Originally Posted by SwampeastMike

The13Bats: Not that I hate all mods. I make some to my own vehicles. Not that I think all mods are hack jobs--I don't consider mine such as I document changes and try to do things the "factory way". I have though seen lots of poorly executed and completely undocumented mods that leave even the pros scratching their heads and essentially saying, "I have to destroy it before I can fix it."

Surely you've seen the pics of butchered C3 electrical systems on this forum Surely you also know that many of the performance mods are much more about legal racing than use as a daily driver Of course there are excellent, extensive mods that are well maintained and documented and even suitable for a daily driver. Such examples, regardless of year, may well be far out of the OP's budget and are likely less common than hack jobs.

For a [presumably] young, first-time car owner wanting a 30+ year-old sports car as a daily driver I will stand by, "highly modified = highly troublesome".

To the OP:

I apologize for not recalling the "L82 late 70s early 80s" desire. Given the things you've mentioned I do believe that era the best for you. Since C3s are officially "collectible" prices fluctuate. From what I understand a low (no more than 40-60k) mileage example from that era with everything working and in good enough condition to be considered a "daily driver" will cost around $14k or so. Even then you can look forward to quite a bit of wrench turning. You can find ones with similar mileage that look quite good and seem "decent" but are in need of lots and lots of work to get them into a condition where they can be considered "reliable daily transportation".

Originally Posted by TMU

This is worth reading concerning buying a C3 https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-corvette.html

(edit) I see you have already read it yesterday, good.

Make sure you get any prospective car thoroughly inspected before making a deal.

Originally Posted by SwampeastMike

A C3 Corvette is an interesting choice for a first car and daily driver.

A few things to keep in mind:

Highly modified = highly troublesome!!!!!

You didn't mention budget. An early "steel bumper" C3 in good enough condition to be reliably daily transportation will be very expensive. Lower cost ones are likely to need LOTS of work and/or be so highly modified that nobody knows what's what The C3 middle years (before the fast back arrived in '78) are less expensive but had most of their "muscle" taken away by emission and fuel economy regulations while still having comfort/convenience problems that were far easier to overlook when you had a roaring monster under the hood. '78+ are generally the least expensive, got back some of the power and received significant comfort/convenience improvements.

Even with new, properly installed weatherstripping, water leaks are endemic in C3s. If you're near the coast, the rainy Pacific NW might not be the best place to have one as a daily driver. Unfortunately the leaks occur in places that cause water to be trapped thus leading to quite rapid rusting. The so-called "bird cage" and floor pans are both prone to this problem.

Originally Posted by Connor2017

I've always loved C3 vettes so that's why I'm looking into one for a first car. My budget it roughly 15K so that's why I'm looking at later years. I would love to get a '68-73 but sadly getting a decent one of those is a little out of budjet. I'm still going to try though and see if I can find a decent one. My main concern, like you said, is the regulations that came into play in the 70s limiting some power. I'm still on the edge about what muscle car from this generation I want to get. I've also been looking at early firebirds. But thankyou for letting me know to stay away from modified ones, I'll try to buy one as stock as possible. Water leaks are definely something I'll need to think about..... Maybe just carry a tarp with me??? Haha. If I do end up going with a c3 I'll try to upgrade the seals as much as possible.
Thankyou for this great information

Originally Posted by Jay15180

I'll chime in with another experience for you to consider. I'm currently 21 and I bought my first Vette ('77 L82) at 18. I drove it for about two years before I lost it in an accident related to worn suspension components. Although at the time I enjoyed driving it daily, looking back there were several things that if I had known would have steering me towards another car. Firstly, I found that I was always concerned with where I parked it. This depends somewhat on how anxious you get parking in crowded lots but in my experience the car attracted lots of attention and lots of idiots liked to park next to it. The worst I experienced was a large X keyed into the drivers side rear quarter panel. Second, the car was rather uncomfortable by modern standards. I'm a taller guy (6'3") and so I often felt cramped in the car. Additionally, the heat intrusion and high freeway RPMs made me want to stay away from driving on the highway. Finally, like any 40 year old car it needed constant maintenance. My car was probably slightly neglected in its past so this may not apply to you but its something to keep in mind. Looking back on that time I think I can say that I wish I hadn't used the Vette as a daily. A lot of the quirky things that I found fun on a Sunday drive quickly wore off when I was stuck in traffic commuting to work and so I found that the "specialness" wore off and I wasn't loving the car as much as I had when I only used it occasionally. Since then I bought a really nice '72 and leave it in the garage for occasional use and have a Miata and an El Camino for daily usage. At least in my case, I found that this was the perfect balance.

Originally Posted by Type65

II needed to replace literally everyone of my suspension components. I just finished that up yesterday.