For my next thread: which opinion is the most correct?

 

More than anything you need to do a bit of DRIVING and riding in MANY C1, C2 , and C3 to understand what your buying.

Understand who if anybody but you will be riding in it, maybe your 14 yearold grandson will love it, but will your 60 year wife may not sit in it. My wife loved it when she was 25 , now she hates my cars...LoL Understand you need to know about tools and how a car works to a certain level. TO keep a fully fuctioning C1-C3 on the road as a driver and reliable , not a trailor queen is a alot of work.

You should hang out with alot of corvette guys and see what your getting into and see if you have gasoline in your blood.

Looking isn't gong to cut it, you got to drive the damn things to understand what your getting into . To me as teen it was a no brainer, I was a corvette nut when I was 4 years old.

I know so many guys that say , hey you owner a vette since you were 18 , they must be cool and I always want ed one too.......but they have no idea the difference between a C3 and a chevelle or Nova or Impala in terms of ride , handling, expense, comfort ,or anything.

Most if no all over 30 who approached me over the years quickly fell out of love with their C2 or C3. They sold them, bought new Mustangs or much latter COrvette

The visual imapct is overwhelming ...much as a very old HD is to bike lovers.
Not everybody was cut out to drive an old corvette and be happy.

 

This feels like a "What type of green apple tastes best" sort of thread.

Different strokes. Everyone likes something particular about something.

I love my 1970 4-speed 350 coupe, though.

 

The '80 rocks. Reasonablly priced; awesome body styling. Now replace the stock engine with a ZZ4 and you'll get something that is as fast as it looks. I've driven 72's, 74's, 76's & 80's. IMO the 80 has a more comfortable interior. But that's just me... I'm biased.

 

Like you, I also was on a budget. Even though I had owned a 94 black corvette convertable manual I still ached to own a C3- the most beautiful American car ever produced. I also wanted a manual. I chose the 80 because of the body style. I wasn't worried about low Hp as I knew I could have the engine worked on. I also wanted to really drive my car. I felt if I went for early 70's that I would tend to keep more as a classic. I traded in the 94 and love the car i chose. Good luck!

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/pict...ctureid=103633
pic of my 80.

 

You folks who say do your homework first are spot on! I went and bought my "80 'vette about 4 years ago, and I wouldn't say I got burned, but I really wish I knew then, what I know now.


Keep the shiny side up!
Scott

 

Since the OP wanted quick answers, I will try my best....IMO, the later sharks/C3's suffered with deformed bumpers that looked like crap and never retain shape because it was the state of the art in body work at the time, with the .gov jamming all this safety crap on the industry, all cars for years/decades have suffered from this.....

You have to realize there are many critical areas to be examined on any given car, let alone a vette, just because the body panels don't rust out has NO BEARING on the rest of the car, which means you have to learn how the thing was held together....

the windshield area surround over top if you have a coupe, and if not, even the convertible front bow that it clamps down to the windshield header with, then we get into the RUST exams, look at the VIN tag area, left front of the A pillar/windshield look carefully for RUST stains, pull the kick panels below the dash and forward of the doors, look for any evidence of bad rust....

On a lift, get a GOOD flashlight and look up/under the rear sections of the frame where the trailing arms meet in that 'kickup' area of the main frame/chassis....looking for rust through of the frame or even trailing arms....then we get to the front radiator support that can be replaced, but they are famous for a 300 buck replacement....hard to spot for a novice, so unless you sure it's new, figger on a replacement....

there are many other operational difficulties you MAY have with any car older than most...and these are 30+++ years old, the amount of rust is all over the map like from a Arizona/S. Cal. car with nearly NONE, to a car from Wash state, or NE regions of USA...southern coastal areas are ROT city also....

make a HUGE diff if the car was stored in a pig barn, garage, north/rain, or desert.....

then we get into areas like brakes and suspensions....

I suggest you get hold of your local Vette club, join, and learn one on one with the club guru, pix/personal encounters worth mucho more than anything we can type....

 

Find a copy of this. It is out of print but some places still carry copies.


This is also fairly good, but is not a buyer's guide.


Read either and you will be able to decide which model year would be right for you.

Good luck with the hunt.

 

What's the best year C3? The one you can afford that has the best overall attributes of the type you are looking for. Does not matter one whit what others think about your car from that instant on.....you bought it and it's yours and meets your needs.

Lance P.

 

One more consideration will be the smog laws in your state. Here in California, 76 and newer most meet emissions testing. Be sure whatever car you buy meets the standards in your state, and understand that these laws might limit what you can do to improve performance.

 

I recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Restore-Corvet.../dp/0760300526

It was the very first book about Corvettes that I ever read, after buying my '80, and it is great for someone who wants a bunch of general info, not too big on specific details, tho. Go down to your local public library, and see if they have a copy. If they don't, they can get one for you from another library, they are all in cahoots. I am not sure, but I think the author may be a member of this forum.


Keep the shiny side up!
Scott

 

Figuring out your budget should be your number one priority!!!

 

Glenn
That is 3 paragraphs worth of the most direct, most comprehensive and most logical, non-BS advice that I have ever read. So many newbies coming to the old vette hobby just do not comprehend the many variations and aspects of the 550,000+ C3s produced. Although they are all beautiful and arguably the best looking vettes ever made, not all were created equal.
Dennis

 

I would get a 79 because they have the good seats plus you can use 78/80/81s for parts!

