Lakeside49

Just curious. If you personally owned a new C3 in 78-79, including the special `80-82 years, what was it like owning and driving a C3 in that era? Since the car was getting on in age did it still turn heads and draw respect on the road? Was it enjoyable to drive and own despite the high, interest rate driven, loan payments? Here's your chance to go back in time with an interested audience. As a college kid at the time I held them in awe, as I still do with my own, but wonder how reality would have met fantasy in first hand experience. Personal recollections, stories/experiences are welcome.

I know that most of the forum members are distinctive pre-`78 owners (based on forum member feedback survey results last year), but thought I would ask, anyway. Sorry to ask some of the chromies (and, `74-77 beautiful aero bumpers) to sit this one out this once.

Dave

doorgunner

Being a chrome bumper admirer, I lost interest in Corvettes when GM change the rear body to the sloped tail light design. Even thought thr front "rubber bumper" was tastefully designed /grills turned upside down, that change was an improvement considering the new rules for collisions.
I completely lost interest in Corvettes as the design turned completely Generic until 5 years ago when I "got the bug" to restore/restomod a basket case I located in a tractor shed. I also remember the early days of "barn finds" when it was considered dodging the junkyard to search barns in order to own a Corvette.

Now, a "barn find" is a great thing to experience! How times change!

Greg

Dave,
I didn't own a "brand new" one in that era but I did have one that was only 3 years old. Time has a way of fooling people when looking back. When the '78 came out with the big back window it was a pretty hot ticket and well received. While the earlier C3's were still considered great Corvettes this major body style change dated them instantly. As the newer ones came out they certainly did "turn heads and drew respect on the road". Remember in the late '70's and early '80's they didn't seem as dated as they may feel now. These were "Brand new Corvettes", the pinnacle of American style and prestige and despite the high interest rates Corvette sales were hitting record numbers. These new Corvettes were selling right around the $10K range (until the big jump in '80-'82). Nice chrome bumper cars could be bought for a third of that. But $3,500- $5,000 was still a lot of money back then.
When the integral spoilers showed up in 1980 they were also well received. It was a triumph in styling at that time and did much to upgrade/modernize the look of the car. Same with the two-tone paint combinations when they hit the showrooms in '81 we thought they were absolutely stellar looking.
Cool thread idea.
Greg

terrys6t8roadster

My sister-in-law bought a new 78, black with a saddle interior. She handed me the keys I loaded up my son and went for a ride, it was my first drive in a C3. The high front fenders, long hood, steering, braking, and handling were so much to take in that checking to see if the car turned heads wasn't even a consideration, it was so much fun to drive. You should of heard my 4 year old every time that I opened up the secondaries on that Quadrajet. T

gdm78vette

I bought my '78 new. I can't say that many people paid much attention to it that I noticed. It certainly didn't attract the girls (not that it was expected to or maybe I hoped it would but it didn't). It was way more fun to drive than the Pontiac Astre wagon I was driving before. Being a level headed 24 year old I got an automatic so I could get cruise control the idea being I could set my speed on the highway and not be tempted to speed the same. That didn't stop me from getting stopped one night at 3 am for speeding and being asked by the cop how I liked driving the car. I told him it was a lot more fun before he pulled me over. I still got a ticket. The other reason for the automatic was to avoid clutch and tire replacement costs; it being successful for the clutch obviously but not the tires, I still wore out the rears at a rate 3 times faster than the front. At almost 500,000 kilometres the transmission has never needed repair though.

My plan was to drive the Astre in winter but my brother ruined that idea so I drove it year round through rain, sleet, freezing rain and blizzards. From my perspective it is a complete myth that Corvettes can't be driven in the winter. Only once did I get stuck and need help and that was a freezing rain situation where I lost momentum going up a hill and when turning around to take another run up the hill the driver side tire slid off the road onto the shoulder, the 1" lip back onto the road was too much to climb on shear ice. I waited for the salt truck to come by, flagged him down and had him get me back onto the road then followed him till I got to the highway.

After 40 years of owning it I'd say I got my money's worth even if it cost me what initially was 3/4 of my take home pay over 3 years to pay for it! I still take it out for drives during the summer and I've been picking up parts it will need to restore it but as long as it is drive-able I'm reluctant to start any major project on it that would potentially take years before it would be back on the road. So for now it is a well worn, shows its age 1978 Corvette.

