A very close friend of mine is considering buying a C3 that would serve as her daily driver and she's asked me to help
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/3816912663.html
This is the CL ad. The only issue she has is she would want at least 20 mpg out of the car. I've told her with no restrictions, low gearing and a good set of headers that could be possible. I was hoping you guys could give me your opinion and advice. I love the C3s but mpg was never something I really looked too much in to

 

There are not enough detailed pictures showing condition of frame, engine, etc. The vehicle should be prechecked by someone highly familar with Corvettes.

 

This is not the car. She should consider a C4 or newer if she is in the hunt for 20 mpg.

 

If I saw it in person I'd look for rust in the birdcage, frame etc. But yes, I told her she might want to consider a c4 but that being said, I don't think a c4 can compare to a C3 in looks

 

Looks appear not to be the desired outcome here. 20mpg is what she says she's after.

 

She should be looking at an 82 or newer. Fuel injection vs carb.

 

find a nice '82. 20+ mpgs out of them are easy

 

If the question is, "20 MPG yes or no?" the answer is no.

If it's a deal breaker and she does not care about looks, send her C4 shopping.

 

Maybe she wants the look of a C3, but with the 20 mpg. Smart girl. I'd rather tolerate 15 mpg in an '80 as opposed to plus 20 mpg in a C4. But then again, a Toyoda Yaris is my daily driver so what do I know...?

 

I have an '80 driver that gets driven almost every day there is not rain in the forecast, and I really enjoy it. The only way I'm going to see 20+ mpg is with an overdrive transmission, which will be my next major purchase when funds allow.

If your friend is not familiar with owning C3's, she needs to expect a lot of maintenance/repair work. If you are old enough, you will remember that in the late 70's/early 80's cars usually only got around 100k miles before they became too expensive to maintain (i.e. it was cheaper to just get a new car.) At 90k miles, the one in the ad will likely need a lot of maintenance to keep it on the road as a daily driver. Not an impossible task, but do not expect it to be as reliable as today's cars unless/until it has a lot of new parts (steering, suspension, brakes, vacuum lines, engine/tranny refresh, etc.)

 

If she keep her foot out of the 4 Barrel carb 20 MPG is not hard to achieve but they are more like 16 MPG in this model year. In my 1977 with mild driving I have gotten 20 MPG while keeping my foot off the gas.

Carburetor engines are can I say finicky and the engine has to be warmed up to run properly

90,000 miles on the a 1980 Corvette is really not bad but will probably require some work other than paint depending on how it was taken care of. The interior shots do not look to bad. $7500.00 is a fair price but if I were to purchase this car I would think I might need to dump another 2000 to 5000 into it over time to get it back into shape again. it can be driven during the time your fixing it up but as you know it will need some work. If you can get it to a classic car shop for evaluation before you purchase it then I would suggest doing so. Some owners will not allow it.

I knew enough about classic models before I bought my 1977 with 43,260 miles on it that knew it was really that low of mileage but also knew after I paid $9000 for the car I would have to dump another 2000 to 4000 grand into it. I have already put 2000 back into the car after only owning it 2 months and know it will cost me another 2000 to get everything fixed the way I want it. It now has just a little over 44,000 miles on it. I still need to purchase shocks all the way around, rebuild the carburetor and have the rear bearings replaced then also have the rear suspension rebuilt because of seized bolts.

This car seems to be in fair condition and I always look at Hemmings Price guide when I look at value. They use Hagerty Insurance to price the cars for value.

http://www.hemmings.com/priceguide/

 

I have managed to get 25MPG out of my 80. I don't know if it was all downhill, but it was all highway.

Of course, in rush hour, it gets more like 13.

If you're buying a Vette for fuel economy, um, yeah, good luck with that. That's like buying a Jeep Wrangler for it's fit and finish or a Civic for it's towing.

(since I bought the car, it's averaged 18.8 MPG - I have a spreadsheet. And yes, I'm floored it's that good. It's an L48 that's been rebuilt - sounds like a mild cam, headers, Edelbrock Performer intake, 4 speed, and I believe someone changed it to a 3.30 rear gear - 55mph is 2250 on the tach.)