There are more 73 and up C3 Vette's than the market can bare, same applies to base early cars as well. These cars are not worth near the cost of restoration so it only makes sense more will be scraped or linger in garages indefinitely. Other C3's like any other collector car, despite lofty goals will never be finished because owners are too lazy to work on them, they bit off way more than they can chew are are incapable of accepting that, they have created their own false reality. You see cars like this all the time at estate sales. Moving sales often force an owners hand as well, I smirk at the lame excuses for why the car was never finished.


Owners that have cars restored to a high level are reluctant to drive them in fear of damage. I personally do not like the attention I get with my collector cars and on top of that there always seems to be someone out there that harbors actual contempt for people that have nicer stuff. Better to leave it at home and just enjoy owning it.

 

Great post momo sounds lik eyouve been around the block
Many restos get sold and never see the road again came close myself. Too much so

Way way more involved consuming, mentally and $ draining than most would ever think thats why a proper frame off costs so much guarantee 9 out of 10 selling are taking a beating. May not say so but they are, best way to buy em.DONE.

Never believed that til I lost 10-12 yrs of my life doing one had NO idea what layed ahead. Course what you expect or will settle for has lots to do with it. ocd to a huge fault so it went way way out of control couple with unscrupulous body shops bad parts machining yeah youre gonna do some thigns a few times like it or not. People think Im full of it when I tell em I have close to 6 figures into a plain white El Camino.

Figured 2 yrs and 20k max. Take that # times almost 5 even doing 90% of it myself.

 

or one could buy a beautiful low mileage survivor...like my '78 L82 S/A...put some miles on it and still have it remain collectible

 

Both my cars are restored to a high level and I drive them both routinely. I think the attention I get is the best thing about owning them, along with driving them. If I was afraid to leave the house with the cars, I'd sell them before I just left them at home. That's what insurance is for.

 

My '82 is a restomod so it's pretty nice to drive and I drive it a lot. I don't see a lot of other C3's in my town and the couple I know of only get driven once or twice a year at most.

The looks and comments I get every time I drive mine are great - from both young and old. Best experience was when I drove by about a 3 year old boy playing with his Dad in the front yard and he turned away from his Dad towards me and stared the whole time I drove by. THAT kid is a future Vette guy. He didn't get it from his Dad, who didn't look twice, but the kid got it!

 

I subscribe to the Dirty Harry Dictum:

"A mans gotta know his limitations"

But, when it comes to projects of the heart, like body off restoration of a corvette, denial, is perhaps the most vital and necessary component of these massive undertakings. So I salute those that ignore common sense, basic economics and their wives. Successful or not, they deserve our respect. For it is that very spirit that put a man on the moon and will help preserve some of our precious C3's.

This is my '81 getting dre$$ed for the next 35 years of its life. I took the photo yesterday! Allllmooooost there....

 

Beautiful job. You should be proud and looking at the smile on your face , I'm sure you are !

 

Yep, thanks, but that's not me, that's my neighbor Mark Frankelson, Gods gift to Corvette owners. Mark's a pro car body guy that is making it all possible. His enthusiasm for working with fiberglass, attention to detail, knowledge and experience is unreal...

 

Great looking paint job and car Peter! My favorite year. I have been restoring my 81 the last 2 1/2 years and basically I am all done with mechanicals, and all other parts such as vacuum lines, rubber anything, rebuilt engine, re-sealed tranny, new DeWitts radiator, rear end AC, almost all other parts attached etc. I will eventually replace window rollers and window seals, hinge pins and door springs. Interior in great shape, seats, rug is in great shape redone by previous owner. Everything works in the car. The paint is 24 years old and just starting to show some age with clear coat cracking on the right front vendor, but not noticeable from 5 feet out.

I will probably repaint eventually, but enjoying driving whenever I can, going to cars and coffee's and shows. I drive it every weekend and just had it at the International Auto Show on display with our other corvette club members cars. One thing I do notice, everyone young and old may walk over to the C7's but head back over to the C3 and ask many questions and admire these vintage cars.

Did you do the paint prep and final paint yourself? I would like to find someone down here in Jacksonville Florida that would do the final paint if I eventually strip the car down and prepare.

Thanks

 

What good is a car you don't drive? Owning a beautiful C3 and leaving it parked in the garage is like being married to a **** star and never sleeping with her.

I drive my 70 all the time, and if I break it I'll just fix it and drive it some more.

Let's go for a ride!

 

Beautiful 81 Reaper!
My choice of my first vette, the 81, was simple, it was easy - it was close by. But the more I learn of the C3s the more I like this model year over all others. For example, the bubble back means you have more carrying capacity, you can do a light Cosco run with it.......
As well it has most of the creature comforts and safety features of more modern cars. The car has great bones, well cared for, but it needed a paint job. But it turns out the Missouri factory body work was crap so it needed a lot of glass work to fix. No point spraying expensive paint on an unstable base. In the last pic you can see the body panel filler and how it affected the pant. So the job is costing over twice as much as I had expected, more than the car cost me. But at least I won't have to have the car painted again in my lifetime.
Your bod looks great, is it a Bowling Green?

