Hello - new member here and hopefully will have a daily driver '71 or '74 in the next 12-18 months...

Just trying to do research / set my expectations on maintenance on a 40+ year old car... how much work work on the car is typical?... and what's breaking? (assuming I spend $10-15k on the car to start with)

Meaning... you spend ~$1-3k?? a year for stuff that breaks/normal maintenance... or nothing breaks... just regular maintenance is needed.

Thanks in advance.

- J

 

Welcome aboard

In the sticky section of this forum discusses the do's and don't's of a purchase on a C3, it covers what areas will need attention as well. As far as how much I spend on maintaining my C3, it's hard to say as during regular maintenance you might find something wrong and it should be replaced. For instance, during a tranny flush I found out that the seals for the speedo and linkage need to be replaced. I also found a horrible power steering leak. So a job that should have cost about $50 is now well over $800. So these cars have hidden issues that seem to pop up at the wrong time. Right now I need a 4 wheel alignment and tires in the near future, after that I need to look into new weather stripping and ball joints. $1-3K is a safe bet but you might run into an issue where you need to replace a big ticket item like the engine and that shoots the budget out of the water.

Don't be discourage by this, these are great cars and a blast to drive, just know you'll be putting a lot of time and money into them.

Good luck with the build

Thanks,
Sam

 

You asked about $1-3K per year for maintenance. I would think that if you buy a good car then budget $3K each year for maintenance AND SET ASIDE WHAT YOU DON'T SPEND each year then you will have the money if a big ticket item comes up.

I bought my '76 in 2005. In almost 10 years I have replaced lower ball joints, fuel pump, rebuilt the carburetor and front calipers and done oil changes etc. If I budgeted $3K each year and saved it, I would have plenty of money to handle a major repair. Again, finding a good, well maintained car is the best thing you can do.

 

If you buy well (for example, my '69 was owned by a member on here and he took excellent care of the it) you may only need to spend "regular" maintenance money - points, tires, oil, grease, etc.

 

Just realize going into this, "regular" maintenance on a 40+ year old car takes on a different set of standards. Several things will drive your costs. Condition of the car you purchase, quality of work done on it (has bubba been wrenching on it?) and how hard/frequent you drive the car are just a couple of things to consider.

The "while I'm under the hood" aspect will also quickly raise costs. Case in point - my radiator has a small leak which required significant disassembly of front of motor to remove the radiator. It is easy to fall into the "while I'm in here..." pretty soon your looking at the front of a transmission!

In the 20+ years I've owned a 1982 Corvette, routine maintenance was low cost - tune up items like plugs, wires, oil changes, brake pads, rotors etc. The "down-stream" syndrome is what happens when you fix something and the part down the line breaks; you repeat until you've replaced the entire system; our brake system comes to mind here.

Another point to consider - will you do the work yourself and if so, do you have the space/time/tools, etc. If not, it's best to line up a good mechanic/shop now so that you're not doing so under duress. A local Corvette Club will be beneficial in helping determine local shops that are good and those to stay away from.

...but don't let any of this stuff get in the way of getting your C3!

 

If the car's in good shape and well taken care of, maintenance should be minimal. And if you do repairs yourself, even more savings. These are non-computerized cars and parts are plentiful and inexpensive. The newer ones are a different story.

 

Welcome to the forum. You did not mention how mechanically inclined you are. Labor can be a HUGE cost in maintenance. I find it very therapeutic to work on my car, the main reason I own one. Parts can be inexpensive if you like to dig up good deals. For example I replaced my missing ignition shielding, air cleaner, and updated to L82 rocker covers for less than $100 over the winter. The big thing for me is these are mainly hobby cars so you must enjoy them. Mike

 

Hi J,
I'll say welcome too.
I'll mention that a 71 that you can buy for $10 to $15 thousand dollars will likely be a lot more needy than a 74 that you can buy for that money.
I think you would be wise to buy a car that's being driven regularly rather than one that has been sitting.
Depending on what has been replaced on the car, and with what, you can expect to need to do more than just normal maintenance on it just because of the age of everything.
The good side is it's a simple car that an owner can work on (compared to today's cars), the bad side is that certain parts/ services can be costly.
Most people agree that the more you pay up front the better the car will likely be. They are Corvettes and people don't need to sell good ones for cheap money.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

 

Thanks - not too mechanically inclined... I tend to break more crap than fix will have to find a good vette shop in the Dallas area for work to be done.... I mean I can handle an air cleaner - but doing break work, no.

 

Thanks Alan. Yes, I've noticed the 71s tend to be higher than a 74... good point on getting something that is driven regularly.

 

If you can read a book and turn a wrench, you can handle brake work. Really, these cars are amazingly simple machines once you get into them.

A year ago I wouldn't have dreamed of touching the power steering system. After reading a bit in the service manual, and watching a video or 2, I got the thing calibrated in about 2 minutes. Now I'm tearing into the brakes due to a leaky caliper. Again, not something I would have thought to do myself a year ago.

I'm not trying to tell you not to take it to a shop. I'm sure they'll be happy to take your money. But don't sell yourself short on what you can and can't do to the car. Start with something simple and go from there: your confidence will grow with each successful job. As always, you have this forum to rely on when you dont understand something: we're always here to answer questions.

 

Don't forget it's just an old Chevy!

 

Make sure you get one with decent paint. That's a very expensive, time consuming process that you can't recoup your money on. I'd also find one where the trailing arms have been overhauled recently.

Just buy the nicest one you can afford.

 

I have always kept my vehicles 15 to 20 years. I use the 1/2 yearly payment rule. Example: If the vehicle is valued at $20,000 divided by 5 years of payments equals $4,000 per year in payments divided by 1/2 equals $2,000 in repairs/maintenance per year average during the ownership of the vehicle. When repairs exceed that limit I will trade-in/sell the vehicle.

My Corvette project is different: I expect to invest $20,000 into my project and have a "new" car when it is complete. I have done all the repairs myself by advice from Forum members and from reading repair manuals until I felt I was capable of rebuilding components (saving me another $10-20,000 in labor). After it is completed it should need only regular maintenance.....

but should a major problem occur, I will do what is necessary to make it last a lifetime because it is more than a investment--it is part of automotive history.

 

The short answer is that a 40+ year old car in the $10-$15 price range is something that will surely need attention and if you have to pay for most of the work , you should probably just look for a more expensive car that has been well cared for. It will probably be cheaper in the long run.

 

In my opinion, classic Corvettes are unsuitable as daily drivers. You will always be fixing something. If you want a daily driver, a C4, C5 or C6 will be far more reliable, comfortable and fuel efficient than a 40 plus year old Corvette.

In a perfect world you would have both; The newer one for daily driving and the older Corvette as a toy for cruising on sunny days.

 

In an old car, I always do a complete maintenance routine.

I Replace every wear items, hoses, belts, radiator, water pump, fuel pump, alternator, spark plug wires, spark plugs, every filters, wheel bearings, tie rods, brake lines and pads, drive shafts (u-joints), dump every fluids, etc...

Or else you always have something to fix every other week end, the car is not reliable, and you hate it.

I do it all at once, and then I just drive a reliable car.