When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Is it possible to daily drive a c3? Excluding winter, I would absolutely daily drive a c3 spring through fall. I know how to drive and am not afraid of driving a rear wheel drive sports car through the rain.
The only two things I am afraid of are
1) Leaks. I've heard that T Tops leak. Is this from weather stripping needing to be replaced or they leak regardless? I know corvettes after 76 had steel floor panels and if water gets trapped in between the carpet and the floor pan, it will rust out very quickly.
2)Rust in general. Will daily driving a c3 cause the frame and birdcage to rust out much faster? I would love to drive one everyday as my main car, but I don't want to if it means the car will be a rusty mess and it will not be able to handle the rain.
This question come up from time to time. When these cars were new, most were used as daily drivers.
It really depends on what your definition of "daily driver" is?
Are you driving it 50 miles one way to work everyday, or do you work from home?
Do you have a place to work on it? (it WILL require more work then a modern car) It will consume more parts/gas then a modern car, are you prepared for that?
If you have not picked a car yet, be sure to check it for rust. As long as you take care of it, the chance of rust will be minimized. Do you have a place to park it that indoors to reduce the chance of rust forming?
My job is 1.5 miles down the street from my house. The gym I go to is about 6 miles away. I do very minimal driving, however the car would sit in my drive way spring through fall and be exposed to weather. During the winter it would be stored inside. Will it be up to the task of driving in heavy rain and sitting in a parking lot getting poured on? You say as long as I take care of it, the chance of rust will be minimized. What does this mean exactly? Besides keeping my vehicles extremely clean and waxing them like crazy(doesn't matter on a corvette it's all fiberglass), what else will I need to do to minimize rust?
My job is 1.5 miles down the street from my house. The gym I go to is about 6 miles away. I do very minimal driving, however the car would sit in my drive way spring through fall and be exposed to weather. During the winter it would be stored inside. Will it be up to the task of driving in heavy rain and sitting in a parking lot getting poured on? You say as long as I take care of it, the chance of rust will be minimized. What does this mean exactly? Besides keeping my vehicles extremely clean and waxing them like crazy(doesn't matter on a corvette it's all fiberglass), what else will I need to do to minimize rust?
My '72 is parked outside rain or shine, it has for the past 13 years, but it is not exposed to Chicago weather. I do keep it covered with one of those "99" layer outdoor car covers they sell on ebay for about $50. They last about a year, and I buy them two at a time. You could always take the car cover with you on a rainy day. After a rain, I always uncover it, dry any wet spots, and let it air out in the sun. I keep it waxed, and have had no rust issues. My biggest concerns on using it as a daily driver is getting into an accident or getting it stolen or vandalized when parked, that and the poor fuel mileage. It's also not the best rain car, especially with posititraction. My T tops always leaked and I would get a puddle in the battery compartment. It's actually more watertight with the soft top. Make sure the rear deck drains and tubes are in good shape as well. Other than that it wouldn't be worse than any other older car.
I would be more concerned about theft and wrecks then anything else. Soccer moms, teenagers driving and texting, traffic etc etc...all of that would be the worst part of driving them daily.
The tops WILL leak, you WILL get water inside. If you can somewhat keep it covered, and dry it out as soon as you can, it'll likely be fine.
Remember, these cars were just that....CARS... when new, they were intended to be driven daily.
Just be prepared to work on them, troubleshoot them, live with crappy fuel mileage and the hassles of trying to keep water out...Other then that, I'd totally drive one daily given the right commute...after all, I like adventure..
Sure, you can daily drive a C3. I'd make sure it's in tip top running condition, and I'd likely have a $1000-2000 backup beater car, as you will have mechanical problems. That being said, are you sure you want to drive a C3 only 1.5 miles to work? That's going to do more harm than good because the car will never get to full operating temp. Honestly, I'd ride a bike or walk when it's not winter. 1.5 miles is nothing.
My '71 Convertible is my daily driver. Has been since my oldest turned 16. He's almost 19 now. I drive it in all weather conditions except snow and ice. When I first started driving it daily it did leak a bit around the A pillar corners of the windows but I've fixed that and now shes pretty much leak tight. I've put about 20,000 miles in the three years.
You're going to get really tired of using it for a daily driver, real fast. I wouldn't do it. I need reliable transportation that 's going to dependably get me where I have to go without any drama. Something I can park anywhere, anytime. Don't get me wrong, I love driving the Vette but if something breaks I need to be able to park it and take my time fixing it. If my daily driver breaks I drop it at my local garage in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon. Try that with a C3.
If you are going to store it in the winter, presumably you have alternate transportation? I legitimately drove a classic car as a daily driver once, on street parking, rain, snow, sleet whatever, commuting every day. But I always had a backup truck. My car was broken into once, but the thieves couldn't get it started.
Now, daily driver means anytime it's not going to rain heavily, or I need to pick up more than one kid, or go to Home Depot, or any one of a dozen other reasons, I can take the Vette. Its plenty reliable, but not always the best choice. Safe parking is my biggest concern.