The13Bats

I dont know how not to get convoluted and long winded but will try hard,

I was lucky, with some doors back then as a very young pup,

While my first corvette a 72 bb convertible was a beast and i daily drove it in the early 80s,
I recall sitting up on the rear deck watching some drive in flick, i loved being able to open the rag top at a red light,

A string of stupid choices, swap this trade that placed me in a used but basically new at the time 81 corvette,



I was a gear head but got a early start in the nightclub music biz, what a time,

I was at that time early 80s booking punk bands, and one hit wonders,

To me my 81 was a down right luxury car compared to my beastly 72 and i like the beasts more, but at the time the 81 fit my needs,

I feel c3s had lost most gear head respect by 74 75, the look was so darn refined it was almost dull and hp was anemic,

I cant say anyone cared much about my 81 at the time, seems more people than i thought would want a ride as they never rode in a vette and in those days i would just toss them the keys,

dtamustang

sometime around 81 or 82 my wifes daily driver was an 80 , there have only been 2 body styles that wind my clock in the c-3 generation , any chrome convertible , with or without the hard top , i'm not a fan of the sugar scoop rear deck look ,and adding rubber bumpers didn't help the look at all , the 78-79s were a step in the right direction , but the first time i seen an 80 my thoughts were . they finally got it right , one of the prettiest cars to ever come out of detroit . back then it was just a nice comfortable car that happened to look good. to me at least it was a daily driver.

The13Bats

Phone died, i wasnt done, lol,
Cant seem to load pix,

So the early 80s was fun the new f bodies were out and while i was dissapointed the c4 was epic in its own way, but that cast a shadow on the c3s,
My partner had one of the first red c4s sold in florida,

Then prince does lil red corvette and main stream people then got slapped by "corvette" they loved them or found them cheesy,

When my club partner got arrested for white collar non club stuff the news paper made a big deal of the fact he drove a " new red corvette" lol

Like don was saying it was like gm saw what the did with 74 to 77 and knew killing the duck tail was a bad idea, the pace car spoiler was okay but the 80s modern take on the duck tail keeping the original spirit and the 80 under bite front really at the time looked like it came off a track, gm should have made all bubble butts hatchbacks,

I went on to put over 100k miles on that 81 by 88 and no one can say c3s dont make great daily drivers, just give the maintenance any cars needs,

In 88 89 i went nuts and did a full restoration and wide body to my 81 but thats another story,

Lakeside49

These first hand look-backs to what it was like owning a `78-82 C3 in it's day and element are appreciated. (I can still see the first `78 Pace Car coming up behind me as a new H/S graduate and being blown away. Then, in my small college town riding my bike past a Chev Dealer with seven or eight `82's on his lot and thinking, `one of those are going to be mine, someday'. I have since worked for the #2 big 3 OEM and for 34 years have driven pretty much any car we make, that I've wanted (with many great ones). But, none (with the `87 T-Bird turbo coupe coming closest) have captured my imagination as the bubble back C3's based on seeing them as a youth. I would observe the owners and they seemed to be a cut above in confidence and appearance - hence, why I humbly appreciate your insights - you were on a pedestal from thousands of aspiring people like me!

We sometimes take ours on weekend trips, staying at B&B's and it turns heads everywhere because it's both, a gorgeous designed car and reminds others of a special era. I'm curious about how this car felt like to own and drive in it's era.

Thanks for keeping the insights coming. I've "thanked" each of you that owned one that replied.

Dave

tpfarm

I agree with the previous posts so I won't bore you with saying some of the same things. I bought a 78 in 79 black with saddle interior, auto.
I remember that it felt very heavy at first until I got used to it. The thing to remember is that by that time chrome was a thing left in the 50's and 60's, people liked the new monochromatic look , painted bumpers and outside mirrors. My car was still a head turner and very reliable .I drove it until 1984 and sold it I think for $8500.00. The phone rang off the hook and the first guy that came to look bought it. Yes buying it was expensive I think I gave $9500 at a dealer $282.00 monthy payments financed through GM credit. That was a lot for 1979. But that car is what got me back into vettes again ,I now have a '73 Convertible L82 four speed, If I were to buy another Vette it would be a '78 SA L82 four speed.

