78 INFO please
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78 INFO please
hey guys already own a real nice 92 C4 and was lusting after a C5 , then I started reading and thinking about the many things that could go wrong with that year,thats not saying cuzz every car has their problems, so been looking at some 78 C3s and they seem to be more trouble free or less can go wrong, on that note hoping to get some feedback on the subject, thanx
Last edited by lectroglide; Dec 25, 2014 at 10:39 PM.
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From: Corvettes ruined my life. CA
I have an '85 C4 and a '78 C3. The C3 has been very nice to have and I only paid $4400 for it so they are a lot of bang for the buck.It has been pretty reliable for a 35+ year old car too. I say go for it!
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ok thanx and I still have alotta reading to do on the C3s but would appreciate anything you care to share good or bad.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,193
Likes: 176
From: Hillsborough NC
The 78 isn't much different from any other C3 in terms of major structures, so do your reading as you don't want to buy something that needs substantial birdcage or frame work.
I've had my 78 for 11 years now and am in the middle of completely going through the car (frame off). When I bought it, it was a 2 owner 41K mile car that had been garage kept for most of its life.
Even with all that, there are certain things that time just eats away, like rubber. As with most things, you set out to do one project and it leads to 10 others. For me, the tipping point was that I was getting ready to re-install the motor with a new Tremec 5-speed tranny and started looking at the body mounts. The car was never molested or hit, but after 34 years (at the time) the rubber was just plain rotted. At that point, since the body had to come off, or atleast be lifted, I just decided it was easier to work on a rolling frame than to beat myself up trying to work on an assembled car. Lot of work, absolutely, but I've enjoyed it and there is no other feeling of satisfaction like assembling a car from all refinished pieces.
To me, the C3 is a rolling piece of art in terms of body, it will always be the classic vette shape, and I remember being 8 or 9 years old and seeing them on the street new.
You don't mention how mechanically inclined you are in your post, but if you are fluent with a wrench, these cars are simple to work on, very straightforward, but there are some things you will probably end up doing that are expensive due to age and wear.
These could, might include:
* Trailing arm/rear bearing rebuild $$
* Rear end rebuild as the axle stub tips were not hardened by the factory and wear out very quickly $$$
* Front end suspension rebuild, plenty of kits available and not a difficult job $
* Power Steering Valve or Box rebuild (valve is notorious for leaking and the box gets sloppy with time) $
If you are specifically looking for a 78, about a third of them have the silver anniversary paint scheme (like mine), so they are pretty popular. They also seem to sell for a bit of a premium even though there are a ton of them. If you go for one of these, buy one with a good paint job because painting a vette is expensive, painting it in two-tone is even more
. Mine was repainted by previous owner in 2000 and it was a $5K job back then.
Power in these is not spectacular by any means. Mine started life as an L-82 with close ratio 4 speed. It was fun to drive, but don't expect too much acceleration. The later year C3s had to contend with a lot of added weight due to safety regulations (bumpers, door beams) and also suffered performance hits from emissions.
There is much potential in these cars as they share many of the components with the high powered C2 and C3 big blocks, so they can be made very stout. 79 is the last year of the heavier frame and full cast iron differential as well. In 80 they went to an aluminum batwing setup to drop weight.
I liken my project to being a sculptor. A sculptor frees a beautiful statue from within a chunk of rock. You definitely can free the inner 'vette' hiding beneath the layers of regulations of the later C3 years, but it does take some work and dedication.
As a previous poster mentioned, the one thing they have going for them is that they are reasonable to buy. I bought my C3 because I couldn't afford a first gen camaro or a 69 Chevelle, but I have never regretted it or looked back.
Plenty of great resources here on the forum for you to take advantage of in the C3 section. I know I stole many of the mods I am doing from work others have already done
Funny you are a C4 owner looking at a C3. I've been looking at C4s to get something that is a little more modern.
Best of luck.
I've had my 78 for 11 years now and am in the middle of completely going through the car (frame off). When I bought it, it was a 2 owner 41K mile car that had been garage kept for most of its life.
Even with all that, there are certain things that time just eats away, like rubber. As with most things, you set out to do one project and it leads to 10 others. For me, the tipping point was that I was getting ready to re-install the motor with a new Tremec 5-speed tranny and started looking at the body mounts. The car was never molested or hit, but after 34 years (at the time) the rubber was just plain rotted. At that point, since the body had to come off, or atleast be lifted, I just decided it was easier to work on a rolling frame than to beat myself up trying to work on an assembled car. Lot of work, absolutely, but I've enjoyed it and there is no other feeling of satisfaction like assembling a car from all refinished pieces.
To me, the C3 is a rolling piece of art in terms of body, it will always be the classic vette shape, and I remember being 8 or 9 years old and seeing them on the street new.
