks like Jarred are finding out daily. We’d say he’s only getting more smiles per gallon as the years roll on.