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Been a lurker here for a couple years now. Located in the very south-west corner of WI. Figured it was time to introduce myself. I took my girlfriend (now wife) to her first car show in the summer of 2021. Surprisingly, she took great interest in the cars, asked a ton of questions, and took lots of pictures. On our drive home, I asked her what her favorite car of the day was. She really gravitated to the few C3 Corvettes there and wanted me to start looking for one to buy. So the hunt began! We bought our '71 C3 in the fall of 2021. I guess you could call it a "barn find", as it has mainly sat in storage for the better part for 32 years prior to me buying it. The previous owner had collected an incredible amount of new parts for the project, but never really did much with the car before losing interest. He did have the M20 transmission rebuilt along with the rear end, trailing arms, axles, and rear brakes. I pulled the original number matching 350 out of the car and stored it away in the shop, as it burnt a lot of oil and needed to be freshened up. I was lucky enough to purchase a brand new 385ci stroker engine, along with the car. Since the engine was out, I figured there was no better time to tear the front suspension apart and rebuild that, install new brakes and lines, add power steering and power brakes, paint everything, install new wiring and vacuum lines, and several other small things. This past winter, I tore the interior apart to give that all a refresh. The seats had recently been recovered and the interior was in very good shape overall. Now all that is left is a paint job. The original Mille Miglia red paint is checked/cracked pretty bad, but after a quick buff job it looks really good from 10'. It is a driver that my wife and I enjoy and have put ~8,000 miles on over the last 2 summer cruise seasons. I drive the car to work frequently, where it often travels down gravel roads and sits in a rock quarry at our construction proving grounds. These old cars are meant to be driven!! Looking to add Vintage Air this spring to make the summer drives a little more enjoyable. An LS swap and a 6-speed transmission may be in scope for the near future. I am currently building a high-end pro-touring/restomod '79 Z-28 Camaro that needs to hit the road before a paint job and drivetrain swap on the Vette. Along with the '71 C3 and '79 Z28, I also have another '79 Camaro that was my first car (20 years ago), and a '66 Chevy II SS. Both of those are on deck for full restoration/restomod builds. I am a huge fan of the pro-touring/restomod built cars. I believe in driving the wheels off of all these old cars, so the more reliable and comfortable they are, the better! They can always be fixed if mishaps come up, just like the new cars we all drive on the daily! I foresee a C6/C7 in our near future as well. Car as listed when we initially went to look at it At the car show that inspired the purchase of this car The wife insisted that we had the Vette be a part of our engagement photo's Sunday cruises 1st local car show Refreshed interior
I look forward to hanging around here and soaking up all the knowledge that I can. The amount of knowledge on this site is absolutely incredible. During the rebuild, a quick Google search on questions that popped up, always led me to this site and I found the answer very quickly with very little digging. I hope to be able to contribute here in the future. Thank you all for knowledge and conversation!
A big welcome! I like your car and your car mindset as well. You will get a ton of enjoyment out of your various rides. Keep us informed of your progress with your Corvette. By the way, 66 and 67 Chevy IIs with the 350 horse 327 were some of my very favorite subtle sleepers that really hit the sweet spot.
Welcome to the forum, really loved your story! And I'm originally from Wisconsin as well! But way up north.
mine spent the first 30 years of its life in Minocqua.
The last 15 years in tropical Queensland Australia.
I was a Charter member of the Headwaters Corvette Club up in northern Wisconsin. That's a long time ago.
I am one of those glutens for punishment guys that has owned a C3 since Christ was a Corporal.
lots of good people, great information and friendship on here!
Welcome my friend!
One of my favourite pic's. Large photo, Suzanne and I when we were in the Headwaters Corvette club in far northern Wisconsin. She was then Pregnant with Carl. He's 23 now. Inset photo, about 2 years ago, Sunshine Coast Queensland. Same car.
Last edited by 4-vettes; Feb 28, 2024 at 02:05 AM.
one of our favorite pastimes is stingray therapy in the driftless... its 2 hours there and 2 hours back... you are are already there... will keep an eye out for you three... you, your woman and your 71... thanks for sharing...
New member from WI
