The13Bats

I'm bored and curious what got some of you into vettes specifically c3's,

Here is my story,
It was the late 70's I hung at the local cruise nights I saw some cool cars come through, Cudas, Chevelles, 'stangs, etc,

I really didn't know all that much about the vettes of the day and you would even see midyears tooling around,
I see this film called "Corvette Summer" the acting was poor the script great for someone about the same age as the lead guy, Luke skywalker playing some looser gear head...yep, I relate.

The car....love it or hate it you will never forget it,
I went wild on my 78 camaro, metal flares, scoops, candy metal flake paint,

I was bored with the camaro then one night cruising I was behind a low wide car, it had 69 firebird tail lights huge tires and flares and when it turned the corner a flashing light up in under the rear highlighted the spinning 1/2 shafts...WTH....I need one of those,

I started looking it was in that cusp, the bubble butt 78 had just came out the cove rear window cars were everywhere,

So I read up...holy smoke...you can buy a corvette with a big block..( the baddest car at the cruise was a 427 camaro ) Lord that is what I need, my mind starts to drift and dream,...o 0 ( it will do sub 10's in the 1/4 it will go 500mph...)
I was a young cat with way more daydreams than facts.

It was a time when personalized cars ruled...custom was king, I swapped my camaro and a few $$$ for a tired rode hard put up wet 72 bb ac 4 speed car, po's had hopped it up a tad.
I busted the gear box twice the first month,

Anyway the thing that lit a flame that never went out was just how darn cool and exotic I thought vettes were.
Nothing like them, sadly I seldom see c3's in traffic these days, the cover blew off mine the other day I hadnt seen it in months, oddly I got that same tingle that one car gave me all those years ago.....I gotta get on that frame swap....

MrJlr

They're just what Corvettes looked like when I was a kid...
It's how I remember Corvettes

To be honest, these newer Vettes don't even look like Corvettes (to me at least!)

The13Bats

I owned a 86 sorry c4 guys yawn....might as well been a camero or firebird of the same years,
The newer the vettes get the less interested I am, a brand new one was driving along wife said would you rather have that...I said would I have to keep it? she replied of course, I said, pass.....

jnealg

in 1973 I was 8 and this pulled into our driveway. My uncle showed up with his new 72. he still has it.

81 vette vent

The first time I saw an 81 vette in town. I was 15 and thought Chevrolet got it right. The front and rear spoiler. The wide fenders. I loved everything about it but the motor. Almost any car from the early 70s would blow it's doors off. I've had 63s, 69s, 73s, 02s, and an 07ZO6, but none of them looked as good as the 81~82.
Now I have an 81 with a blower and sidepipes. This is the car I dreamed about as a teenager. I even remember drawing this car setting in high school class. I painted it back the original burgandy, then I added 2 coats of pearl, and two coats of candy. I love to see high school boys look at it and want know everything about it. These cars still light fires in young hearts 30 plus years later.

Jay71

Awesome stories. I was a kid in the 70's, so I remember seeing C3's on the roads, and having them as matchbox/hot wheels/plastic model kits. In 1979(?), two young friends visited my family - they graduated high school and their parents bought them a 78 Pace Car and Bandit Trans Am. From that moment on, I was hooked on cars ! When I graduated college, I walked into a dealership and bought a new 1992 Corvette. Although I loved that car, I always wanted a C3. So, when my son was born 9 years ago, I made the decision to buy my first old car - my 71 vette !

540 vette

The looks, no other style vette looks as good as a C3.

doorgunner

When I was 7,walking to school in 1957, I saw this car like no other one spring morning.

Fast-forward to 1968...there's this red rocketship/jet fighter without wings sitting on the dealership showroom floor uptown....chrome everywhere....twice the price of the Camaro convertible sitting next to it. I couldn't afford the Vette, but I couldn't let the Camaro get away for $90 a month!

45 years pass....I've seen Vette models come and go....and I'm glad most of them went.......

The fall of 2013...there's this '68 convertible basket-case Vette on the internet that no one wants---Lo and behold, it's on the other side of town---two flat tires, broken doorglass, raccoon nests in the cockpit, dash parts everywhere but on the dash, ignition switch hanging down to the floor, wrong engine, wrong transmission, hartop halfway off,wrong year.....errrr.....decade rear taillight clip, wrong front bumper clip, no exhausts.....high-rise hood just like I always pictured in my little mind.....dust 1/4" thick inside and out....




IT'S MAGNIFICENT!




Wife sees a picture of it..................throws a fit......

I throw a bigger fit....

My new girl is in the garage!!!!

fozbrick69

My old man had a few vettes in the 70's & early 80's. The last one he had was a '63 split window. Riverside red/red. I put the trans in it when I was 13 years old ! ! ! He sold in in 1983 when I was 14. I cried when it left the driveway. $10,500 was the selling price. Since I was 19, now 45, I have had at least 10 vettes. Now in my stable are a '65 coupe, '69 427 coupe and a '74 L82 4 speed custom THAT IS FOR SALE!!!