 

If I had to do it all over again, I would probably do what I did to begin with! I always wanted a '70 Corvette, I didn't have much to spend, and I found a reasonably clean, straight, rust-free base-model '70 auto from a little old lady for $8500. That same car would be $15k nowadays, and I got REAL lucky because I really didn't know WTH I was looking at. With all that said it still took endless blood,sweat, tears, time, labor, and cash to get the car where I really wanted it to be, and I am now in the process of repainting it for the second time(!)

If you had an unlimited budget then obviously a '69 L88 convertible is the way to go, but you don't so forget that. You seem to indicate that your lack of money is the main reason you're looking at C3's.

I think the first thing you need to ask yourself is "Just what do I want to do with this car?" C3's all look fairly similar but they actually vary wildly in terms of performance capability and handling. A base-model car with unmodified suspension is really nothing to write home about in terms of overall performance, but you can take a later-model rubber-bumper car, tighten up the suspension with stiffer springs, decent shocks, and bigger swaybars, put a decent cam, aluminum heads, and true dual exhaust on it and have something that can REALLY perform for really reasonable coin. And to get THAT car you don't have to put up all the money at once.

After having had mine for a few years what I have noticed is that nobody really notices when a ratty, clapped-out old C3 rumbles by, but clean, well-presented ones REALLY turn heads regardless of model year. It's probably easier to find a clean chrome-bumper car simply because they're worth more so people have taken better care of them, but the greatest thing about the later cars is that they are CHEAPER, essentially the same underneath, and the interiors are way more practical, with some real usable, accessible space behind the seats.

If I wanted to buy a C3 just to hotrod it then I would get a later one, simply because the potential penalty for 'butchering' it would not exist, and indeed, if you do the right things to it you can actually increase the value of it. I'm thinking a '79 with an aluminum-headed 383, 750 Holley, TKO 5-speed, 3-inch exhaust, really wide Z-rated tires, suspension that actually handles, etc.-after the initial investment you can buy all those parts for around $10-12k, and wind up with a 2800-lb rocket sled that goes around corners like it's on rails, gets 23 highway mpg, and looks better than anything else on the road. To build THAT car, though, you can't have any delusions about your own mechanical ability because if you try and pay someone to build it for you the cost will go up dramatically. That last sentence is VERY important, because BELIEVE me, even though these ARE Chevys they are NOT easy cars to work on and PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE are the key.

Lastly, whatever you do decide to do, I would highly advise that you decide on the car you want to begin with and then start looking for THAT car, and don't compromise because saving a few bucks on a car with a rusty birdcage/frame or rat's nest wiring, etc will only cost you double in the end. Get a car that needs repairs that are a) easy or b) were needed on parts you were planning on replacing anyway, like worn-out control arm bushings, etc.

Best of Luck, and go forth boldly, Grasshopper...

 

I just read through these posts and you have gotten a wealth of information. C3 owners are a pretty good bunch of people. I'm partial to manual shifts and convertibles. My present Vette wasn't my first but I fell in love with it 33 years ago and have had a lot of fun times in it ever since - that's what its all about.

Good luck, Bill

 

That's an awesome guideline, I really wish I had it before I bought mine. Hopefully I did not miss anything crucial!

 

Thank you to ALL of you that posted and continue to post!
I apologize that I failed to reply sooner, been busy

So far I think I am leaning towards the 80-81 as far as advice and all of the pictures I have looked at.... no, I haven't made up my mind yet.
This isn't a purchase that will be happening anytime soon, I have to save a chunk of money, pay off the Harley (maybe sell it) and possibly sell my other toy.

To answer some of YOUR questions:

I think I am more partial to a coupe, maybe t-tops?
Convertibles cost more insurance-wise from what I have heard and then there is the safety issue..... and I would think they are harder to keep warm in the winter.

If/When I buy a Vette I plan to either drive it into the ground or until I am bored with it.
I believe cars are made to be enjoyed and letting it sit in a garage washing it once a week just to look at it defeats that purpose.... just my opinion.
I am 37 years old but still have that desire to have a loud obnoxious sounding car, I want pipes that pound the ground... again, just my personal taste.

I only have to drive 4 miles to work, but I would drive it beyond that as well.

I am in Colorado, but would plan to drive it in the winter as well as long as there wasn't a lot of snow or that salt gravel on the roads.
Wouldn't drive it on the gravel roads either if given a choice.

Just knee-jerk price, I'm expecting to pay around $8k for a decent C3..... but after reading some of your replies I'm thinkin' it might be more.

I have practically NO mechanical skills, so I would most likely be paying someone to do the work, or hopping on here for advice if it were fairly easy. I don't like bustin' my knuckles, but I also have this huge fear of trying to fix something and only making it worse..... has happened before :P

Thanks again for all of the advice, it was EXACTLY what I was looking for!
I honestly wasn't trying to imply that I wanted you all to decide FOR me what to get, just opinions on why you think certain models are the best and you all honestly went above and beyond what I was expecting

I will continue to peruse this section of the forums and hopefully pick up more useful knowledge along the way.

Thanks for your time and patience with me!
-Clay-

 

Seriously, you better rethink owning a vette or using it as a daily driver.
Once 1 brake caliper starts to leak the others will follow one a month and break the bank! rear suspension problems will total your 401k and getting in and out daily will wreck the interior fast.