yellow08

I've looked in several times actually. I do appreciate the advice (and mild pummeling from the purists). At this point I'm leaning towards getting a 68 or 69 427. The only question is whether I try to get a numbers matching car or not.

Several people have chimed in that you can indeed have a classic C3 that doesn't rattle and drift all over the road like a boat without going restomod. Buy car, add money seems to be the key.

I think I'll hang out here for a few months and read before taking the plunge.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

eagle275

Now that is classic!(nice car too!)

Solid LT1

My wife and I have a secret code phrase "Bellybutton Car" that we apply to any C5/6 Vette. Where does the phrase come from? my good friend years ago, when we were in a Z/28 Camaro club and Chevy re-released the Z/28 pacakge in 1977 after a 2 year haitus of not making them. EVERYONE and their mother started to buy new Z/28's and join our club (FUGLY cars in my book!) I owned a 69RS Z and my friend owned a 70 LT-1 Z, he came up with the phrase "Bellybutton Car" because: everyone has one.

The new Corvettes are commodities, they can be mass produced in large quantities meeting every sales order and are sometimes made to excess (priced a C6 at a dealer lately, our local dealer, Bordwalk Chevy has some at $18K back of MSRP sitting on his showroom floor)

The last true "hand built" Corvette was the 1982 model C3, the C1/2/3 body is trully a work of art and each and everyone of them is trully "hand made" from several individual pieces, no 2 are exactly alike.

While I appreciate the engineering of the C4/5/6 series Vettes given a choice, I'll take a hand built one every time, even though they don't drive as well as a modern sports car. The have their many faults but, I like their character better.

I am currently looking for a C6Z or Gran Sport but haven't made the plunge back into depreciation land since selling our C5 Z06 a few months ago. Our C5 Z06 sold for about 1/2 the $$$ it took to put our 70LT-1 roadster back into decent shape but, the LT-1 took the "people's choice" award of best C3 at the last show we displayed it at and the C5Z would have been lost in a sea of "Bellybutton Cars" at the same show.

Will a C1/2/3 drive as well as a C5/6? NEVER but, they drive much better than most classic cars and tend not to depreciate. I have already had 2 people making offers on our 70 LT-1, I tell them "it's not my car to sell, you'll have to ask my wife, and I doubt she will sell it after all the suffering she went through during it's restoration"

They are far more work to keep on the road, drive down the road BUT, they have FAR MORE character than a new Vette. They are not for everyone, and remember no C1/2/3 Vette was ever sold for "no cash down", "buyer discount", or price rebates EVER! Older Vettes were PRIZES for sucess in life and not just anyone could own one back in the day or now, it takes a special breed to own a Classic Vette

babylonvette

i have both a c-1 and c-3 neither of these cars rattle or squeek ,both have radial tires and monroe gas shocks the 72 defintly rides better than the 61 but the c-1;s are in a class above all others,the 61 had a complete resroration ,done by me and the 72 was just a repaired wreck with less than 40,000 miles on it

MN80Vette

Yellow08, you asked for our thoughts and you got what I think is the most concentrated collection of thoughts and rationale anywhere about owning a C3.

We C3 owners have known for a long time there is a difference between C3 owners and C5/C6 owners. C5/C6 owners drive a VERY good sports car with excellent performance and value. That's why they bought a C5/C6.

C3 owners drive a classic, a piece of history of America and one or more previous owners, a symbol. We bought a C3 for its looks and heritage. In its day, the performance of a C3 was comparable to the performance of a C5/C6 today.

C3 owners are more attached and deeply involved hands-on with their cars. Most of us have memories and a few pictures of what we have done or plan to personally do to restore our cars. All of this is one of the reasons why the Corvette Wave is more important to C3 owners than C5/C6 owners. (That's well documented in the C3 General forum.)





All Corvette owners take pride in their cars, but the pride C3 owners share is different than the pride C5/C6 owners have. You CAN buy or restore and build a good handling and reliable C3. If you want to experience the pride we have and you can accept the differences from 30-40 years of techologies, then please join us.

So, Yellow08, what are your thoughts after hearing ours?

