A foreign friend visited during the holidays and the ridiculous cold forced us to find reasonably close indoor things to do.

The building is nice, the entrance fee token and our guide (group of only 5) was excellent.

My only disappointment was the relative lack of C3s. The guide (and the movie) both acknowledged that the C3 generation was by far the most successful and long-lasting run yet there were few examples to be seen.

The mainly C3 room had highly modified racers and an utterly stunning, if whimsical, early C3 with beveled crystal custom glove box and the most gorgeous purple paint with subtle undercoated airbrushing I've ever seen. I had hoped to see factory racers with their hoods open.

There may have been one pre-1978 in original condition but certainly not the '68 I wanted to see.

The main room--the round one with the "stinger" whose floor partially collapsed--houses the first '81 off the new Bowling Green line, a '78 Pace Car, an '82 in silver green (stunning and unusual) and the only '83 which they claim is a C3 despite looking like a C4. No '82 Collector's edition.

The gift shop didn't have a single C3 model, toy, poster, etc.! The only thing in the gift shop that let's you know the C3 generation exists is the owner's manual reproductions.

 

did you call the museum and talk to them and ask the same question?????

 

No.

 

That's pretty bad... The C3 is the signature body style of the corvette line in my opinion.

My red C5 Z06 is nice. My wife's C7 is... well... a C7... it looks like most other modern vehicles out there. Neither the C5 or the C7 can hold a candle to unique lines of my '81 C3.

The museum is on our bucket list. Thanks for the observations SwampeastMike, they will help to prepare me for the disappointment. Especially the gift shop....

 

Btw-The floor did not “collapse” as much as the ground beneath the museum opened up, dissapeared into the abyss and swallowed several cars.

I’ve been to the museum 3 times (including 1 visit only months after the sinkhole), along with three factory tours. As a fan of all things Corvettes, I thought the museum provided a great cross section of all generations. There is a lot of generations to cover.

On a side note, consider that most of the Corvettes on display are donated or on loan, so if you felt there was a lack of C3s this might be more an indication of fewer C3s donated because their owners are still enjoying them!

Just my $.02

 

Thanks for the opinion on the museum. This is on my bucket list of things to see.

kdf

 

Mike
#We also went this year, with 2 other couples in our corvette club, and was also very disappointed. Yes you are right the gift shop has practically nothing in the way of C3s, and felt that there sure should have been. I have been a member of the museum for several years but probably will not return for visits.

 

Not really. You can enjoy a walk through the museum without necessarily seeing a favorite C3. I can recall the time when there was no NCM for anyone to visit.

 

I think if you are a fan of any generation of Corvette, the same argument could be made. There are as many C3s as just about any other generation. I can think if several off hand, for example the Duntov car, the car on the "assembly line" as well as the pace cars. The Museum is a really a great place for Corvette enthusiasts and has been the "mother church" for those of us in the hobby long term. When non-Corvette people visit the museum they "get it." I would be willing to bet that many people bought their first Corvette after visiting the museum and I would be one of those people. I bought my 88 Anniversary Corvette after my first visit to the museum.

 

I went back in November while vacationing in Nashville. I enjoyed very much, but thought it was a little thin on C3’s. I really wished the hood would have been opened on a couple of displays. Like this one.