No matter how light a car is (even if it’s made of carbon fiber), it can always be a little lighter. How? Easy — just remove all that pesky bodywork. Problem solved! That’s exactly what someone did to shave weight off our Pick of the Day. You can find this 1986 Chevrolet Corvette custom kart listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Homer City, Pennsylvania.
The Corvette was all-new for 1984, but engineers incorporated several updates just two years later. Standard anti-lock brakes helped bring the ’86 model to a stop without roasting, and flat-spotting the tires. A convertible returned to the lineup after an 11-year absence. The switch to new aluminum heads partway through the model year bumped output from the L98 5.7-liter V-8 up slightly to 235 horsepower. Tubular anti-roll bars saved weight yet remained stiff enough to help the C4 handle. Whether it was equipped with the four-speed automatic or the Dough Nash 4+3 manual gearbox, the Corvette coupe tipped the scales at about 3,200 pounds.
How much does this skeletonized C4 “Poorvette” weigh? Let’s just say “less than that.” There’s just enough nose left to surround the pop-up headlights, a roof structure, and a minimized panel surrounding the taillights. A set of LG Motorsports wheels fitted with Riken Raptor tires replaces the stock rollers. The exposed (and Holley-carbureted) L98 up front expels “Prius Repellent” through a quad exhaust system.
Everything else is either gone completely or partially replaced with the thinnest of substitutes, such as the bumpers, which are now poles that coordinate with the cockpit’s red center tunnel and yellow seats with red harnesses. The dash, gauges, and center stack are aftermarket, but there appear to be two holdovers from the original car: the two-spoke steering wheel and the very naked automatic shifter.
It seems as if every Corvette that’s ever been sold has been modified in one way or another, but I’ve never seen one quite like this 1986 Chevrolet Corvette custom kart. It weighs a lot less than stock, but it would still make quite an impact at a local car show. You can get all that attention and the questions that will come with it for $9,900.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com