81pilot

All I know is my 81 is a blast to drive, it looks cool and "if" I had the money to buy a new Vette (which I dont) I would not. I regularly park by or near a guys Copper colored Z06 and mine draws the onlookers not his. People know what a classic is and what one isn't I like that, a C3 is peice of Americana, and fun! :O) Oh and I paid 7K for mine and that is why a lot of us have them, if money was no object, I would still own one but restore it quicker, but I personally wont buy a late model for the reasons you dont like about older cars, I dislike the opposite about new, the "sterility" of a storebought powerhouse does not appeal to me, I have built motars and cars and bikes that will take a new Vette and "I" did it and that is the mindset of a lot of old car owners, they did it themself. Our local club has owners of all years of Vettes and I like all of the guys and cars, but the different cars reflect the guys personality, if you dont appreciate that fact I recommend staying with newer cars. Hope this ramble made sense... LOL

ctgene

As an owner of both an '08 and a '79 your comment makes no sense to me. I share an equal amount of pride for both of my Corvette's. They are both fun to drive and I personally get equal complimentary comments on both.

The13Bats

Perhaps I am wrong but I got the impression that was compounded with each addition reply that the poster of this thread has the mind set C3's are poor handling poorly engineered POS.

Since this IS a C3 forum that isn't really going to float very well,
Then I realize my views and opinions about the "typical" c6 and many c5 owners could be very off too,
But I am guessing off on a rare individual case not "in general"

I have the impression that c3 owners in most cases "in general" do their own wrench spinning, they are not really out there buying turn keys cars then having the vette shop do all the work,

I have the impression that most c6/c5 owners do not do their own work and in many cases are not even car people as in savvy to how to do their own work,
I get the impression they pretty much just throw money at things to make it happen from the start of buying their cars turn key to having repairs and mods done for them.
For example on the high side I see a fair amount of blowers and or NOS on c6/c5's and wonder how many owners actually install that and dial it in.

I see c3 owners hopping up their engines and upgrading their suspension and other heavier mods like that, body offs are not rare with c3's, when the c6 crowd seems to look at new floor mats or some carbon fiber or chrome stuck to the engine as a big mod, not unlike what import tuners get jazzed about.

I see c3 owners more as car crafters and c6/c5 owners as more just "Corvette owners"

I am not trying to bash c6/c5 owners just saying they are apples and we are oranges,
I am sure there is some sort of pride involved in cracking a wallet and buying the car and paying a shop for mods, ( unless it's a stick on geegaw )
But that pride is pale compared to the c3 fellow who does his own work or built his car from the ground up,
I would be shocked if even one c6/c5 has been built ground up by it's owner on these forums.

Now I am off to put on my flame proof suit...

Jason Staley

If you don't buy an expensive rare C3, then modifying it isn't such a big deal IMO, and you don't have to go to extremes like the tubular frame (which is nice though ). Just make sure the suspension and steering are in GOOD shape and ADJUSTED properly. These cars are very sensitive to adjustments. A mis-adjusted steering box or a so-so alignment can really screw things up. I have a fairly decent handling 76 that rides well enough my wife doesn't even complain.

Just be ready to get your hands dirty and do the work yourself. I have found even most GM dealers cannot fix these older models correctly. One mechanic couldn't hardly get it started or keep it running (he had never drove a car without FI )

guitarcrazy02

As for drivability, I drove my 81 every day except for during the winter 2 years straight and it wasn't an issue at all. Then again, those two years were my junior and senior year of high school, so who knows. I'm not as crazy as I was.

MN80Vette

Then I'll explain...

I didn't say C3 owner have more pride than C5/C6 owners. They can an equal amount of pride, and they are both fun to drive, etc.

What I meant is that many (if not most) C3 owners gained a lot of pride from hundreds of hours of work on their cars to restore or modify them to look and perform better than when they bought them. Only 2-3 of dozens of C5/C6 Corvette owners I know that have done as much work on their Corvette as the average C3 owner.

My wife was equaly as proud of her WRX as I am proud of my '80, but what she took pride in was different. She took pride in driving a FAST all-wheel drive car and I take pride in building my '80 up from an empty engine bay, piles of new and restored parts, and hundreds of hours of work.

I said nothing about AMOUNT of pride or fun, but the SOURCE of pride and enjoyment. C5/C6 owners don't have the pride I have in my '80 because they haven't done the work on their C5/C6 that is the source of my pride in my C3. I'm talking about the difference in pride in what you own/drive vs. pride in what you accomplished with your own hands and effort.

TimAT

My 69 might have a few rattles (can't hear them over the exhaust!) but after I did all the suspension bushings it'll stick in a corner more than I have the brass to push it. And It is pretty well reliable. If I could afford to put gas in it (110 octane, please) I'd drive it way more than I do. As it is, it starts when I ask, rests comfortably in the garage, and will get me where I want to go and back as long as I feed it. 2007, I trailered it from Missouri to southern California, drove it a little over 500 miles, and took it home. No problems, unless you count the plug wire that got cooked on the headers.

vettebuyer6369

This sounds like a pretty heavy insinuation that people who don't restore their own cars have less to be proud of than you do, and no I'm not buying the "source" semantics diversion.