With a one way drive of 1 1/2 miles a trip, you will have problems with rust in your exhaust and carbon build up in your engine. I don't think your drive is long enough to open the thermostat. I used my 68 as a daily driver for years. But that was 48 years ago. Jerry
I daily drive my 1978 Pace Car when it 's not raining but I live in Florida where the weather is nice year round. Also, I keep it in a garage when not driving it. There is no reason not to daily drive a C-3 if you don't mind the extra cost of gas as the gas mileage is not the greatest and be prepared for some repairs along the way as these cars are between 40 and 50 years old. Other than that, go ahead and do it. I always get great reactions when people see my car on the road as you don't normally see them that often. And it's a blast to drive a C-3 on the road after all these years!
You're going to get really tired of using it for a daily driver, real fast. I wouldn't do it. I need reliable transportation that 's going to dependably get me where I have to go without any drama. Something I can park anywhere, anytime. Don't get me wrong, I love driving the Vette but if something breaks I need to be able to park it and take my time fixing it. If my daily driver breaks I drop it at my local garage in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon. Try that with a C3.
Not me, I enjoy every minute I'm behind the wheel of my Vette. It's very reliable as I've replaced or rebuilt everything in the drivetrain and suspension. Sorted out all the kinks and I'd drive it to California tomorrow if I had to and not worry about a thing. BTW I also maintain all my other cars since none of them are under warranty but I've been wrenching on my own cars since I was 16. I can tell you in the three years I've been driving my Vette daily and my son has my old commuter car I've put more wrench time on his car than on my Vette.
Maybe some people are spoiled with lighted vanity mirrors and seat warmers but i would never, have never gotten tired of driving any of my corvettes daily,
That includes a modded 66, no power anything, no heat no ac and hard top only,
I put 100k on an 81 i had and dd in the 80s it didnt require any more mantanance than any other 80s car,
And if its still up to par it will make a sound dd,
I believe when i see people who say a c3 in this case cant or wont make a good dd are dealing with cars not up to par, 30 plus year old parts can fail at any moment, you have to keep your car up to par, dont blame the car,
Others are spoiled to late model creature comforts but i cant help that any ,
Its kind of like the harley guys who say if i had to explain it you wouldnt understand anyway...
C3 is a broad statement...big differences between model years in comfort. Best I've heard it put was you can drive 30 miles in a 68 and feel like you've driven 300; you can drive 300 miles in an 82 and feel like you've driven 30. I like the way my 82 drives and rides but wouldn't want to DD her. And as others have said...T-Tops will leak!
C3 is a broad statement...big differences between model years in comfort. Best I've heard it put was you can drive 30 miles in a 68 and feel like you've driven 300; you can drive 300 miles in an 82 and feel like you've driven 30. I like the way my 82 drives and rides but wouldn't want to DD her. And as others have said...T-Tops will leak!
But what does it feel like to drive a 69 30 miles with full vbp transverse suspension?
I had 2 81s and many older c3s i cant say in the older ones 30 miles feels like 300 unless you mean the fun of 300 miles, but i missed the hp in the late models, modding fixed that.
One of my 81s the tops didnt leak
Last edited by The13Bats; Jun 26, 2018 at 05:29 AM.
But what does it feel like to drive a 69 30 miles with full vbp transverse suspension?
...we'll, if you're talking a modded C3 as a DD then hell, drop a C3 on a C6/7 frame and DD away my friend.
We have a local shop that builds frames doing just that. Mostly C2s on a C6 frame and power train. Very nice set up but then we run into other problems...daily driving a six-figure car!
I drove my 04 Z06/Z16 daily for about a year...miles of smiles but prefer to drive her when I want and not through some of the traffic and perpetual construction going on everywhere. I'll admit that both sit on the garage too much but they're always ready when I have a chance to ride.
To each his own but as the OP asked about DD a C3 I wanted to ensure he understood the difference in the C3 run.. For example, pretty much apples to apples in a C5 or C6 but not so much in a C3.
1.5 miles to work?
I'd ride my bike, run or walk to work and keep my Corvette under a cover in the driveway, drive it as my cool to drive car in the evenings and on weekends.
Bottom line is Corvettes built in the 70's were built as daily drivers.
Classic cars in the 70's were Model A's and 32 three window coupes.
...we'll, if you're talking a modded C3 as a DD then hell, drop a C3 on a C6/7 frame and DD away my friend.
We have a local shop that builds frames doing just that. Mostly C2s on a C6 frame and power train. Very nice set up but then we run into other problems...daily driving a six-figure car!
I drove my 04 Z06/Z16 daily for about a year...miles of smiles but prefer to drive her when I want and not through some of the traffic and perpetual construction going on everywhere. I'll admit that both sit on the garage too much but they're always ready when I have a chance to ride.
To each his own but as the OP asked about DD a C3 I wanted to ensure he understood the difference in the C3 run.. For example, pretty much apples to apples in a C5 or C6 but not so much in a C3.
I did not realize there was a big difference in the ride quality between early vs late model c3's. I figured it was the same since it was that same generation. I am looking at cars from 76-82. Anything older than a 76 starts to get way too expensive for me. Is there a big difference between the 76-79 cars vs the 80-82 cars?
Also, since it seems very likely the T-tops will leak as many of you put it, is there any way to enhance/upgrade the seal around them to stop water coming though?
Daily Driving a C3?
Jerry
