hey, im a 16 year old kid and i have been in love with corvettes for as long as i can remember, and my questions sorry if they have already been asked are... what is the cheapest i could get a c-3 vette for? what i want to do is get a 81 or earlier so that it isnt a fuelie and do as much work as i can myself so i was wondering what a project car would cost and how much of the work could i do myself? much thanks in advance :D

 

About $3500 for a mid to late 70s automatic L-48. For that much you'll be lucky if it runs. Cars are always cheaper if they don't have the original motor. It is almost always more expensive in the long run to buy a beat project car and then fix it, then it is to by a decent running car and fix it up. Good luck.

 

You can find Corvettes for very little (less than $2000). But you will put a whole lot of money into that car. By the time you are finished, you'll have spent way more than if you had bought a better car in the first place. Even the good cars out there need a lot of work eventually, so it's not as if you're going to cheat yourself out of the rebuilding/restoring experience. Furthermore, these "really affordable" cars, are typically in such bad shape, they are better as parts cars.

Also, you need to look at your tools and garage. Do you have access to both. You really need to have a space to park the car in between marathon repair sessions. You'll come to appreciate this. And never discount having the right tools. Many times, havig the right tools can be the difference between success and failure.

It's nice to see someone such as yourself taking an interest in these cars. It's even cooler that you want to learn how to work on them. That tells me our hobby won't die out with us.

Good luck with your search, and keep posting. There is a lot of knowledge amongst us knuckle heads. I think.

:D

 

Here's a few links to ones for sale right now :
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonl.../3/1999103.htm

http://adcache.collectorcartraderonl...8/22143308.htm

http://adcache.collectorcartraderonl...8/21966668.htm ....best deal ?

Anyways, you should be able to find a 'running' one for about $4k - $5k.
....that doesn't mean it'll be a 'driver' or it won't need work.
1976 & 1977 are usually the most affordable ones....

Forget about convertibles and #'s matching unless your lucky enough to find a 'steal' - these cars almost always need complete restoration in the $4k range. Good Luck & post as many questions you can think of - we've all been there (dreaming about owning a vette, then 'hunting' down a 'good' one) :yesnod: :chevy :chevy :chevy :cheers: (Oh, sorry - not 'till your 21) :D

 

im 16

got my 79' L82 for 2700 and it runs and drives. it did however take me 20hours to get the timing and rocker arms adjusted for emissions. most of these cars are just "buy the autozone book" and use that to work on your car. they are realy easy to work on just that when there cheap theres alot to work on :D at least that seems to be the case with mine. im about to start replacing bushings next...

 

Know what you are getting into :lol: I wish I had started working on cars before I got my vette. I mean cars in general- if you have friends or family who work on old cars, see if you can help them bleed their brakes or replace belts or something. You can start learning now, C3's aren't really different from other cars. Of course, this fits in with the long list of 'do as I say, not as I do' :lol:
I think now (or soon) is the time to buy a 74-82. They're going to start creeping up in value.

 

Hmm... I bought a 76 two weeks ago, here are a few small tidbits of advice.

DO:
Talk them down, I brought mine down from $4700 to $4000 just because we both know that $2000 is just for the name.
Have a steady source of expendable cash (at least $200 a month) for the forseeable future (i.e. as long as you plan on owning it)
Expect the worst (Sure it drove when I test drove it, what I didn't know is that the valves appear to be leaking oil and fouling the plugs within 5 miles of driving)
Have an expert check the whole thing over before buying it (I acted on nothing but a test drive, a quick look over by my own inexperienced self which was just plain silly)
Purchase a vehicle that has the stuff you don't want to do or pay for. (Mine has a paint job that will last a few more years, new tires and fiberglass that is good all around, a newly rebuilt transmission)
Purchase a vehicle because the pictures look nice on the Net. (Mine looks fine on the net and in person until you open the door and realize that the entire interior needs to be replaced)

DON'T:
Underestimate the cost of the parts that are specific to the Vette, yes 350 parts and mods are cheap, NO the interior pieces are NOT!

I could go on but I have to run.

 

Save up your money and buy a nice one. Working on them isn't as much fun as driving them. If you start saving now when your 20 you could get a sweet car. :cheers:

 

I really hate it when people say this because although it is true... When you buy the all fixed up car, you have no idea how "bubba'd up" different things are, and you are stuck with their choices of mods and customizations. At least buying the beater and fixing it, you end up with what YOU actually want in the car... not what any one of the last handful of owners wanted...

 

u can do what i did..found a vette with a rust free frame and good low milage engine..the interior,body,ect.. were thrashed, but i did everything myself except the paint and im still under $5000..got the vette for $1750+ a piece of crap truck worth about $500..so lets say $2300..$500 for alarm and tunes..$500 for paint (had to do all the body work myself though)..so up to $3300..about another $700 for carpet,interior stuff,new wires plugs filter,ect. ect.and i have about another $500 to replace the a/c and new mufflers to go..still under $5000 and have been offered alot more for the car already :)..just take ur time till u find a good deal and have fun with it ...lol :cheers:

 

phew its good to know that there are other kids buying and working on these cars, second i know some stuff aboutr cars i rebuilt a gokart (i know i know) this summer and that taught me a lot about engine and i redid the interior of my 94 probe myself but i hardly scratch the surface of what there is to know. second i would like to say thanks for all you guys' help coming from the probe forum to here is wickd cool everyone here is so much nicer and willing to help and i think thats great!

 

Oh cmon now, Most of use work on our cars more then we drive them, Personally, I love working on my vette, and maybe even more then driving it...
But I don't have that 454 in it yet.. If I put it in...

 

Yep - I like working on ine too. I also think working on Vettes is easy compared to some of the other cars I've worked on.
My next one will be the chaepest one I can find with a good frame. I want everything else to be trashed. That's because I will end up redoing it anyway!