crawfish333

First off, I will say that I have no intention no selling my car, but if I did I would probably scare anyone off that wanted to buy it. Why? Because now that I have owned to the car for 7 months, I have managed to find so many little (and a few big) flaws that the previous owner omitted. Some of these I have fixed already, like oil leaking out of every gasket on the motor and the radiator having about 10 tiny holes in it. But every time I work on the car, I find more minor aggravating issues. Now the previous owner was a physician and definitely not a car guy. I hope these omissions were through ignorance, but I must admit that being someone who actually wants a near perfect car, (I know that will never happen but I still hope for it) these little things are driving me nuts. I am already upside down on the car (more than I will admit to my wife) and I still have a lot of stuff to fix. Bottom line, I guess I am just venting, but it is pretty frustrating. As far as ever selling the car, I would be too honest not to mention everything I want fixed to any prospective buyer including the 2 bolts that I need changed on the interior. Anyway, I guess I am learning a lot about owning an old car, and it is an expensive lesson. Luckily, I have no plans to sell the car.

The13Bats

I hear you know where you are coming from but do you dig the car want to keep it a while have some fun with it, having fun with it is how i get my time work and money out of my cars,
I have been at places with cars seemed the never ending little things needing fixed would drive me nuts then one cool picture or word of camaraderie from a car buddy got me right back to my love of the car, in your case go take the c7 for a drive step back from the c3, i do that sometimes but in my casevtake the vw trike for a spin, before you know it you will get your car where you want it to be, even if in the long run selling it turns out to be your desire....

Chinaski

It is what it is. The newest c3 is 35 years old. All of them are tinkerers toys in some regard, I don't care if you have some ground up, frame off restoration, even they will require some form of noodling with.

Most people on the outside have no idea whatsoever what it takes to keep one of these things on the road. They may admire one, think they might want one, but it takes blood, sweat and tears. LOTS of blood, sweat and tears.

It ain't for everybody

chstitans42

A few questions:
1. Why the big issue about being "upside down" on a classic car? It isn't all about money even though TV loves to tell everyone about it. Once you stop counting pennies and being enjoying the car, you will like it a lot more
2. Do you really expect a perfect car that is 40 plus years old? Unless you spent an extreme amount of money on it to begin with, its gonna need some work. I believe that is rule number ONE on the ten rules for buying a C3

Let the car sit for a week or two, get your mind off it, and then start it up again. Seems like your pretty burnt out when it comes to working on it

The13Bats

It happens to me health issues nervious problems get the blame but i get overwhelmed and burnt out, but the truth is i really dig my 69 i sometimes wish i could snap my fingers and pay a shop but most shops suck,
Odd things get me right back on track, a buddy bought his first vette that was really cool to me, i find a weird custom part i dig that works,
Once a person gets a neglected c3 up to snuff its not hard to maintain it,
I drove many c3s and a c2 daily i just did the required maintenance...you will get it there.

540 vette

I have always wanted a chrome bumper car. I bought a 72. It was a nice driver and an original BB car. Unfortunately it had a 327 in it. So far I have replaced the whole front suspension, the whole brake system. All the vacuum and fuel lines. Tires and wheels are now new. Engine(502) is new as well as the rest of the drivetrain. Mid summer I am planning on removing the rear suspension and differential and painting and redoing the whole thing. I could have probably gotten away with doing a few things and driving it but I would have to do them anyway.

cicconjo

I'm on year seven of working out all these bugs. Seems a lot of people don't mind driving around with so many things broken or rigged up. Sometimes it's easier to take the whole car apart and rebuild it

bj1k

That's exactly what you have to do to a forty year old car if you want to drive it with no problems . As you said you have to literally take it totally apart which I did to my 72 . Literally every part on the car has been replaced with new or restored to new condition and that is the only way you will get a trouble free car. Now that doesn't mean that you won't have to do routine maintenance like you would do to any other car but something that you can depend on . It will amount to the price of a new car but if you want to play, you have to pay .

crawfish333

Yeah.. just got a little frustrated today working on the interior. I will get over it, but I guess I needed to vent a little.

raydog9379

I kinda was in the OP's shoes, got frustrated with everything that needs to be fixed and then let it sit for a few years before getting back to messing with issues. I have been chipping away pretty well the past month or so. Take some little victories and move with them. Some of my most recent victories... Horn (hadn't worked in the 12 years I owned it), and yesterday I got the interior halo's repainted and put back in the car (I'll be honest and say I think it's been 3 houses and before my now 10 year old since I took them off to repaint). Also fixed pax seat bottom cover that was coming loose from the clips.

My next couple fixes are somewhat key... dreaded trans pan leak has been leaking badly a good 8-10 years (waiting on a new pan and helicoil kit since I knew one hole was stripped and then just saw a PO must have used a nut and long screw in another) and have a bad feeling there are other leaks in the trans but start with the main leak at the pan. Then I think I prob. have a bad gasket on the engine somewhere prob. the valve cover as I see some slight smoke off the manifold and small drop or 3 of oil here and there. Finally, some parasitic drain on the battery that causes me to disconnect it if parking for more than a few minutes. I could go into other smaller things... radio, a/c hissing, clock (go figure ). Also needs new tires and prob. a new exhaust and a million other things.

Moral of the story, when it gets to be too much... take a break, and/or chunk it out and fix a few things here or there. I'm at the point now where I just want to fix enough to make it a solid driver and somewhat dependable...gave up on the needing to be show car quality.

tomvr

I've owned several classic cars over the years as daily drivers. When I finally could get my Vette, I found one that had about 75k miles that had been driven sparingly but regularly. So far, it's been about like any other used car. All belts, hoses, and rubber lines have been replaced and the car tuned up. Other than the Corvette specific issues, I expect it will run as good and be as dependable as any other Chevy.

