I've had both the car and the hot young stripper wife for a long time. They have both aged very well ;-)

 

Ive had corvettes and been in the club business a very long time and i didnt age very well at all...

 

Whatta ya mean Bats.... I think ya look pretty good for a 64 year old!

:

(Just kidding bud!)

 

Priya, you are right about it being easier to open a 68 door. When I bought mine in the summer of 1972, there was no internet. I had no idea a 68 was so different from a 69. In the want ads, a 68 was going for $3,100 and a 69 was $3,200. I stopped at a Sunoco gas station and a young lady had a for sale sign in the back window. It was four years old and had 22,000 miles on it.
And anyone who thinks that parts on a 68 are the same as a 69 are very mistaken. Almost every part is different. A lot of 1967 parts were carried over to the 68, also. How many know that even the 68 front spindles are one year only? So is the radiator support, windshield wiper motor, and door glass.
The 68 interior is nicer than the 69 and the way I drive, I appreciate the wider at the top inner door panel when I take a curve fast!
I have owned my coupe for almost 45 years now. Lou.

 

I thought the 69 would have been the ultimate C3 if it had the 70 and up flares, but it didn't so the 70-72 wins out in my opinion.

This is my 69 I had when I was 20 in 1980. I dropped out of school so I was way ahead of the game having full time jobs since I was 16. Lived with my grandmother who didn't have a car so the garage was mine. Sold my 69 Camaro, a real Z28 minus the 302, to buy the blower. My cousin who went to auto body school painted the Z and what I learned to paint cars on. This Vette is my first solo paint job, my cousin had enough with the Z. Interesting side note of how stupid I was. I thought a paper mask was good enough to paint with so I was on my knees in the backyard dry heaving between coats. Man was I wasted. A little less than $200 in paint materials, 1979 prices for lacquer, and I borrowed my cousins beloved Binks model 7 spray gun. Amazingly it turned out pretty good but I did touch ups the rest of the summer to get it there. Good thing it was white and I bought enough paint. Thinking back on this, I have hardly changed at all. A little wiser though.

When I had this car I used to pass an almost identical car but a 70-72 on the way to work everyday. I was hooked on those flares and knew I would have to have that body style eventually.

 

If that is "Plain Jane" I am in trouble.....

 

Yes, there's nothing plain about a C3.

 

The deciding factor for my choosing the 69 over the 68 was the availability of the tilt tele wheel. At 6'2" this option is a must. I also like the extra frame reinforcing of the 69.
That being said if the right tripowered unmolested 68 came along. I'd be first in line. They are both great cars.
Norm

 

My first C3 was a '68 I bought in 1978. I just wanted a "shark" convertible and this was what I found. 10 years ago while shopping I wanted either a '68 or '69 only, but I preferred the '69 because I wanted a triple black roadster and wanted the last model year for black until it came back in '77.

 

Wow Lou ....45 years!!!!!!!! GM musta did something right !!!

 

Trust me, anything that could break...has, at least once!!! That is why I am on the forum to help people, if I can, because I have been there.
I had to drive the "Rain Magnet" for 4 1/2 years as a DD after a divorce, through two of the worst winters in Cleveland, Ohio, where they love salt in winter! My second wife helped me change the frame (a new GM one) and put a ZZ4 crate motor in it. Lou.

 

Wow Lou...U are the KING ....

 

That 70 may have been built in '69, so...

I really like the '68 door panels, I will be putting them in my car in the future. Also, key on the dash is cool, my '65 Riviera has that, but I love the tilt/tele; wish I could have both.

 

Disclaimer; a 68 is a great car...just not as great as a 69!

1. Significant frame stiffening in rear.
2. More comfortable interior.
3. Slightly more 'safety' (spitting milk from nose!)
4. Advancements in reliability.
5. locking steering column
6. Headrests
7. lack of silly door buttons.
8. Cleaned up an already world class design.
9. 350 engine vs 327.
10. Standard posi-traction
11. Lowered roll center
12. 8" wheels instead of 7" wheels
13 Significant differences in initial quality control (more milk shoots from nose!) Of course 40 years later, this is MOOT!.
14. Zora was sick during the gestation of the 68....you could tell!

To be fair the 68 had better looking tail-lights with separate back-up lights.

I have owned mine (69, 350/350, M-21, side-exhaust, two-top shoulder-belt) for 40 years.

unkahal

 

The 68's have the same roll center as the 69's. The 68 was engineered to have a better suspension than the 63-67's, by changing the strut rod adjustment bracket to a different design. GM tried to build the hand made Corvette like any other tin car, and with Zora gone and the huge demand for the 68 models, quality control was really lacking. Lou.

 

I would say 68, as it was the hottest car by far that year. More popular than the new Lamborghini Miura as Americans most wanted sports car.
Personally I think the door buttons finish the car, and I find it easier to open than 69. Build quality is GM no matter what year. I would say 75% of the time people see mine they say is that a 72?

 

Introduced late in 68

Door panels only. My 68 panels have never bothered me and I could not see any real difference with my 74.

No difference

Questionable

And?

Available in 68.

I love my buttons.

By adding Stingray scripts to the fenders?

Nothing wrong with 327s.

Posi was optional until 1970.

Same roll center.

Yawn. When driving, I can't any real difference between 7s or 8s.

Arguable.

Only late (May 67) and was back on the job in time for the long lead press review.

What you drive is your choice. What the rest of us drive is our choice.

 

Please post a picture. I love that car!

 

We want to see a picture of the car

 

Agreed with the door button you get much more of a grip opening up the door latch. Without the button it is HARD to open.