CShupard

My dream car is a C3 with manual transmission, side pipes, and lots of HP. So what is the best/most economical way to achieve this.

I have found several C3's in my area that I think are good starts.

1. 81 with high miles (116k) but the engine was rebuilt about 25k ago. Has a 4 speed and a good body but I would like a different color. Interior needs to be redone. The owner wants $6500 I think I can get him down to $5500. Car+paint+interior= $10000

2. 79 average miles (65k) automatic. I like the color, red but may need some touch up. Same with the interior Owner wants $5000. Car+paint+interior= $8000

With both cars I would want to bolt on some power like an Edelbrock power package (2098 or 2099). Has anyone done this? Is this as easy as it looks? How about a crate engine?

With option 2 I would want to put in a 4 speed or even a 5 speed. Has anyone done this? How difficult/expensive is it to change from auto to manual?

nate99

Companies like Keisler sell kits to swap over to a 5-speed. They are not cheap. One can source the parts from junkyards to build up a 5 speed, but it's not for the inexperienced builder. Swapping in a take off 4-speed from a donor car would be easier and cheaper, but not without its own challenges.

Paint on these cars is not cheap either. Most scuff and shoot shops do not want to touch Corvettes. I would guess that paint + interior is going to run you well over $4500. Many have paid twice that for paint alone, but the numbers there vary widely.

Crate engines are probably the most economical way to go if you want to make power and need a new engine anyway. If you have a solid bottom in, the right heads/cam/intake combo will make a ton of power, but it's all really just a matter of how much you want to spend.

No car is cheap to restore/modify, sticking to a budget on such things is tough, even if you have done it before. I know I've long since given up on my original budget for my car, but it's basically my only hobby, so I justify it, and can afford it. Old Corvettes have a lot of uniqueness to them, which is part of the appeal, but that makes things more complicated and expensive to fix, so be warned there.

All of your questions have been discussed here, so use the search function on the specifics and do your homework before you buy.

Good luck.

billla

Best and economical are words rarely found together in high-performance, classic cars

Overall, the cheapest way would be to buy something as close as possible to what you want rather than just picking up a C3 and starting the retrofit. If you want to do the work yourself, then still buy the best donor you can. I'd expect what you're looking for - a 5- or 6-speed C3 with a non-original, high performance engine shouldn't be all that hard to find...?

I agree with prior posters regarding the cost of bodywork and paint - my decision to abandon my beloved '69 for an '03 Z06 was based to a large extent on a bodywork/paint quote

CShupard

I did talk to a paint shop and they quoted me $3500 to strip and repaint and a I looked at Ecklers online for the interior parts about $1500 for starters. I'm keeping in mind that this car is for me not for show. It doesn"t have to be perfect just nice.

nate99

Sounds like a very good price, hopefully the quality is up there.

75vetteman

i've got an offenhauser dual port intake mainfold n every1 who's seen it n knows a ting or 2 bout cars has complimented it. was wonderin if there's sumthin special bout it? is it a bit of a performance piece or rare or what?
i've always wanted roller lifters so i'm gonna recommend them to u. anything to reduce friction is a good thing. any1 know anything bout lunati cams etc?
i'm hintin at a few ideas here 4 ya.
if u wanna save some $ i''d recommend strippin the paint urself. use a chemical stripper only! be extremely careful with a manual sander for the last layer of primer!
my dad has a 350 with a 400 crank that i'm hopin he still has, i'd like to buy it from him. supposedly this makes it a 37X. it's already had wutever special pieces (if any) it needs for this swap added to it.

Vette5.5

$3500 for a full strip and repaint, beware of that, as usually closer to $10K to have it done right. The cars you mentioned have flex bumpers, and can have a whole nother project cost of their own. Certainly not trying to discourage you from getting your dream car, but better doing a little more checking now, before getting stuck in the middle of a project.

cv67

Most economical way to get one is......already done! Serious

If you get ANY body/paint done get it 100% in writing up front with all the details spelled out of what they will and will not do. If they dont do that walk your azz right out of that shop. If you see cars that have been sitting there for a long time same thing. Trust me on this!
Most bodymen are flakes from the bottom of the cereal box.

Bruthish

as said before...START with a car with what you want and the absolute best you can afford....if you want a red with black interior and a 4speed....find one....it most likely will be cheaper in the long run verses sinking time and money into one to get it the way you want.

Sunstroked

Absolutely dead on. Keep looking, find the car you want.
Corvette restoration parts get expensive. If you find a car that has already been completed, then you are money ahead. If you have a budget of 10k, find the best car your money will buy that has the options you want. Seriously, I'm doing a restoration. I'm down that road.
The only reason I went my route is the car was a solid all original car. It has the options I demanded. I want it finished exactly in a particular way. And I could pay cash for the car. And the kicker, I already have another corvette I can drive while I work on this one.