It's a chevy 350 with a 4 spd. Pretty much bullet proof stuff.

I'm waiting on the grounding problems and other Corvette idiosyncrasies but so far so good.

Once you've got it right, you'll have a great car. The value will eventually match your investment.

Good Luck!

Rescue Rogers

You should have seen my bubbamobile after I got it. I could tell things were wrong after I got it home. Stereo speaker wire hotwired from the alternator to the wiper motor. Same wires going through fire wall to the melted wiper switch. Aftermarket correct bezel digital radio tuner ***** twisted around with pliers snapped the mother board. Looked like a s10 pickup horn cover and God knows what for internals in my column for the horn. The seat backs where held in by 3/8 LAG screws, you know the big galvanized ones for wood!!!!! The grounds weren't connected behind the dash. Wiring cut and hanging there. The Hurst shift handle was on backwards, the base would slam the bezel and dented it all up. One seat wasn't fully bolted to the floor. My trailing arm shims weren't installed correctly and almost fell out, they were also just put in so my rear end was toed in 1.25 inches, that was exciting on bumps. The top wasn't adjusted to the Windows so he used extra weatherstripping and doubled it up to fill in the gaps. He put my top on himself and it visually looked crooked and was very poorly done. He ripped guts out of the original wiper motor to solve what ever problem he had. He used pliers to manually move the actuator for the wiper door and bent it all to he'll, it was still New. He used sheet metal , wood and drywall screws to hold the interior together and never the same size twice.

That's few of my bubbas misdeeds off the top of my head. We feel for you and we understand. Don't worry, we're right there with you. It's worth it in the end. I use it to get over my little ptsd issues I'm discovering I've adopted since my ex screwed me. I turn on the radio, just kick back and turn screws or bolts and replace parts or tune motors. It should help you, not frustrate you. Just think to yourself that your smarter than the last owner and your gonna do it right

Now it runs like a top. Never an issue, so I am pulling the heads intake and carb and swapping them out for more horsepower, . When that's done and it's running great again, I'm pulling the motor to put the original 327 back in.

crawfish333

Well, the good thing now is that my car does run really almost like new and no longer leaks oil all over the garage. (small victories)

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Rescue Rogers

Post some pics of her for us, Congrats on your victory. I just found a pic of my gauge bezel where Bubba put in an aftermarket voltmeter, and cut the bezel up, then held the gauge in with matress foam and duct tape.....

ed427vette

And money.....LOTS of money.......

pigfarmer

I hear you. New to C3s. Only had mine a few months and it's been garaged all winter while I give it the TLC it needs. Lately, with the dash & console out trying to fix a number of things I've had to step away out of frustration several times.

On another note I drove the same Jeep Cherokee for 17 years and it had its problems but was a great little truck. Rotted away. Then I bought a brand new F150 and figured I could escape entropy for a while.

In subzero weather the door latches froze up and wouldn't open, or if they did, would latch shut. Product bulletin. Wrong lubricant. Warranty fix but irritating.

Even a brand new vehicle has a way if getting under your skin.

7T1vette

crawfish...

Please take this post as a "positive" response (as it is meant) rather than a negative one, as it could be interpreted..

What you need is.... an attitude adjustment!! Too many folks buying these cars put all their hopes and dreams into the DRIVING basket. Then when stuff needs to be repaired and the car is 'down', they go 'down' with their car.

You have to also get ENJOYMENT out of working on the car and making something that didn't work, work well again. So, you must somehow find a way to gain pleasure from the WORK and satisfaction out of a successful repair.

If you are a DIY owner, this must be the case or you will melt down too often and just let it sit...or sell it. The other type of owner who can get away with 'negative' down-time is the guy with boat loads of money. Just have the "shop" fix it at whatever cost so that I can drive it again.

Either 'system' will work, but for me, it's more fun to work on the car, get it functioning properly again, and THEN drive the heck out of it.

cv67

have to agree
How much is a new car, do those break too of course

so if you like old iron better put the same money into it at least you are driving something you like and can fix.

Couldnt give me any new car;my DD is 15 well cared for it nickels dimes and thousand dollars me worse than any old car ever did.

mkdesign

I think everybody can relate to both the expense and the time it takes to maintain our cars to both the mechanical and cosmetic state that we are happy with. In my case, I realize that my car, by the standards of just about every Corvette on this forum is a ROACH, but I'm okay with that.
Last year at this time I was rolling out another project ('68 Riv pic attached) that was another abandoned car that needed work. It needed some paint and mechanical work but the interior was mint, but the purchase price was rock bottom and it enabled me to expand my restoration skills.
After lots of work by myself, plus lowered suspension and some 20" wheels it turned out to be a pretty cool. But in the end I wanted something a little more... you know... sporting. So I sold the Riv, which needed very little and used the profit to buy my abandoned '75 roadster which needs a lot. This all brings me to my point.
I knew going in that I would have to adhere to a budget that would never take away from the needs of my household or family, so I accept that while it is scruffy, and will be for a long time, it will be safe mechanically and have a pretty wicked pro touring attitude. Trust me, my Vette is far from perfect (or even shiny), but it will be available for a drive with the top down on a warm summer day and makes me smile everytime I walk into the garage.
As long as I don't expect too much from my crusty old Vette it doesn't disappoint me...too much.

Rescue Rogers

That'll look nice with some paint!! Looks pretty cool as is too