Yes. My C6 is my daily driver for the past several years, in Virginia and Hawaii, and has over 80K miles on it.

I recently bought a '65, low optioned, manual everything.

Totally different animals, as others have said. Other than the layout, the name and manufacturer, they have little in common.

While I love cruising in the extremely fast and smooth C6, and it requires almost no wrenching, it is not the visceral kick to drive that the C2 is.

Additionally, the C6 can go pretty much unnoticed, whereas with the '65 you cannot be anonymous, so you have to deal with it.

My perfect combo is keeping my C6 for the DD and the C2 for the weekend.

 

Just to be clear...

You (the OP) do have another car as a daily driver... right? So this is not about making a decision to have only ONE car.. either a C2 or a C6.

This is a choice as to which car will be your "toy" car... no?

 

I have both. Need both. Why drive a boring every day car?

 

I've got an 08 and a 66. I love them both but really love my C-2.

 

To me nothing beats the look of a c2 coupe. I bought the very car that made me love cars. It was owned by a friend of mine. I never had the chance to drive it only road in it and thirty years later I bought it site unseen for the last 15 years. It is a 64 coupe and had the front end replaced and it didn't look the way I remembered it. It was about a 20 foot car. It was fairly rough but that didn't bother me because I like turning wrenches and love to be different. The day I picked it up I realized why I always loved it. It looks like no other car and it was a blast to drive! You cannot go anywhere without someone looking at it or asking you about it or giving you the thumbs up.
Now that being said I cannot afford a late model C5 or C6 and a c2 so I have decided to build the best car I could dream up and have puchaced a SRIII chassis with c5 suspension, Richmond 5 speed and built an hilborn injected 440 CID 409. It will be finished next year and can't wait to drive it again. Every time I look at it it makes me smile.
In conclusion if you don't like being asked about your car, people looking at your car, having a car most people only dream of owning or driving with a smile on your face a c2 is not for you. My vote C2.

 

Just bought my 67 big block convertible and it will be a few years before i can drive it so I am no authority on C2 drive-ability - but I can comment on the C6Z06 - you won't find a more refined machine that can make you giggle like a 6 year old and scare the daylights out of you on the same day, and get 30 mpg doing it.

FWIW, I think Revfan has it right, the analogy of the call girl and farmer's daughter is probably the most accurate.

 

That has to be one of the most beautiful engines I've ever seen. I don't doubt that will be the center of attention where ever you take it. Boy I would love to see that in person. Nice job!

Any chance you can post a full size picture of that beast for all of us to drool over?

 

For me it was C6 Z06 back to Classic 63 SWC .
Its a car guy thing to know you letting go
at that time the fastest production corvette ,2 years ago
But to see the SWC come in on trailer was
the defining moment I knew I made the right decision. The new one went unnoticed
most of the time , when I take the 63 out people wave ,comment and say nice things all the time.
I had one for 14 years and regretted selling it the first time. When you have one its like you have a constant hobby to improve it and maintain it between the cruses .
Any I never drove the C6 even close it its limits ,
Less insurance costs ,less deprecation ,being retired it seems the way to go.

 

That's correct Revfan.

 

one more thing to note is that I might be out of my league when it comes to cost + cost of ownership. If I could get one it would be for what I can get for my C6 and I figure that to be $28k-$30k. I can't really afford a "project car" and I think a 427 C2 is gonna cost me way more than I can afford.

 

JetBlue
They are all projects... really. Some are further along than others, and need less attention, "less" of the time... but they are all projects to some degree.

That being said, I bought my 67 a year ago, and, while a driver, I did a lot of things over the winter (engine bay/dash harness, recovered seats, rebuilt heater box, rebuilt steering column, etc).

Never really turned a serious wrench in my life, till now.... and I am having a blast doing it. Seriously.

$30K is at the very low end of what is reasonable... To get a solid driver at that price point, its going to be "word of mouth", "friend of a friend", or blind dumb luck. If you are chasing ebay/craigslist leads, you will almost certainly be a day late and a dollar short on a $30K decent driver.

I'd start by finding your local Corvette Club. There is a lot of knowledge to be gained, along with camaraderie... and possible leads to folks that might be selling.
List of NJ Corvette Clubs

I looked for my car for about a year with a 35Kish budget. And ended up finding a recently painted 67 Vert for $40. I have put about $5K into it in the last year.

They are out there, but on the $30K end, more will need to be done... assuming frame and birdcage are solid, paint is expensive, new interior $3Kish, and Chrome will drain your wallet.

If you can go a bit more ($40-$45K), you will find more available in better driver condition.

Here are just a few 1964s..... that year is arguably the least expensive year.

1964 corvette - $42000 (Cherry hills village)


64 Corvette Roadster - $32500 (E. Granby)


1964 Corvette Coupe - $40000 (Park Ridge IL)


CHEVY CONVERTIBLE CORVETTE 1964 - $42000 (MI)


The silver blue Convert above is in Conn... probably an easy drive for you. Ask him if he will trade for your C6.
I have No affiliation to any of the above cars.

Also, fill out your profile, and put up a wanted ad here. There are some GREAT FOLKS that will help you out on and offline. I and am really grateful to the gang that answered my questions, kept my spirits up, and shared my joy when I finally landed my car.