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Today I met with some great folks and went to a large cruise with lots of cars! New, old, rat, show, and drivers! Basically everything! It was cool!
I ended up with Vette owners where the oldest was a C6, ok, several C7’s and a couple of C8’s! Very cool! Oh, wait, my 69 was there too.
The conversations were generally very good and corvette focused. Nice! However, it was all based on “ I bought this” or “I bought that”.
Please let me be quoted on how nice these folks were. Seriously. They were good folks.
However when asked if my C3 actually had a 427, I said yes but not what you’d expect…. There was no interest. I volunteered I stuffed an LS7 in there!
one fellow , unimpressed, mentioned he’d met a guy last year that did the same but put a racing suspension in his car!
LOL! Or quietly laugh at him in my own head.
you see . . . .
It was me he had met. Last year. It was my car that he was bragging on. He did not even remember that. Seriously? Yep. Same guy, same car.
so when you make your millions, and buy the coolest car on the block, and can not remember the guy you are bragging about ….
oh, never mind.
for you guys who build your dream, I tip my hat and bow to you! Modified or stock, no diff. You are awesome!
when you get snubbed buy the fellow who thinks buying is worth more than building, smile to yourself. He has no idea.
Scott
AKA “69 Shark”
it’s my freakin license plate!
My wife said it all just yesterday.... as we were cruising around the neighborhood.... finally "breaking it in" with some slow short runs close to home.....
"It`s fun to know that we built this thing from a hulk & a few boxes of parts".
When you go to Corvette only shows. The guys with the late model cars trying to win trophies. My God, how do the judges judge these. who did the best wax job. LOL. It's a completely different hobby.
To the OP, I get what you are saying. And thanks for appreciating us who have built the cars we drive. I know not everyone has the desire, time, or dedication to truly "rebuild" a car, but those who do clearly are deeper into the hobby than those that do not. Its not a contest, but it is undeniable. I am sure the "buyer" types will be offended, and so be it. I am not trying to say that one person is "better" than the other, only that one has a deeper and more intense experience in this hobby. I will say that for me, building the car, and then driving it alot, is one of the most satisfying accomplishments of my lifetime. It also makes you keenly aware of every thing that works well, and everything that does not. I have had every single piece of my car in my hand as I took it apart, and put it back together. It was worth every minute.
And by the way.......I love driving it so much, I never take the time to go to car shows.....except, Corvette Carlisle. I have little interest in a parking lot full of old guys in lawn chairs, bragging about things they did not do or criticizing my car because I don't have frame stencils and yellow marks.
Last edited by Shovels and Vettes; Jun 1, 2021 at 05:32 AM.
I think there might be a third group. People like me. No I never took my entire car apart at one time and rebuilt everything in one go. But in 32 years of ownership, there is hardly a part I haven't rebuilt, improved or replaced. And some things 3 times. there is the complete body off restoration group. and then hobbyists that just keep tackling one project after another over a number of years. And somehow keep it going most of the time to enjoy driving it in-between projects.
It is a bit surprising that "those who do not" have so little appreciation for the cars of "those who do". The C6/C7/C8 crowd just hang together and talk about ???; very rarely do I see them even walking around to look at the other cars. I'm not sure whether they are really "car folks" or just "look what I've got" folks. I'm sure that some have older Corvettes too and that they get to experience both 'worlds'. But they seem to be few in number.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
I dont go to corvette only shows unless its Vettes for Vets. Theres a lot of people in all hobbies that buy their way in. I dont mind them unless they are the type that thinks they are the better person because they spent all this money on a numbers matching car and they win all these awards...I've met quite a few. They actually have a speech all set up about the car and howw it as found and blah blah blah...dont care. I want to know how it was built, not bought. I actually like to run into the guys that dont say anything until you ask them. The last big show I was at I talked with a guy for 30 minutes on how he setup his stack fuel injection system. It looked like an Inglese but had the radical tilt and offset pitch to each stack. It as the look he wanted and he told me about all the trouble getting it programmed and how he had to find a computer guy to help him. IT as a great story. His car was great. 800hp or so and 2.5 mpg on a 5 gallon tank....It was a mean car. Built not bought
My wife said it all just yesterday.... as we were cruising around the neighborhood.... finally "breaking it in" with some slow short runs close to home.....
