Am I the only one out there that would rather drive my 81 that I painstakenly restored than purchace a newer c5 or c6. I go to alot of car shows and It seems anybody will buy a newer vette just to have one. They are lined up like jet fighters and the owners couldn't tell you how to fix a flat. Same with my harley. nowdays everyone has one. The dealers are making a mint from these people because they take them in for everything. Back to the vette, certianly I would like a 2003 zo6 but I still want something different. I can tell a story about my car and what I did to it. I guess that means I am old school.
Tom

 

No, you're not alone. It just feels like it sometimes.

 

The positive side to this is that we can now buy a two year old vet for a fraction of the price......these guys always want the new thing and will dump a year old vet and not care how much money they are loosing......

 

Don't generalize about C5 owners. I have a 2004 that I bought new. Until you drive one, you won't understand how nice they are. Regarding my C3, I've done all the work on it except for actually rebuilding the trans and rear. I can change a tire too.

 

I'm the oldest guy driving the oldest vette in our group...

 

It is very dangerous to generalize as you have done. I am on my 15th vette and yes it is a new one. I have always worked on my own cars even when they are under warranty. I own a new one because I enjoy driving all the ones I have owned over the years and the C6 is the best vette ever built. Just remember that is far better to keep your mouth shut and seem a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

peace

PS Remember, if there were no one willing to buy the new cars each year there would not be any old ones for anybody to restore.

 

In 1999, we were going to buy a 2000 Millenium Yellow (wife's idea). On the Saturday we were headed to the Chevy dealer to place the order, I changed my mind. While the C5 or C6 is nice and a heck of a lot more comfortable on our aging bodies, there are more things I love about the C3s. I love being able to drop the front suspension and powder coat all the parts on a whim. Or driving thru town and getting a from some kids saying "nice car mister". I can swap transmissions in a couple hours. If I had the room, I would have more C3s.

Don't get me wrong - I love the C5 & especially the C6 ZO6 but my heart is with the Sharks! IF that is old school, I will wear it well!

 

You are not alone, the Force IS with you.
However, there are a lot of c5/c6 owners that do know their stuff, but Most do not. I have been riding this harley since before it was cool.
But, that don't make em bad people, just uninformed

 

I agree - don't generalize all C5/C6 owners. I know lots of guys that simply can't do what most of us can do physicaly with a car any longer. Rather than give up on the hobby they drive something easier on them.

I love my C3 but also wanted a C5 Z06 because of the FRC body...and I don't care what you do to a C3 it aint gonna run with a C5 Z and be a street legal, turn key option...if you come big enough you might beat me in a straight line but you better hang on in the first curve! I do all of my own maint...work on both cars and often show both cars side by side...it's a blast and a family affair.

oh, and the reason most C5 owner's can't tell you how to fix a flat is because the C5s had run flats or in the case of the Z06's no run flats only a factory can of fix-a-flat!

 

well I knew this would stir it up. yes I am sure there are alot of "qualified" c5 owners out there and like I DID say I would like one. I am referring to the ones that don't know squat. I would bet that some c6 owners may get lumped into the "I just bought it cause I have money" hey this is just about old school vs new school. I ride a 2003 HD Deuce anniversary edition chromed out with a custom paint job. I saw the movie Wild Hogs and thought I was not either of the biker s portrayed in the movie. A hells angel or a poser. either way I aint disrespecting anybody. this is america.
tom

 

Funny i just saw that film on dvd last night...i've been in the harley enviroment for quite sometime, i wasnt a poser nor a rebel without cause, i just liked to ride my (fully modded) FXR and also to try to beat a few Ducatis on their own war field: Bends.

Said that i can also understand why so many mid age 'bikers' jump on a harley, they just now got the money to buy it, beeing younger the harley was only in their wish list, not on the buying next future schedule.

Old school Vs New school iussue, i sincerely believe there is no such a thing, on the contrary there are indeed motoring enthusiasts and just drivers, of course you'll see more 'drivers' on a new sportscar then on a classic because the amount of energies you need to put on a classic vehicle won't be enough if you're not deeply involved in it, for this very reason 'drivers' prefer new (headache free) sportscars, weather it's a C6 or a 911, any problem that would arise from their rides would only be considered a pain in that place and not a challenge to cure...

I personally am in beetwin both worlds, i'm a fully enthusiast and will put any effort (and funds...) on my classic vette to sort any prob out, but i would send with a kick in the a$$ to the dealers garage my Cayenne if it only showed the minimum malfunction.

How to distinguish a real enthusiast from a 'driver':

1) while driving it will show open to talk and to answer to any question asked and ready to give full details of his ride...

2) while not driving, he will look at other interesting vehicles with open mind, with frank curiosity and with no envy whatsoever.

To prove my point just have a look at a 911 driver...you'll understand what i mean



I

 

I don't want to stir the pot any further but doesn't it also reason to say that the "average" C5 or C6 isn't quite in need of a full frame off restoration? I think the fact also remains that today's cars are FAR more complicated than any C3 and much harder to work with.

I have a C3, which I love to drive and half the fun is to work on it. That said, if it were practical in MI, I'd have a C6 as my daily driver in a heartbeat. I'd have to live in the thing, but I'd have one.

I don't know if this makes me old school or not...in fact, I don't think I'm old enough to be old school. But without talking to EVERY C5 and C6 owner that you see that "can't change a tire," how do you know that they aren't wrenchers deep down too? I bet there are a lot of Corvette owners that had a muscle car or two in the past...when cars were WAY cooler, in my opinion.

Cheers!

 

Funny how you see newer Vettes worth a ton of money parked everywhere, at the mall, restaurants, whatever.
Yet I would not leave my 10K 73 unattended. I certainly would not leave a mid year of equal value to a new Vette out of my sight.
I dont know what this means, just an observation.

 

Not that I wouldnt mind a new one but I wouldnt own anything I couldnt fix myself out of warranty, so that rules that out.. SO......Outside of a late model DD I prefer the old school stuff. Its fun to hop in and drive on a weekend, but I gotta admit at the end of the day I can hop in something quiet, comfy where everything works, too.
They all have their pluses and minuses.

 

most class though

Miles

 

I think he talking about a late model owner poser type.
Its different when you have been a hot rodder for a long time, but a guy goes out and buys a newer vette and tried to be"one of the boys" and now has stories of 66 Chevelles hopping the front tires over coke bottles!!!
I'v owned over 70 cars, some hotrods that were daily drivers and some never left the garage, but if I wanted to get a newer vette I have a reputation to back me up as not being a poser.
Harley owners are the same, all the bank presidents want a weekend of being a Grim Reaper, Outlaw or Hell's Angles, but come 6:00 PM Sunday its back to the split level and Plasma TV, Monday morning the Volvo in the garage fires up and off he goes with coffee in hand to the office to check the Wall Street Journal!!!

 

It means you have spent more hours than you care to remember sweating over your car, pulling it apart, cleaning, painting, replacing things, putting it back together, then starting the process over the next day. No way insurance could ever cover the loss. A lot of C3 pride in the C3 forums.

 

My observation has been that, through the years, there are all kinds of owners for all generations. I know of C4 owners that are mechanically way ahead of many C3 guys. And I am sure there are C2 owners who never turn a wrench on their babies.

This is America. Its a big country with lots of variety. To each their own. Take pride in your corvette. Enjoy what you have.

Would we want it any other way?