OldCarBum

Back in 1978 I bought a new Camaro Z28 and my friend bought a new 78 Corvette. We would run them side by side from Corona CA down to Huntington Beach CA where our girlfriends lived. Good days and late night 100 mph runs. I always thought his Corvette was nicer than my Camaro, but I by far had the nicer girlfriend. So I guess it was an even tie.

2airtime2

I was 14 in 1978 and my uncle bought a new Z-28. He was on the volunteer rescue squad. I was riding with him one day when a call came in. He plugged his red light into the cig liter and I was thrown back in the seat. That was a cool car and sounded awesome after the mufflers warmed up and the secondaries opened.

dmaxx3500

I got a ride in a 75-76 corvette,when I was 15,cool car,,,and bought a new silver 1978 z28 [sticker was $6700] had it 6 months and was told ins was $2000 a year,,so I traded it in on a 1978 1/2 ton 4x4 chevy sport truck [ins was $250 per year]

leadfoot4

When I first met the young lady who later became my wife, she had a '76 Corvette. She previously had a '76 Datsun 260Z, but was "t-boned" by a drunk running a red light. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, but the insurance company was giving her a hard time over repairing/replacing the "Z", so a friend of the family, who happened to have a cousin that owned a Chevy dealership, stepped in to help her with the problem. They got the "Z" totaled, and the cousin's dealership juts happened to have a new 'Vette in stock, which she purchased.

When the 78s came out, with the "big glass" rear end, she saw one, liked it, and in November of '77, she placed an order. (It was around this time that we met) However, due to the originally unplanned run of Indy Pace Cars, her order was severely delayed, to the point that her ordered car didn't arrive until July of '78, just a few weeks before the '79s were due to arrive. She backed out of the deal on the '78, and instead ordered a '79, which she would up keeping until 1997.

golfboy

Although now I own a 1978 Indy Pace Car, back in 1979 I bought a new Corvette, bright yellow in color and, of course a four speed. I remember the price being $9800 out the door and I financed it for three years. It was my daily driver and I drove it winter and summer regardless of weather conditions. It got it's share of attention being bright yellow and a Corvette, the same attention that all the other Corvettes I've owned (8 different ones) over the course of 40 years have gotten. I've been a Corvette fan since I was in high school and saw a new 63 split window Corvette for the first time in dealer showroom. A lot of memories are flooding back after writing this post!

rastafford3164

Really enjoying this guys! Keep them coming! Thanks!

AllC34Me

I have owned several C-3's over the years and one thing that has remained consistent for all the cars is the look in a young mans eyes when he sees them. I have many make the mistake saying "cool, a stingray" for my 77 and I never correct them. I just say thank you and let them enjoy the car. I flat out love the C-3's regardless of what year 68-82. The icon survives. If we want generations in the future to keep the C-3's alive we have to encourage them to get up close and personal with the car. Sticky fingers don't bother me, I can wash the car.


Thanks for asking. Just another old guys opinion.

David Howard
AllVettes4Me

Lakeside49

Could put you in contention for the top C3 forum Quote of The Year.

vettebuyer6369

When you ask that question you have to put yourself back to that point in time. Today’s market/interest level of chrome bumpers vs later cars didn’t exist then. Back then there were 3 generations of Corvettes: “Solid axles,” “midyears” and “late models.”

The late models were essentially the latest and greatest, and the later the better. When I had my ‘68, it was old news and I wanted one of those cool ‘73s with the body colored nose. When I had my ‘73, I wanted one of those neat no chrome cars. Not long after I bought my ‘77, I lost my mind over the big back window cars, first the 78-79 and then that redesigned gorgeous 80-82 with the beautiful interior. This goes to your question.

I sold my ‘77 and took a terrible hit on it along with trading in a nice winter car in order to buy my ‘80, a white with red interior beauty. I absolutely loved that car.

But to put this conversation in the right perspective, I couldn’t wait to get into one of those space ship all new C4 thingies. I eventually bought three of them. Today, you couldn’t give me one for free, and I’m back owning a ‘69 because I became nostalgic for the early look.

In its time, things have their moments and it all comes around.

v2racing

This is a great answer and the numbers of cars sold in that era show that was the prevailing feelings towards these cars.

Mike