Connor2017

I'm curious if a late 70's-early 80s L82 corvette would be a good first car. I want something that'll be fun to drive, but also be a good daily driver. I would prefer it to not cost me thousands per year for maintenance. But for most stuff, I am able to do that my self. I'm also quite curious how much insurance will charge, if any one has any idea. Thanks!

rgwoehr

Insurance should be cheaper than most cars made in the past 16 years. I'm 22, and I pay $850 per year for my '77, which is about half of what I was quoted for later C4s or 2000-2005 Hondas, Toyotas, VW Jettas, and Mustangs. Insurance is based on a bunch of variables though so it's hard to say what it would be for you. You should call your insurance company or get some quotes from their websites to get an idea of what it'll cost.

Most parts for these cars aren't cheap. I think your maintenance costs will depend on how nice the car you buy is.

Connor2017

Thanks, I have a really good family friends that is willing to help with any maintenance since he has hydolic lifts and tools like that. Do you use your 77 as a daily driver? Because I'm curious if I could get away with driving a a c3 Vette daily. And I'm going to get an insurance quote since you're right, they do vary

rgwoehr

I don't consider it my daily driver, but I've been driving it a lot more than my daily driver lately since I put a new motor in a few weeks ago. I think there are a few people on the forum that use their C3 as a daily driver. The previous owner of my car drove it every day for about 10 years. I'm sure you could get away with it, but expect stuff to break at some point because these are ~40 year old cars.

What concerns do you have about using it as a daily driver?

Connor2017

My main concern about using it as a daily driver is really how reliable it is in hot/cold temperatures and how it is in rain. Also how comfortable the suspension is and how the ride is.

rgwoehr

The ride is kind of rough but not intolerable (at least in my opinion). I've driven mine on 100˚F days and the car ran warmer than usual but nowhere near overheating. As long as your cooling system is in good condition the hot weather should be fine. You'll be ok in the rain as long as you drive safely. You'll most likely get a bit of rain water in the interior though. I think it's a common issue with these cars. My seat belts and carpet always get wet when my car sits out in the rain.

Connor2017

Thanks for this information. My main question was really would I be able to drive it daily. And from what you've told me, it seems like I can. And if I'm leaving it in the rain for long I can always cover it. Thanks for helping!

rgwoehr

You're welcome. If you do end up buying one, I'm sure you won't regret it. They're fun cars. Be sure to post photos on the forum if you buy one

Type65

I have owned my 77 for a bit over a year now and it was my daily for 9 months until I found out I needed to replace literally everyone of my suspension components. I just finished that up yesterday and it will be resuming it's daily driver status. It's far from perfect and I'm always screwing with it, but it's never left me stranded.

Connor2017

Thanks again and I'll definitely post pictures 👍

Connor2017

Are suspension problems common? That's something I'll definitely need to take into account

81corvettevortec

My '81 was by first car way back when. Was an awesome first car, but I'll admit I was lucky I didn't crash it or worse. With that said, the same could have been said for probably any car I had back then. Most important thing I can say is buy the right car. Get one thats in the best shape you can afford if you're going to be relying on it daily. Fortunately these cars are almost entirely mechanical and the electrical systems don't control or interfere with anything but the gauges. I've definitely broken down in mine before, but its usually just something small and easy/quick to fix.

Daily driving these cars is 100% doable. I am actually going to start doing it again in about a month. Get ready for projects though haha cause there will always be one. Gas mileage is pretty poor (unless you've got EFI/5spd or 6spd) when compared to almost any newer car too so keep that in mind. The other headache is a lot of parts are better sourced from one of the dedicated corvette shops, which means its not always just as easy to go down to NAPA or Autozone. Its not that the parts aren't available there, but they almost always are not of the same quality. Brake calipers are a perfect case of this.

Goodluck!

929nitro

Best of luck in your search. They are as reliable as any other well maintained car. As far as a daily driver that is somewhat relevant to where you live, if you get a lot of snow I would not drive it during a storm. I have since I grew up in the north east, I drove all my muscle cars thru storms but they can be touchy. As far as the suspension stuff every vehicle needs suspension work sooner or later. Enjoy and just be safe.

