Lambo doors on a Corvette: C3 to C7, and the C7 ZLR kit

There’s a kit for every Corvette from the 1968 C3 to the 2019 C7, and we sell more Corvette kits than anything else. The one we sell most is the C6. The C5 is next, then the C7, then the C4. We almost never sell a C3 kit. We don’t list a C8 kit.

The short version:

Generation	Years	Kit	What the install needs
C3	1968-1982	C3 kit	Bolts to the factory hinge points
C4	1984-1996	C4 kit	Bolts to the factory hinge points
C5	1997-2004	C5 kit	Front lip of each door trimmed, paint touched up on the inside
C6	2005-2013	C6 kit	Same door-lip trim, and the fenders come off
C7	2014-2019	C7 kit or C7 ZLR	Bolt on

Each kit is two hinges, one per side, two gas shocks and the mounting hardware, with VDI’s instructions. They’re built to order, which lately means one to two weeks before VDI ships, though I’ve quoted three weeks just to make one in the past. Once in a while we have an unused kit that came back from a customer, and a shop once bought a C7 one from us because it could ship that day and their customer was waiting. For an average kit I tell people 8 to 10 hours of install time. Shops quoting a customer’s Corvette ask us for a labor number too. And whether vertical doors are legal on the road where you live depends on your state, so check locally. That one I can’t answer for you.

Why do the C5 and C6 need cutting?

The door lip. On both cars the front edge of each door has to be trimmed so it clears as the door swings up, and the cut edge gets touch-up paint on the inside. VDI’s notes say it doesn’t affect the outside of the door. On the C6 the fenders come off for the install as well. When I forwarded a C6 owner’s question about doing it with the fenders on and no cutting, VDI’s whole reply was “You need to cut and remove the fenders,” with the instructions attached.

People don’t always read that part before they buy. In 2024 a C5 buyer opened the box, read the instructions without taking anything out, found there was cutting on the car, and sent the kit back unused. They had assumed it would just bolt on and adjust. If you’re on the fence about cutting a C5 or C6, ask me for the PDF first and read it.

The C6 kit fits every year, 2005 through 2013, every trim. For a long time our listing said 2005-2010, so people with a 2011 Grand Sport would write in to check, and they were right to. The page is fixed, but the old web address still has 2010 in it.

C5 convertibles are covered too; we’ve confirmed a 2001 convertible for a buyer overseas. Another C5 buyer asked whether the instructions came in Spanish. We don’t have a Spanish version.

Should I get the C7 kit or the C7 ZLR?

It’s about how you want the door to move. The standard C7 kit works like the other VDI kits: the door swings out like a normal door and then lifts straight up. The ZLR moves the door out and up in one diagonal motion. Both cover every C7, 2014 to 2019, Stingray, Grand Sport, Z06, ZR1. Both bolt on; when I asked VDI whether the C7 needed drilling or welding, the answer was “Bolt on” and a PDF.

Our ZLR page also used to carry the wrong years. A Grand Sport owner wrote in confused because the page offered the kit for a 2019 and then called it 2014-2016 in the description. It covers 2014 to 2019.

C6 owners ask for the diagonal style too; the last one called it McLaren style. VDI does make a ZLR for the C6, but the only ZLR in our catalog is the C7 one, and the C6 kit we sell is the out-then-up kind.

One ZLR note from VDI: the Windows Valet accessory hasn’t come through VDI since 2021. If you want one, it comes from Top-Down Tech.

The C7 questions I can’t answer straight away are the custom cars. Someone with a lot of custom work in the fenders asked whether the hinges could go in by unbolting just the top of the fender rather than pulling it off. I don’t know. That goes to VDI with photos, and so should anything else about a modified C7.

Is there a C8 kit?

Not from us right now. A shop asked for a C8 kit in early 2024 and we didn’t have one to sell them. VDI now lists C8 kits on its own site, including a separate one for the Z06 and E-Ray, but they aren’t in our catalog. If you have a C8, email me the exact year and trim and I’ll ask VDI whether we can order one for you.

What about the C3 and C4?

Both bolt to the factory hinge points. A C4 question I get is whether the door still opens the normal way. It does; the door swings out first, like a factory door, and only goes up when you lift it.

The other C4 question is wiring. One owner of a C4 coupe had heard the door harness has to be cut and extended and wanted to know if an extension came in the box. There’s no extension in the box, and I don’t have a written answer from VDI on the C4 harness, so if that matters to you, ask before you order and I’ll get one.

The C3 kit covers 1968 to 1982. There’s nothing earlier. For a 1965 convertible we had to tell the owner these are brand new, custom-made kits and we don’t have one that fits it.

I bought a Corvette that was already converted. Can you help with a shock?

We get this from owners who bought the car converted, sometimes from a dealer with no record of who did the work. A C7 owner wrote in like that after a passenger-side shock broke. I’ll look for an order, but usually there isn’t one with us. We only sell complete kits, so a single replacement shock goes through VDI, and they’ll want proof of purchase, which side, measurements and photos.