C4 Corvette - The RIGHT Way To Get In & Out!

C far Corvettes are amazing , except when you have to get in and out of them today .

I'm going to show you two different methods that will suit all ages and body styles .

I'll also show you how to avoid the big mistakes that owners often make that can easily damage your car and cost you hundreds just from getting in and out .

Plus a few warnings that I found out about the hard way .

So step right up and I'll show you how to do this the right way .

Hi , I'm Brad and welcome to retro cars .

Forever New Channel aim , but still focusing on how to have fun with retro cars from the eighties nineties and two thousands .

And it's hard to find a car from that era .

That's more fun .

The drive than 1/4 generation Corvette like mine .

The only trouble is getting in or out has more challenges than an obstacle course .

The foot space is narrow , the seat bolsters are prominent and there are these tall structural seals that you have to step up and over .

But the biggest challenge you cannot use the steering wheel to help you .

This is the number one mistake that most owners make and it leads to one of the most common issues you'll see in these cars , a loose steering column especially evident if you pull the wheel down into the left , like you see in this example , if you put any of your weight on the steering wheel while entering or exiting , eventually , the pins or the housing deep within the column will bend or break fixing .

This is a complicated fiddly job , do it yourself and plan on around 300 bucks in parts and tools and a full day of aggravation take it in and have it done for you and it will cost you about a grand .

So here's how to get in and out of your C four without touching the steering wheel .

So you don't have to deal with that problem in the first place .

There are two methods .

One that's quicker and easier , but you need to be agile and in decent shape to do it .

The other method is slower but much easier on the body .

All right , let's start with the first method because this is the one that I use every day , open the door as wide as you can .

The further out the door is the easier .

This will be a saving grace is the fiberglass doors are very light and easy to open and close .

Take your right foot and thread it through the space between the steering wheel and the seat resting it in the foot .

Well , now this is the trickiest part , you're going to duck your head down to clear the roof and stick your butt out , angling it towards the center of the car .

Be careful not to rub your seat against this side bolster , this section can wear out fast if you do .

So , try to aim your butt towards the middle of the seat .

Instead , this will sort of feel like a trust fall .

But if you use your leg muscles , you'll be able to control your descent into the cockpit , finally guide your left leg up and over the sill and into the car and you're in getting out is basically the reverse of this process .

Notice that I'm not really using my hands for anything but balance getting in or out .

This method is all about leg strength .

So what if you don't have much leg strength or you can't contort your body the way that you used to be able to ?

Well , here's the second way to get in and out without harming your car .

It takes more time , but it's easier on the body first .

Make sure your steering wheel is tilted all the way up to give you more space , open the door as wide as you can then stand 90 degrees away from the opening , bend down and put your hands on the sills to help support your weight , stick your butt out and drop down into the seat .

You might find it easier to park it on the sill and then scooting down into the seat either way .

Once you're seated , you'll rotate yourself around , lift each leg one after the other up and over the sill and into the cabin .

If your leg strength ain't what it used to be .

You can use your hands and arms to guide your feet in getting out .

It's the same thing , but in reverse , just remember to tilt the wheel up to give you more room .

You'll really notice how your hands and arms will help you up using this method .

Earlier , C fours have plastic sills with a pad built in to one side to help with this .

But for some reason , they dropped the sill design in 1988 leaving just bare carpeting instead .

And speaking of sills , I'd highly recommend that anyone who has carpeted sills like mine get covers , these are not stock , but they really should have been the opening between the dash and the door opening is super narrow .

So no matter which method you use to get in and out , your feet will inevitably drag against this part of the sill .

If you have the stock bare carpeting here , it will wear out quickly and sill covers protect against that .

There are a ton of different companies out there that make these silk covers so you can pick and choose whatever design you like .

Best installation is pretty easy and they go for about 75 bucks a pair .

Well worth it .

A word of caution for either method .

Watch out for this window glass .

If you're going to leave it up , as you can see the glass curves in quite a bit towards the top .

And it's easy to smack your face on it when exiting the car , especially if it's a tight space and you can't open the door all the way I did this way more times than I care to admit when I first got my car and one last tip , don't brace yourself against the top of the car .

Either these removable target tops are either going to be made of a light fiberglass that matches the body color or very thin .

See through acrylic like the top I have installed right now .

Either way it's yet another delicate piece of the C four that you're gonna want to avoid putting your weight on .

So , yeah , getting in and out of ac four Corvette is a challenge harder than any of the other Corvette generations .

But like anything , the more you practice it , the easier it gets , it'll seem tricky at first , but eventually it will become muscle memory and hey , look at the bright side who couldn't use a little bit of an extra workout in their daily routine .

So those are my tips .

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So you don't miss more ways that you can enjoy retro cars forever .

Well , guess it's time for a daily exercise .

So , thank you for watching and I'll see you next time .

Ok .

One , two oh three .

Feel the burn .