"It`s fun to know that we built this thing from a hulk & a few boxes of parts".
As far as build vs buy, I'm a hybrid. When I first bought my '73, I didn't have the time or the space to do a complete build. I followed the wise advice from this forum and bought the best car I could afford. I was able to drive it immediately and make improvements as time allowed. Since I bought the car, I've touched most every part on the car including a new engine and transmission last year. It's very satisfying to me to be able to make improvements myself.
Wow. Burma Shave. I remember those signs as a kid on road trips from the back of a station wagon. 😎 Cool.
As for buy or build, I am solid in the build camp and OP said it perfectly. Our sport has a definite dividing line. Sometimes at club meetings or shows I find myself getting in conversations with people that have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, so I have learned to be the guy that waits until spoken to by someone with a genuine interest. I find it amusing when someone thinks a C4 is an old Corvette . I came to the realization a while back how really few C2 or solid axle cars are really in our club. I guess I’m turning into the “Get off my lawn” old guy.
Last edited by Vette5311; Jun 1, 2021 at 12:00 PM.
My wife said it all just yesterday.... as we were cruising around the neighborhood.... finally "breaking it in" with some slow short runs close to home.....
"It`s fun to know that we built this thing from a hulk & a few boxes of parts".
People have cars for different reasons. My 72 was in very really good shape when I purchased if, but I am continuously finding things to do to it.
I do find it amusing that some people on here like to dis anyone who does not think exactly how they do. As far as the "i don't go to Corvette shows" people, the shows I go to are for charity. My club recently raised several thousand dollars for charity. We had about 120 cars and maybe 10-15 of them were C2s and C3s. Each car paid a fee for entry. All of the money went to charity. If we had a C2 or C3 show, it would not have made money. The public comes to the shows and enjoys seeing all of the car. Owners enjoy meeting and visiting with each other and while their is always a someone who thinks he is God's gift to the Corvette world, most of them are very friendly.
Our Corvette Club has several members (including myself) who own old Corvettes, but you seldom see those cars on our club cruises. Most of us also own latter model Corvettes and prefer to drive them on the cruises. The vintage only guys mostly only bring their cars out for the shows. The cruises are about driving for fun. Now some of you are going to say you drive your as a DD. Good for you. Except for a few young people, you are in the minority. I seldom see a C2s or C3s parked at places of business or even on the road for that matter. I have no problem with that, just pointing it out.
We drive our latter model car on road trips. Now some of you may have "another car" to travel in. Good for you. We just like to drive our roadster.
Some of the biggest "Corvette Snobs" are people who own (but seldom drive) old Corvettes, not latter model Vettes.. But to each his own.
Last edited by crawfish333; Jun 1, 2021 at 12:46 PM.
From: Loud, Raw and Dangerous 1968 327 4S in Southern California
Having bought several new Corvettes and now restoring this one I do feel a stronger attachment to this car. Something about learning, fixing and making something work better appeals to me and has made ownership much more satisfying this time. Also when you get a complement on the car it feels much more gratifying because you know you did it yourself.
That said it does not bother me about the other type of owners, I respect all Corvette owners...now about those Ford Mustang guys.
Last edited by Redvette2; Jun 3, 2021 at 10:32 PM.
Hey 69 Shark, great story and take on shows. I'm kind of both. We have a C7 - use it for long road trips and it's great fun for those (have had 2 of them). My son and I have taken it to a couple of shows - he drives the C7 and I take the C3. Our C3 is a '68 L71 roadster (had a '72 prior to that) and it was in really decent shape; but it was also over 50 years old. So (like so many of us, and like I've done on several other cars over the years), I decided to do a 'few things'. Like tear everything out of it under the belt line and rebuild it all.