CShupard

The problem is that finding the one I want is proving difficult. I have found red cars and 4 speed cars but not many red w/ 4 speed. I am flexible on the color choices but so far the best one I have found is cream with tan interior. I can work with that interior but the cream has to go.

Hardway

This is the hardest part of searching and this is where patience or compromise come in to play. If you wait long enough one will come along. However if you want one sooner than later you will have to give up some specific items you are looking for. If I were you I would rank the specifics you are looking for so you can have a clearer idea of what you have to have and what you are willing to give up.

ajrothm

+1000000000000


BUY ONE ALREADY DONE!! Pay more up front, drive and enjoy. In the long run you will spend much less and have more time to enjoy it...

If you do decide to build your own, take your estimates for your build and multiply them by 1.5, at a minimum. These things NEVER come in at a budget...

Manuel Azevedo

Neither of these cars sounds like what you say you are looking for. Keeping the cost some what in budget (what is the budget?) is hard with these cars or any car for that matter. Find one that is as close to what you want and can afford will be the best. Also the crate engine route is a good one for someone with limited resources, and also consider if where you live if you need to smog this car at all.

jabrun

Everybody is offering really good advice here, if you build a car from one that's in rough shape it gets really expensive and time consuming. My 72 is mostly the way I want it other than a few small things and I still plan on doing a Borgeson steering box. Starting out with a beater I painted it myself, installed a freshened up ZZ4 crate engine, new tires, installed new seat covers myself, carpet, some suspension work, stereo, replaced some trim and got some electrical things fixed. The only thing I'm paying to have done is a performance build on the 2004R tranny. That being said I will have around $19k after the tranny is done and 2 years worth of work. If I had to sell the car I would no doubt take a substantial loss. I'm sure I could have bought a car similar to mine for around $20k or less and done a few things to it. Only thing is I would have had to borrow money and pay interest to buy one done versus paying as I went.

CShupard

I suppose we could all just buy 1 but what's the fun in that? The way I figure it I should just get 1 that's close to what I want and fix it up the way I like. Every old car is going to need some interior work. Every gold car is going to need some paint work. Pink 6 percent interest on a 15,000 dollar car doesn't seem like a very good option to me.

nate99

Just make sure that you are ok with it taking longer and costing more than you currently expect. Part of the reason I got my project was to have a project to fiddle with, and I have that in spades. If your tastes run more toward modification than restoration, then you probably have better options out there than a C3, but if you truly find enjoyment in the process of putting it all together yourself and a C3 is something that you want in particular, by all means jump in.

Most of the comments in this vein (including my own) are expressions of regret by those that were in your position. All things considered, I like where I am on my project, but we'd all do things differently if we got to do them over again.

Good luck.

63mako

Your probably a great kid!
All I can say is that proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and capitalization will take you a long way in life and business. You will come off as more intelligent and others will be more apt to take you seriously. It really does not take a lot more time to do it right. Just a tip, not an insult.

birdsmith

I wanted a yellow 4-speed chrome-bumper C3. To get there I started with a repainted Ontario Orange '70 with an automatic. Body was good, frame was good, birdcage was good. Brakes were bad, rear wheel bearings were worn out, interior decent but seat foam shot. The price was right ($8500) so I bought the car figuring I could piece it into the car that I wanted it to be over time. I replaced all the suspension bushings and had the trailing arms rebuilt, rebuilt the motor, rebuilt the seats, rebuilt the brakes, scuffed it and painted it yellow myself (not TOO horrible and only cost me about $300 in materials) and put a four-speed in it. Took me 8 years. It's fun, I like it, but in retrospect it was one hell of a lot of work. My advice is get a car with the best possible paint job/decent frame/clean birdcage that you can afford and build from there. I am in the process of stripping and repainting mine right now, and the work involved in getting three previous paint jobs off of the car without damaging the fiberglass is the most grueling thing I've ever done to a car in my life.
Installing a four-speed box in an automatic car is really a piece of cake, and rebuilding a small-block Chevy is something anybody with a toolbox and a ring compressor can do successfully with a little bit of persistence. Making power just costs a little (or a lot depending on how much you want to make) more and is basically a matter of choosing the right parts and tuning the whole mess properly.
If you can afford the car with all the basic parts on it that you want you will really minimize the amount of drama that you're gonna have to suffer through to get it where you want it...if you can't afford THAT car, though, do what I did and you'll have a really cool car after years of torture!!

CShupard

Thanks for all the replies. You all have given me a lot to think about and I think the 81 I mentioned earlier is the way to go for me.

My only other concern would be is how can I tell if there are any hidden problems. At first glance it looks to be in good shape mechanically and body.