You don't mention how mechanically inclined you are in your post, but if you are fluent with a wrench, these cars are simple to work on, very straightforward, but there are some things you will probably end up doing that are expensive due to age and wear.
These could, might include:
* Trailing arm/rear bearing rebuild $$
* Rear end rebuild as the axle stub tips were not hardened by the factory and wear out very quickly $$$
* Front end suspension rebuild, plenty of kits available and not a difficult job $
* Power Steering Valve or Box rebuild (valve is notorious for leaking and the box gets sloppy with time) $
If you are specifically looking for a 78, about a third of them have the silver anniversary paint scheme (like mine), so they are pretty popular. They also seem to sell for a bit of a premium even though there are a ton of them. If you go for one of these, buy one with a good paint job because painting a vette is expensive, painting it in two-tone is even more
. Mine was repainted by previous owner in 2000 and it was a $5K job back then.Power in these is not spectacular by any means. Mine started life as an L-82 with close ratio 4 speed. It was fun to drive, but don't expect too much acceleration. The later year C3s had to contend with a lot of added weight due to safety regulations (bumpers, door beams) and also suffered performance hits from emissions.
There is much potential in these cars as they share many of the components with the high powered C2 and C3 big blocks, so they can be made very stout. 79 is the last year of the heavier frame and full cast iron differential as well. In 80 they went to an aluminum batwing setup to drop weight.
I liken my project to being a sculptor. A sculptor frees a beautiful statue from within a chunk of rock. You definitely can free the inner 'vette' hiding beneath the layers of regulations of the later C3 years, but it does take some work and dedication.
As a previous poster mentioned, the one thing they have going for them is that they are reasonable to buy. I bought my C3 because I couldn't afford a first gen camaro or a 69 Chevelle, but I have never regretted it or looked back.
Plenty of great resources here on the forum for you to take advantage of in the C3 section. I know I stole many of the mods I am doing from work others have already done
Funny you are a C4 owner looking at a C3. I've been looking at C4s to get something that is a little more modern.
Best of luck.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 642
Likes: 11
The 78 isn't much different from any other C3 in terms of major structures, so do your reading as you don't want to buy something that needs substantial birdcage or frame work.
I've had my 78 for 11 years now and am in the middle of completely going through the car (frame off). When I bought it, it was a 2 owner 41K mile car that had been garage kept for most of its life.
Even with all that, there are certain things that time just eats away, like rubber. As with most things, you set out to do one project and it leads to 10 others. For me, the tipping point was that I was getting ready to re-install the motor with a new Tremec 5-speed tranny and started looking at the body mounts. The car was never molested or hit, but after 34 years (at the time) the rubber was just plain rotted. At that point, since the body had to come off, or atleast be lifted, I just decided it was easier to work on a rolling frame than to beat myself up trying to work on an assembled car. Lot of work, absolutely, but I've enjoyed it and there is no other feeling of satisfaction like assembling a car from all refinished pieces.
To me, the C3 is a rolling piece of art in terms of body, it will always be the classic vette shape, and I remember being 8 or 9 years old and seeing them on the street new.
You don't mention how mechanically inclined you are in your post, but if you are fluent with a wrench, these cars are simple to work on, very straightforward, but there are some things you will probably end up doing that are expensive due to age and wear.
These could, might include:
* Trailing arm/rear bearing rebuild $$
* Rear end rebuild as the axle stub tips were not hardened by the factory and wear out very quickly $$$
* Front end suspension rebuild, plenty of kits available and not a difficult job $
* Power Steering Valve or Box rebuild (valve is notorious for leaking and the box gets sloppy with time) $
If you are specifically looking for a 78, about a third of them have the silver anniversary paint scheme (like mine), so they are pretty popular. They also seem to sell for a bit of a premium even though there are a ton of them. If you go for one of these, buy one with a good paint job because painting a vette is expensive, painting it in two-tone is even more. Mine was repainted by previous owner in 2000 and it was a $5K job back then.
Power in these is not spectacular by any means. Mine started life as an L-82 with close ratio 4 speed. It was fun to drive, but don't expect too much acceleration. The later year C3s had to contend with a lot of added weight due to safety regulations (bumpers, door beams) and also suffered performance hits from emissions.
There is much potential in these cars as they share many of the components with the high powered C2 and C3 big blocks, so they can be made very stout. 79 is the last year of the heavier frame and full cast iron differential as well. In 80 they went to an aluminum batwing setup to drop weight.
I liken my project to being a sculptor. A sculptor frees a beautiful statue from within a chunk of rock. You definitely can free the inner 'vette' hiding beneath the layers of regulations of the later C3 years, but it does take some work and dedication.