Life is WAY too short! Drive & enjoy your cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

stpman

When I was around 6 my older sister (12 yrs older) went out with a guy that showed up in a 63 split window I fell in love with the Corvette right then

Jack605

Life is WAY too short! Drive & enjoy your cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/QUOTE]



I have always loved the way C3 vetts look, I remember building plastic models of them as a kid. Well this fall I finally indulged myself and bought a project C3 convertable vett that I am hoping to have drivable by April. (Then I will finish with the 53 M37)

Pat

oldschoolvette

It looks and feels like a Corvette

The C3 is the best of all worlds

HOOAH

I grew up in a single parent (father) household for a lot of my younger years. My dad has always been a Vette-head since I can remember. I've also heard the stories (smashed up a few and bought and sold a few) and seen the old pictures of him standing next to his Vettes. Anyway, one day in 1973 I came out of school and saw this shiny new Ontario Orange 72 Vette sitting a little ways down the road with it's parking lights on. As I stood waiting for my dad to pick me up in our Chevy half ton pickup, I thought how wonderful it would be to someday ride in a Vette like that. About that time the Vette pulled up in front of the school and HOLY S!#t my dad was driving it. He had picked it up while I was in school and surprised me with it. We cruised that car all over the place. After all it was now our family car (besides a 68 Pontiac Catalina we used only during the Wisconsin Winters).

All of my dads friends would come over to our apartment on the weekends and they would all wash their Vettes (a couple of C2's and 3's). Looking back now I remember those cars but also now know that they were all for the most part, brand new. I still remember the new car smell of that 72. I have been hooked ever since.

Terry

taylor34

When I was growing up, my favorite car was the Corvette. Wanted one forever, and finally about 2 1/2 years ago I started looking for a fun car to drive to work (was driving a minivan). So as I started searching, I realized that I could actually get a c5 corvette without being too bad off.

So the search for a c5 began. Looked for several months, everyone wanted a ton for their 10 year old c5's. I was looking for something in the 16k range for one with 50k to 75k miles, thought that wouldn't be too hard...I was definitely mistaken. Most people wanted 18k to 19k to start and wouldn't budge...I'm thinking, well if I'm going that high, a 2005 c6 is only $23k for 4 or 5 years newer, total no brainer. So I sat on that c5/c6 line for a while, waiting for something to come along and finally jumped on a pretty good deal for an 08 c6.

Was so excited, but yet at the same time a little apprehensive as a few younger people who had bought newer c6's had gotten backlash (I was 34 at the time). Unfortunately, I had some people be rather rude to me right away on it, which basically just made me super self conscious about driving it. I then got some more unsupportive comments later on, and I decided to just sell the thing as it was having the opposite effect of what I was hoping.

Fast forward a few months, I still have the desire to own a Corvette, but I know for sure that it can't be a newer one. So I start scoping out the older generations, and it was obvious right off the bat that I couldn't afford a c1 or c2. That left c3 and c4, and there's no way I was going to get a c4. So that left c3, a car I'd really liked as a kid, but knew nothing about. So I started reading a ton of stuff, started looking for cars. Finally found a 72 in Nebraska and pulled the trigger on it. From the second I started driving it I knew that this is what I should have been driving in the first place...nobody is going to give you crap for a 40 year old car, and if they do you pretty much know that they're an idiot. Plus I can work on the car and learn, which is pretty awesome. Gotten way more compliments on the c3 than I ever did with the c6, lol. Had zero thoughts about selling it, all I think about is what I'm going to do next to it.

oldgto

When I was 13 years old, the C3 was introduced. I had a bazillion Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars.... but when I got that Corvette.... it was special. It stayed on the dresser, NOT in the box with all the other scratched up cars.
As I grew up, I had many, many cars, but thought I`d never be able to afford a Corvette. Got married, had kids to haul around, so a 2 seater was impractical anyway. Wife & I built a few classic cars together, but the thought of a sports car was always "someday".
Now, getting close to retirement, wife finds a 71 coupe for sale from the second owner. Numbers match, but it`s in bad shape. Price is reasonable for a project, but I`m not sure. Wife convinces me that it would be fun, we can do it, not the worst car we`ve rebuilt, etc.
So now we`re building our retirement toy!

Torqued Off

Just look at it! and that is all that it takes. No other car does it for me. And it also helps that it was made right here in the good old USA with a Chevrolet 350 under the hood. It is all American. I am not really sure why anyone would want anything else!

Blame

I love c3 and c4, but what made me stick with a c3 was how it look while driving down the road. As much as I love the power and handling of a c4 I just love how the c3 rode. Plus it cool to own something that older then me. Vette 1981 me 1984.

persuader

Since 1981 or so I have been in love with the Corvette. Particularly the C-3 with the 80-82 being at the top. I finally had the chance to own one last year which is my current one. And it feels like being reunited with your first love. You enjoy every moment with it. No other car car done that for me.

ventryjr

My dad just finished a 73 that he's had since a kid. Put a 750hp dart motor in. And I've wanted one since.

Ridgerunner001

one word SEXY. From the first time I saw a c3 I thought it was the most beutiful (?) car on the road. never thought I would be able to afford one and don't have one yet but the search is on hope to be cruising the Blue Ridge Parkway and local mountian roads by summer.
then the Dragon in the fall