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I was thumbing through Tom Bedords book "Corvette" over the weekend and read a couple of things that astounded me.
First: He writes that 1979 C3 was the first Corvette to well for over $10,000 was the 1979. He then goes on to write that the first Corvette to sell for over $20,000 was the 1982 C3. 100% price increase in four years?? I looked at photos of a bunch of original window sticker and sure enough - - -100 price increase in four years.
Second: He indicates, in the book, that all C-3s were available with a three speed standard transmission. Has anybody ever seen a C3 with a three speed? Do any of you actually own one? I thought the three speed was phased out early in the C1 run.
BTW, the book is great, entertaining and informative easy reading.
Hello DJ,
There is a current thread about the 68 Corvette transmission. .
The 3 speed manual transmission was the standard equipment.
A 4-speed or an automatic were extra cost options.
For 69 the 4 speed transmission became 'standard equipment'. (Of course the base price went up.)
Regards,
Alan
Yeah, the three speeds were standard on base cars. I think found most often if not ONLY in 68’s and 69’s.
Here are a couple pics from the web…of a 69 with a three speed tranny.
Pretty cool really!
First: He writes that 1979 C3 was the first Corvette to well for over $10,000 was the 1979. He then goes on to write that the first Corvette to sell for over $20,000 was the 1982 C3. 100% price increase in four years?? I looked at photos of a bunch of original window sticker and sure enough - - -100 price increase in four years.
People like to talk about how bad inflation is nowadays, but it’s not nearly as bad as the early 80’s. Bad policies as well as a second gas crisis in the late 70’s caused inflation to reach nearly 15%!
4 speeds were made standard in 1970, same for positraction. Standard equipment prior to 1970 was the 3 speed manual and open diff. Most corvettes had 4 speeds or automatics, and positraction. I have rebuilt a few open diff's between 1963-1969. I have seen a couple of 69's with 3 speeds locally over the years. Rare but not a high value. They were only available with the base engines I believe.
To expand a little on what Gary said, the 3 speed was standard on every Corvette from 55-69. Through 1964 the 3 speed was standard with every Corvette engine, but starting in 65 the 3 speed was only available behind the base engine (327/250 in 65, 327/300 in 66-68 and 350/300 in 69). I've seen a few 3 speed Corvettes over the years. Two friends of mine had 3 speed mid years, one had a 66 maroon convertible and the other had a red 67 coupe. I also had two customers who owned 68 3 speed cars and another customer had a 69 3 speed convertible. About 20 years ago there was a 67 coupe floating around NJ for sale with a 3 speed and factory air!
I'm not familiar with the book the OP's quoting, but if the OP is right, then as far as the pricing of 79's and 82's, it sounds like the book's author is being a little misleading. To start with, the 79 was not the first year to sell for over $10,000, the 78 Pace Car had a base price of around $13,600 and a 77 with just aluminum wheels, AC and L-82 passed $10K without any other options. The base price of the 82 was less than $20K, with the base car starting at $18K, though the Collector Edition (which included most options and a lot of unique features) started at over $22K.
Throughout the late 70's and early 80's a lot of things that were previously optional on Corvettes became standard, which raised the base prices. Also, the late 70's and early 80's was a period when new emission, fuel mileage and safety regulations were added annually, which all added cost to new cars. The base price from 79 to 80 jumped $3000, and another $3000 in 81. In comparison the increase in 82 was relatively minor at about $2000, especially when you consider 82's came standard with the more expensive Crossfire injection engine and overdrive transmission. Unlike today, there was a lot of markup in the price of a Corvette (and all cars) at that time too.
The fact that the Corvette had become extremely popular by 77, and Chevrolet was selling every one they could build certainly contributed to the increase in price.
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Originally Posted by Piersonpie
People like to talk about how bad inflation is nowadays, but it’s not nearly as bad as the early 80’s. Bad policies as well as a second gas crisis in the late 70’s caused inflation to reach nearly 15%
It wasn't just inflation. When the '84 came out in March of '83 base price was almost $22k, a $12k jump over the '79. Jacking up the '80-'82 softened the blow...
I was thumbing through Tom Bedords book "Corvette" over the weekend and read a couple of things that astounded me.
First: He writes that 1979 C3 was the first Corvette to well for over $10,000 was the 1979. He then goes on to write that the first Corvette to sell for over $20,000 was the 1982 C3. 100% price increase in four years?? I looked at photos of a bunch of original window sticker and sure enough - - -100 price increase in four years.
Second: He indicates, in the book, that all C-3s were available with a three speed standard transmission. Has anybody ever seen a C3 with a three speed? Do any of you actually own one? I thought the three speed was phased out early in the C1 run.
BTW, the book is great, entertaining and informative easy reading.
Dick J (C3 with a TH 350)
First - let's compare apples to apples - base 79 was $10k and base 82 was $18k.
I think the 3-speed issue has been clarified.
Here's some oddities for you - purely my own observations:
The C3 has fiber optic light monitoring from 1968 thru 1971. One of the first and few to implement this 'technology' albeit in a crude analog way.
The C3 was the first to have a T-top as I recall.
The C3 was the first Corvette to not have side vent windows. (well maybe the 53s didn't either - I'm too lazy to check)
As of 1968, the C3 was riding on some of the then all time widest tires of any production car around - the F70-15s.
By 1982, the C3 was also riding around on a 2-decade old chassis design.
And finally - while I can't vouch for this as fact - the C3 was perhaps one of the few production cars to hew fairly close to it's prior and somewhat radical concept car(s) upon which it was based or at least inspired.
People like to talk about how bad inflation is nowadays, but it’s not nearly as bad as the early 80’s. Bad policies as well as a second gas crisis in the late 70’s caused inflation to reach nearly 15%!
This is an excellent post.
Sometimes if feels like new Corvettes are 'getting expensive. But some years ago I looked at some things like inflation and housing costs compared to Corvette MSRPs over the years. Extremely high correlation over the decades.
C3 Oddeties??