 

I do agree with your observations of people thinking they can restore a car, when it is a major undertaking that many do not have the real desire or motivation to do. Its a great sounding idea, but you have to really enjoy the process, and the goal of bringing something back to life to your own idea of perfection.

As for people who restore cars to a high level, and then are afraid to use them.....I say that is pretty sad. They were meant to drive, not parked in a garage like a museum. There is a whole world of enjoyment related to going down the road that should not be missed. I restored my 77 to way better than most, spent many times the amount I could sell it for....but I am driving it as much as I can. Now, I am not taking it out on the salt laden roads in the winter, but otherwise, I am driving it. It will get chipped up, it will get worn, it will decline from the day I restored it, but I love every minute of it. I would never have spent the time and money just to have the car parked in my garage. That is only half of what the car means to me.

It is sad that people can't enjoy the car they put so much time in. I have all the respect for Alan 71 on our forum, but it is truly sad that the car is kept in a garage like a museum piece. It really takes away from all the effort he put in to it....but, of course, it is his car and he is free to do what he wants.

Being so afraid that something might happen to the car that you can't enjoy driving it is something that should be overcome......consider counseling!

 

I used to feel the same especially on alans fine car, but something dawned on me, for me working on my car but more so driving it, having a good time makes me happy, for alan he IS doing what makes him happy, so that is a huge win.

 

You just can't drive them and keep them looking like Alan's on the underbody . The outside appearance is one thing that you can keep looking perfect but get caught one time in the rain and those suspension parts start showing their age again. Many of the parts that were just protected with clear on sandblasted parts will start rusting and things start getting dull from dust getting in areas that are not easily cleaned . Who wants to be cleaning the car underneath anyway ? My cars get top notch restorations but I'm not going to stop using them for those reasons . Enjoying them is why I own them and another reason I don't buy all original cars .

 

Just sitting here going through the forum reading some articles with old reruns of " In the heat of the night " and I look over at the TV and see one of the officers driving his own personal red C3 convertible down the highway. Looks to be a 74 or 75 . It seems to be on here pretty regular because I've seen it a few other times on here . I think these shows were on in the late seventies so it couldn't be very old at the time. It's a good feeling to own one . Life is good !

 

It is surprising how big a C7 looks next to a C3.

Yes, the roads are wet, and the wiper door is open as it was raining.

They don't melt.

 

Insurance has become a hassle because of the state and the insurance companies and the nature of how people think. When I first got it, the insurance was prohibitive. One insurance agent told me it could be $750 every six or higher, but with my driving record (2 tickets in 3 years), it would be higher, like $1000 every six.

So I went with liability only and drove, figuring at that rate, if I made it a year and a half, and the car was totaled, I'd break even. As the years rolled on, I got higher and higher on the good side of the money.

But I wasn't foolish. I didn't park it in bad areas. I was constantly watching traffic. About the only questionable thing I did was park it top down in the garage at Miami International back in February 1986 while picking up a friend.

For the last 10 years roughly, I have had American Collectors car insurance, simply because 30 years ago, someone hit it, they paid for it. Today it would cost as much as the car for court fees to sue the person to get the money out of them and that still doesn't guarantee they pay.

But that puts a 2500 mile restriction, along with no driving to work. that is a drag. It is so nice to drive it to work occasionally, then cruise home on back roads and enjoy the rest of the day. Again, no foolish moves, the car sits outside a window where I can see it from my desk and it isn't visible from the street. No one is going to mess with it.

I just make sure there is a car show somewhere around work if I want to do that now.

 

If anyone looked at my thread on the Manatee Car and Truck Show, there were only a couple of C3 Corvettes there. On my 50 mile trip to the show and back, I saw about 8 Corvettes. A couple of late C4s, a C7, and the rest were C5s and C6s.

I have seen only one C2 in the six months unless they were leaving a show. I have seen a dozen C3s in the last six months maybe. And no C1s.

 

I work at a large college and if the weather is nice I'll drive it on the weekend due to I can park it right in front of my office and it's amazing how my 82 gets tons of attention from the kids. (Young adults) I have never seen another C3 on campus since I've been there in 7 yrs.

 

Seeing a C3 on the road is a rarity these days, C2/C1-nata.
Within 2 miles of my house there are at least 6 C1-C3s in some sort of repair/mod/restoration process. I would guess that 50% will never see pavement again.

Guys buy these great Barn Finds, put 20/30K into it, and will never be driven to a Mickey Ds for fry's or down the interstate to the next state. They become garage queens, Nothing wrong with that, but not me.

In 75 i delivered pizzas in mine, i drive in the snow, to have the car down for more that 5 days would drive me nuts... I give credit to you guys that that can spend years doing whatever to your car..

Just saying,,,,, the older Vets are there, from my back porch i have seen a yellow C1
for the last 35 years that has probably not been driven more that 1000 miles......

Its a car, just drive it.