As a previous poster mentioned, the one thing they have going for them is that they are reasonable to buy. I bought my C3 because I couldn't afford a first gen camaro or a 69 Chevelle, but I have never regretted it or looked back.
Plenty of great resources here on the forum for you to take advantage of in the C3 section. I know I stole many of the mods I am doing from work others have already done
Funny you are a C4 owner looking at a C3. I've been looking at C4s to get something that is a little more modern.
Best of luck.
I've had my 78 for 11 years now and am in the middle of completely going through the car (frame off). When I bought it, it was a 2 owner 41K mile car that had been garage kept for most of its life.
Even with all that, there are certain things that time just eats away, like rubber. As with most things, you set out to do one project and it leads to 10 others. For me, the tipping point was that I was getting ready to re-install the motor with a new Tremec 5-speed tranny and started looking at the body mounts. The car was never molested or hit, but after 34 years (at the time) the rubber was just plain rotted. At that point, since the body had to come off, or atleast be lifted, I just decided it was easier to work on a rolling frame than to beat myself up trying to work on an assembled car. Lot of work, absolutely, but I've enjoyed it and there is no other feeling of satisfaction like assembling a car from all refinished pieces.
To me, the C3 is a rolling piece of art in terms of body, it will always be the classic vette shape, and I remember being 8 or 9 years old and seeing them on the street new.
You don't mention how mechanically inclined you are in your post, but if you are fluent with a wrench, these cars are simple to work on, very straightforward, but there are some things you will probably end up doing that are expensive due to age and wear.
These could, might include:
* Trailing arm/rear bearing rebuild $$
* Rear end rebuild as the axle stub tips were not hardened by the factory and wear out very quickly $$$
* Front end suspension rebuild, plenty of kits available and not a difficult job $
* Power Steering Valve or Box rebuild (valve is notorious for leaking and the box gets sloppy with time) $
If you are specifically looking for a 78, about a third of them have the silver anniversary paint scheme (like mine), so they are pretty popular. They also seem to sell for a bit of a premium even though there are a ton of them. If you go for one of these, buy one with a good paint job because painting a vette is expensive, painting it in two-tone is even more
. Mine was repainted by previous owner in 2000 and it was a $5K job back then.Power in these is not spectacular by any means. Mine started life as an L-82 with close ratio 4 speed. It was fun to drive, but don't expect too much acceleration. The later year C3s had to contend with a lot of added weight due to safety regulations (bumpers, door beams) and also suffered performance hits from emissions.
There is much potential in these cars as they share many of the components with the high powered C2 and C3 big blocks, so they can be made very stout. 79 is the last year of the heavier frame and full cast iron differential as well. In 80 they went to an aluminum batwing setup to drop weight.
I liken my project to being a sculptor. A sculptor frees a beautiful statue from within a chunk of rock. You definitely can free the inner 'vette' hiding beneath the layers of regulations of the later C3 years, but it does take some work and dedication.
As a previous poster mentioned, the one thing they have going for them is that they are reasonable to buy. I bought my C3 because I couldn't afford a first gen camaro or a 69 Chevelle, but I have never regretted it or looked back.
Plenty of great resources here on the forum for you to take advantage of in the C3 section. I know I stole many of the mods I am doing from work others have already done
Funny you are a C4 owner looking at a C3. I've been looking at C4s to get something that is a little more modern.
Best of luck.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,091
Likes: 40
The 78 isn't much different from any other C3 in terms of major structures, so do your reading as you don't want to buy something that needs substantial birdcage or frame work.
I've had my 78 for 11 years now and am in the middle of completely going through the car (frame off). When I bought it, it was a 2 owner 41K mile car that had been garage kept for most of its life.
Even with all that, there are certain things that time just eats away, like rubber. As with most things, you set out to do one project and it leads to 10 others. For me, the tipping point was that I was getting ready to re-install the motor with a new Tremec 5-speed tranny and started looking at the body mounts. The car was never molested or hit, but after 34 years (at the time) the rubber was just plain rotted. At that point, since the body had to come off, or atleast be lifted, I just decided it was easier to work on a rolling frame than to beat myself up trying to work on an assembled car. Lot of work, absolutely, but I've enjoyed it and there is no other feeling of satisfaction like assembling a car from all refinished pieces.
To me, the C3 is a rolling piece of art in terms of body, it will always be the classic vette shape, and I remember being 8 or 9 years old and seeing them on the street new.
You don't mention how mechanically inclined you are in your post, but if you are fluent with a wrench, these cars are simple to work on, very straightforward, but there are some things you will probably end up doing that are expensive due to age and wear.