Starting to put it back together now - hope to have it done by the end of this month but there's a camping trip and other stuff to do too. I take the most pride in the cars I build - and I get to do it with my son (fun!) like the pic below when we installed the rear end, etc. back in. And my wifey gets to make wise cracks, like this one: my son and I are in the garage Saturday, lifting the rear end and cross member onto the trans jack. Her: "what are you doing today?" Me: "Putting the rear end back in". Her: "Will that make a diff?". Gave us all a good laugh.
Hey 69 Shark, great story and take on shows. I'm kind of both.
LOL! Yep! I certainly understand! As clearly stated up front! The folks I met were wonderful folks and fun to chat with! They also drove fantastic cars!C7 Grand Sport, C7 Z06, C8 z51 3lt convertible amongst them!
It was just an interesting eye opener on the complete different "Car Talk"!
As far as driving experience, my bride strongly prefers our C6 but I still love the 69 as a first choice! LOL!
. . . . and yeah, I do all the work.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread and have had similar encounters at shows (the few I have attended). I've got two of these things, buying my 78 in 2004 and then my 86 convertible in 2017. For me, it's the fascination with the build and fabrication. The 78 was off the frame for a few years while I bought a welder, took a community college course at night (in welding) and then proceeded to prep the frame as per the chevy power book. I thought it would be cool to build an exhaust system so I bought some mandrel bent pieces and fabricated the whole thing. Don't get me started on the motor, I've had it out twice now and I'm planning one more time to punch it out to a 383 and install Holley sniper EFI this fall. Then there was the TKO600 and hydraulic clutch.... I just seem to need things to tinker on.
The 86 is similar. Bought it with a wiped cam and rebuilt the motor with one of my son's (fun experience), have since completely rebuilt the suspension, swapped in the performance ratio rear, and now am in the process of completely restoring the interior (whoever designed the dashboard on the earlier C4 should be taken out back and shot by the way).
When I am all done I will have a rubber bumper car, and a nice example from the most unloved generation of vette (although they are pretty sweet in my opinion). I can rest easy in the knowledge that I can park them at just about any show and be overlooked
I'm closing in on 51, be an empty nester in Sept and we have done well for ourselves. I COULD have and THOUGHT about buying a newer generation higher end vette. They are awesome in their own right, but every time I thought about it, it all came down to "but what would I do with it besides drive it?'
I seem to be happier working on projects on the car than driving them often, so I guess I am solidly in the 'build' camp. Nothing against those who buy, but I tend to think we are more fearless and creative
In my earlier years I couldn't afford to have someone build a car for me. Lucky for me I had older car guys around me that helped me build a few hot rods. As I moved along in my career I was just too cheap to have some one build me car. During 25 years in the later part of my career I had a fairly high stress sale job. Loved the job and building my hot rods allowed me to forget about work. The company I worked for had guys with serious fab skills so I was always bugging them on how would they do it.
So I enjoy the build. So many high end builds that we can look at and say "I can build that part".
I regards to bought not built or late model hot rods. People should build or buy what they like. If the local doc likes cars but due to work load buys a custom car or the new C8 why would I care. He's a car guy. I'm a LS swap guy. Most folks think they are cool but some goof ***** always talk them down at car shows.
I had to rebuild my 73 after sitting for 20 years while I was away working. When I retired, I was able to completely restore it myself. I really enjoyed working on it myself. I can't do this anymore as my eyes, shoulders, and knees have given up on me. I just bought my dream car, but I now have to have someone work on it for me. I would love to do the work myself, but that just isn't possible for my 74 year old body anymore. To me, someone that works on their car, has time invested in it, gives them pride and more meaning than just spending money on it. Below is the link to my rebuild. Then my 73 now (given back to my wife) and my 67 that I bought in January.
Buy vs build.
. I came to the realization a while back how really few C2 or solid axle cars are really in our club. I guess I’m turning into the “Get off my lawn” old guy.