This reflects a certain look-down-your nose attitude towards those who dont restore their own cars, and lumping all C5/6 buyers in this club is pretty easy. But what if someone looked at you and said THEY took pride in a SOURCE of their own, a "difference in pride" as you put it, such as choosing Corvettes that were more collectible or vintage than say, I dunno, an '80 for instance?

It all starts sounding a little snotty, doesn't it?

That comment might be taken in the manner that I think C5/6 owners might take yours. I don't know what you really mean, but it really sounds like a veiled status assertion. And you know, out of the hundreds of Corvette owners I've known since the 70's, I'm not sure about the assumption that the "average" C3 owner has performed "hundreds of hours of work" as opposed to paying for hundreds of hours of work.

Not trying to stir it up, but your comment sounds very much like the eventual talk that comes up in the "C6 owners wont wave at me, they aren't real Vette people" threads. And, no, I dont have a C6. (And my C5 is my 3rd choice)

MN80Vette

There you go with more or less pride thing again. It has nothing to do with more or less.

Forget about Corvettes for a moment. I designed and built a solid walnut dining room set with 2 leaf extensions and 6 padded chairs. I was proud of what I accomplished. Someone who bought a walnut dining set at a furniture store and polishes it every week can have an equal amount of pride in the dining set they bought. They can appreciate the skill and time someone put into building it, but they cannot have that pride of designing and building their dining set from scratch themselves because they didn't do it. That is not a judgement of the buyer.

Do you feel pride when you work hard at something for a long time and the project turns out well? If so, then you know the pride I am talking about.

Every Corvette owner has good reason to be proud of owning a Corvette. My observation is that more C3 owners have done major work on theirs than C5/C6 owners, often out of necessity. Those who restored or modified their own Corvette have an additional pride over those who did not regardless of what gen Corvette they own. Anything else read into what I said does not reflect my opinions or ideas.

guitarcrazy02

Gonna have to agree with you there.

Vampyre

I had a C5 and many work on and upgrade their cars just like we do on the C3, so that's a moot point.

But to purchasing a C3....

If you drive a classic C3 and don't get it, then don 't get it.

81pilot

I have custom painted a lot of my own motorcycles, very high end beautiful work. I do it all in my garage and am self taught by reading books, watching videos and shooting test tanks and fenders. I used to take them to shows, I did well, but almost every time some guy with a brand new bike with a store-bought paint job and bolt on goodies would win, I always thought there should be another class in shows for guys who did it ALL (or the majority) themselves and guys who paid it done, I suspect if you did that you would see the difference in the C3 and up cars represented. Noone is dissing anyone, but pointing out the inherent fact that older cars get more personalized attention from thier owners and that translates into pride....at least it does for me....if anyone can fix up and work on a car and not have pride in it, then its time to sell it and buy a new model....or a minivan.

TBIRD57

i keep my 1957 thunderbird original because it captures the era and the memories for me.
i don't want a shell of what was. i want the young whipper-snappers to see 1950 cars in all their glory.(14 inch wheels,tube radio,mufflers encased in chrome bumpers,etc). of course the fumes from the exhausts while idling could kill you in a gargage too.

1957 what a year for American cars!

The13Bats

I know a fellow who down right judges his own self worth by what he can buy, he's a lonely, bitter soul whose wife dumped him and grown kids wont have anything to do with him...but he can buy whatever he wants to, and he is very "proud" of that and brags about it often.

IMHO Making something with ones own two hands is always going to be worthy of more "pride" than just throwing $$$ at it to make it happen through someone else's hands,

In the world of car crafting I don't care one obese rodents rectum what some fellow can buy, it's what he can build that impresses me.

thoyer

I have a 71 LS5 and a 05 Z51. From a technology standpoint, the 71 can't hold a candle to the 05. But then again they are two forms of the best in handling and performance available at that time.

I have rebuilt the entire drivetrain and suspension on my 71 to factory specs and the ride is rattle free and very comfortable. I have not done anything to my 05 and the ride is not rattle free (thanks to the noisy top) but comfortable.

Going from the driving the 71 to driving the 05, I am in awe of how far technology has come.

When I go from driving the 05 to the 71, I go back in time and think to myself how amazing it is that they could make a car this potent without the advantage of the technology they have today.

Two different cars from two different eras, both Corvettes.

Tom