Connor2017

This is some really good info you've given me so thanks for this. When it comes to mechanical stuff, I'm no stranger ordering parts online. But it's good to know that these cars are mainly mechanical, because I'm definitely not an electrician haha. I've already been looking into upgrading suspension on not matter what year I get. I still have a little while before I get a car, so I've also been considering the early C3's. Thanks for helping!

Connor2017

I live in the PNW so I won't have to deal with snow all too often. I plan on keeping the car well maintained so hopefully that'll help me out. I plan on upgrading suspension on no matter what year Vette I get so let's hope thet'll help me out and make the daily drive easier. Thanks for the help and info!

LongRoadHome

I'm new to Corvettes but tire pressure makes a difference too, not just suspension.

The "recommended" PSI numbers of original tires were very low, 20 all around for 73-75 years, and 20 front 26 rear for 76-77.
Not sure about 78-82, think it is higher, maybe up to 32 all around? So I can only wonder if springs got softer to compensate, or not.

Seems most people disregard those specs for various reasons. I have another fiberglass car, kit VW-based, and it sure makes the ride smoother using lower tire pressures. When new tires were put on my '77 it felt like a go-cart with 32 PSI.
Although I can't feel safe using the very low original numbers. I'm guessing 28 to 30 PSI would be okay for the C3.

Anyway... while looking over your prospective car you might find changes like my '77 to '80s differential. Guess another change could be fiberglass spring instead of steel leaf spring but mine still had the steel (and missing a bolt).

TMU

This is worth reading concerning buying a C3 https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-corvette.html

(edit) I see you have already read it yesterday, good.

Make sure you get any prospective car thoroughly inspected before making a deal.

SwampeastMike

A C3 Corvette is an interesting choice for a first car and daily driver.

A few things to keep in mind:

Highly modified = highly troublesome!!!!!

You didn't mention budget. An early "steel bumper" C3 in good enough condition to be reliably daily transportation will be very expensive. Lower cost ones are likely to need LOTS of work and/or be so highly modified that nobody knows what's what The C3 middle years (before the fast back arrived in '78) are less expensive but had most of their "muscle" taken away by emission and fuel economy regulations while still having comfort/convenience problems that were far easier to overlook when you had a roaring monster under the hood. '78+ are generally the least expensive, got back some of the power and received significant comfort/convenience improvements.

Even with new, properly installed weatherstripping, water leaks are endemic in C3s. If you're near the coast, the rainy Pacific NW might not be the best place to have one as a daily driver. Unfortunately the leaks occur in places that cause water to be trapped thus leading to quite rapid rusting. The so-called "bird cage" and floor pans are both prone to this problem.

The13Bats

we get it you hate mods but not all mods are hack jobs...the rest of what you said is dead on, I drove a ragged out opel gt as my first car, cheap,
a person might if savvy find a 74-82 under 10K in fairly good daily driver condition, far from perfect that would need like any dd to be well maintained.

SwampeastMike

The13Bats: Not that I hate all mods. I make some to my own vehicles. Not that I think all mods are hack jobs--I don't consider mine such as I document changes and try to do things the "factory way". I have though seen lots of poorly executed and completely undocumented mods that leave even the pros scratching their heads and essentially saying, "I have to destroy it before I can fix it."

Surely you've seen the pics of butchered C3 electrical systems on this forum Surely you also know that many of the performance mods are much more about legal racing than use as a daily driver Of course there are excellent, extensive mods that are well maintained and documented and even suitable for a daily driver. Such examples, regardless of year, may well be far out of the OP's budget and are likely less common than hack jobs.

For a [presumably] young, first-time car owner wanting a 30+ year-old sports car as a daily driver I will stand by, "highly modified = highly troublesome".

To the OP:

I apologize for not recalling the "L82 late 70s early 80s" desire. Given the things you've mentioned I do believe that era the best for you. Since C3s are officially "collectible" prices fluctuate. From what I understand a low (no more than 40-60k) mileage example from that era with everything working and in good enough condition to be considered a "daily driver" will cost around $14k or so. Even then you can look forward to quite a bit of wrench turning. You can find ones with similar mileage that look quite good and seem "decent" but are in need of lots and lots of work to get them into a condition where they can be considered "reliable daily transportation".