These could, might include:
* Trailing arm/rear bearing rebuild $$
* Rear end rebuild as the axle stub tips were not hardened by the factory and wear out very quickly $$$
* Front end suspension rebuild, plenty of kits available and not a difficult job $
* Power Steering Valve or Box rebuild (valve is notorious for leaking and the box gets sloppy with time) $
If you are specifically looking for a 78, about a third of them have the silver anniversary paint scheme (like mine), so they are pretty popular. They also seem to sell for a bit of a premium even though there are a ton of them. If you go for one of these, buy one with a good paint job because painting a vette is expensive, painting it in two-tone is even more. Mine was repainted by previous owner in 2000 and it was a $5K job back then.
Power in these is not spectacular by any means. Mine started life as an L-82 with close ratio 4 speed. It was fun to drive, but don't expect too much acceleration. The later year C3s had to contend with a lot of added weight due to safety regulations (bumpers, door beams) and also suffered performance hits from emissions.
There is much potential in these cars as they share many of the components with the high powered C2 and C3 big blocks, so they can be made very stout. 79 is the last year of the heavier frame and full cast iron differential as well. In 80 they went to an aluminum batwing setup to drop weight.
I liken my project to being a sculptor. A sculptor frees a beautiful statue from within a chunk of rock. You definitely can free the inner 'vette' hiding beneath the layers of regulations of the later C3 years, but it does take some work and dedication.
As a previous poster mentioned, the one thing they have going for them is that they are reasonable to buy. I bought my C3 because I couldn't afford a first gen camaro or a 69 Chevelle, but I have never regretted it or looked back.
Plenty of great resources here on the forum for you to take advantage of in the C3 section. I know I stole many of the mods I am doing from work others have already done
Funny you are a C4 owner looking at a C3. I've been looking at C4s to get something that is a little more modern.
Best of luck.
I've had my 78 for 11 years now and am in the middle of completely going through the car (frame off). When I bought it, it was a 2 owner 41K mile car that had been garage kept for most of its life.
Even with all that, there are certain things that time just eats away, like rubber. As with most things, you set out to do one project and it leads to 10 others. For me, the tipping point was that I was getting ready to re-install the motor with a new Tremec 5-speed tranny and started looking at the body mounts. The car was never molested or hit, but after 34 years (at the time) the rubber was just plain rotted. At that point, since the body had to come off, or atleast be lifted, I just decided it was easier to work on a rolling frame than to beat myself up trying to work on an assembled car. Lot of work, absolutely, but I've enjoyed it and there is no other feeling of satisfaction like assembling a car from all refinished pieces.
To me, the C3 is a rolling piece of art in terms of body, it will always be the classic vette shape, and I remember being 8 or 9 years old and seeing them on the street new.
You don't mention how mechanically inclined you are in your post, but if you are fluent with a wrench, these cars are simple to work on, very straightforward, but there are some things you will probably end up doing that are expensive due to age and wear.
These could, might include:
* Trailing arm/rear bearing rebuild $$
* Rear end rebuild as the axle stub tips were not hardened by the factory and wear out very quickly $$$
* Front end suspension rebuild, plenty of kits available and not a difficult job $
* Power Steering Valve or Box rebuild (valve is notorious for leaking and the box gets sloppy with time) $
If you are specifically looking for a 78, about a third of them have the silver anniversary paint scheme (like mine), so they are pretty popular. They also seem to sell for a bit of a premium even though there are a ton of them. If you go for one of these, buy one with a good paint job because painting a vette is expensive, painting it in two-tone is even more
. Mine was repainted by previous owner in 2000 and it was a $5K job back then.Power in these is not spectacular by any means. Mine started life as an L-82 with close ratio 4 speed. It was fun to drive, but don't expect too much acceleration. The later year C3s had to contend with a lot of added weight due to safety regulations (bumpers, door beams) and also suffered performance hits from emissions.
There is much potential in these cars as they share many of the components with the high powered C2 and C3 big blocks, so they can be made very stout. 79 is the last year of the heavier frame and full cast iron differential as well. In 80 they went to an aluminum batwing setup to drop weight.
I liken my project to being a sculptor. A sculptor frees a beautiful statue from within a chunk of rock. You definitely can free the inner 'vette' hiding beneath the layers of regulations of the later C3 years, but it does take some work and dedication.
As a previous poster mentioned, the one thing they have going for them is that they are reasonable to buy. I bought my C3 because I couldn't afford a first gen camaro or a 69 Chevelle, but I have never regretted it or looked back.
Plenty of great resources here on the forum for you to take advantage of in the C3 section. I know I stole many of the mods I am doing from work others have already done
Funny you are a C4 owner looking at a C3. I've been looking at C4s to get something that is a little more modern.
Best of luck.
Well written
