Hey everyone, I’m new to this forum and am interested in buying my first corvette. I’m really interested in buying a c3 but have read a lot of mixed reviews and am not really sure what would be the best choice for my price range. The most I can afford is $25,000 but ideally I would like to spend closer to $20,000. I am hoping to not need to do too much restoration and hope to do some minor modification. I know I definitely am not interested in a convertible. Any advise would be a huge help.

 

Welcome to the Forum. You just asked the question of the Century.
You should buy the C3 that has the body style you absolutely admire the most.
YOU can fix a C3 Corvette in your garage if it needs a new part.............
A $150/hr Technician with $100,000 of state of the art equipment can "re-program" a late model car.

IMRO(InMyRookieOpinion):
You should be able to get a sharp-looking dependable 1968-1972 "Chrome bumper" C3 for $20-$25,000.
You should be able to buy a sharp-looking dependable 1974-1982 C3 for half that much.

 

Read this forum as much as you can.....lots of information to learn. What you do need to realize is that these cars are over 40 years old, and depending on who took care of them, and if they have been restored or not, the cars will need maintenance to make them dependable to drive. If you are just going to park it in the garage and look at it every weekend, nothing matters. But if you truly want to enjoy a C3 Corvette, you will want to drive it. And that means you will need to work on it. These cars are no different than any other old car......they need regular attention, and if starting with a poorly maintained car,.....they will need lots of attention. I personally believe if you want a truly reliable car, a full body off restoration is required, essentially building a new C3. But.....you can just drive and fix as you go along if you want....but plan on needing towed occasionally and you will need to develop patience. These are NOT modern cars, that require almost no maintenance, and its not a criticism of a C3, its just that they are old machines now. I think its worth all the effort, but I love the car, and love owning, driving and maintaining it. Its all part of the passion for the hobby.

 

you start here roll down to post 107. read all of it but especially the rust stuff. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...orvette-6.html then go look at a cheap POS for sale near you to get an idea what you do not want.

 

You could get a great coupe metal bumper car for your price range so dont settle for what is currently available the first day out looking. I started looking, read the 10 things to know and doubled my first budget. THere was a maroon 74 that was left in a field for sale that I looked at before knowing anything about them. I knew it was sagging to the drivers side, I could see the carpet had water damage and it just looked rough. Still had the weeds stuck under the rear spare carrier. I took her for a spin and it was love at first squeal. She didnt drive the greatest, it was just a running 350 but being in a vette for the first time behind the wheel was an expierence!!!. After reading the 10 things I knew that that car wasnt worth the $6500 they wanted and just kept looking. I eded upi going form $6000 budget to $10,000, to $15 then $20,000. I found 2 I really liked and the first got sold the day before the bank finally got back to me. The second I have at my house now.

Buy one with a great body and paint as those 2 will double or triple the cost of the car. Then make sure it either has tires less than 8 years old or go buy new ones. You dont want a blow out with fiberglass. The rest is just car mechanics

 

Buy the best version of the style you can afford. A good way to look at is that every major thing required will cost at least twice what you could have paid for it already done. So, buy the car with nice paint, fresh engine/tranny/diff, rebuilt trailing arms/suspension/brakes, and a newer interior. You will thank yourself later and enjoy the car for a long time.

Also, avoid any car with birdcage rust. Even frame rust is easier to address than birdcage rust and C3 Corvettes are more prone to birdcage rust than C2 Corvettes. Learn how to look for the signs and what to remove to check where the birdcage bolts to the frame at mounts 1 and 3 and where the windshield trim attaches.

You can get a nice 68-72 in your price range or an almost perfect 73-82 depending on engine/option package. Take your time, try to buy from a private seller and spend a lot of time on the C3 For Sale forum. Good luck!

 

Congrats on joining this forum and your interest in a C3 chrome bumper car. There is some great advice from these forum members. Like you, I also wanted a C3 chrome bumper car. In my opinion they are the nicest looking of all of the Corvettes or any car of that matter. Anyway, I looked for a long time to find a car that was the right balance between condition vs price. It seems to me that you should be able to find a pretty nice car within your budget.

A few years ago, I was in the same situation as you. I looked at dozens of cars. It got discouraging since many of the cars were in pretty bad shape. Unfortunately, many of the owners butchered their cars or just didn't maintain them. But like the other members have stated in previous posts, I went with '71 coupe that was rust free, straight body, recent paint and a good running drive train. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but decided that it was better that trying to fix the big ticket items like new paint, rusted birdcages or major engine repairs. Where I send most of my time and money now is on mostly cosmetic things. For example I had to buy new ignition shielding, seat belt web stops, and a replace a bunch of interior screws where the heads were chewed up. I think you get the idea.

Keep us posted on your progress and post photos of the cars


you are interested in. Above is my '71, so you see it is doable to find the right car in your price range. You just need to be patient.

 

Just remember this.......for all these pretty pictures of high value Corvettes, if they have not been restored, they have 40 plus year old wiring, 40 year old rubber, engines that sat for years collecting moisture, dried out interior carpets, rust forming on all steel parts, etc etc.......and that would be the ones that were stored properly. Its a great idea to find a very well kept 40 year old car,......and spend top dollar for it, but realize that even if you do that, and expect to drive it much,......you will have to repair things, maintain things. Don't let anyone fool you that you can buy a 40 year old car and it will drive every day like a new one, or a restored one. It won't, and many who buy these cars will tell you it will........when they drive it 200 miles a year. Their opinion is irrelevant because they are not driving the cars regularly. Its a choice,...but reality will be reality. Take it or leave it.

 

Thank you everyone for your input! I will definitely keep all of this in mind and keep researching. If I find a car I really am serious about I will be sure to post pictures!

 

You are definitely in "chromie" territory at that budget, lucky you!

 

Find your local Corvette club and pick the member's brains. You might even find what your looking for through them. When you find a car you want to look at take one of the more knowledgeable members with you.