Needing Advice About Engine Performance
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 81,241
Likes: 3,063
From: altered state
St. Jude Donor '05
Layla maybe I misread your post but any 1975 and older car does not need to be smogged in Ca. The later C3s body and interior are really growing on me just not sure I can stomach how underpowered they are. One day would like another C3.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 4,757
Likes: 1,647
From: Fairfax Virginia
I bought a 1968 Convertible back when the large share of C3 Corvette owners would "sneer" at the thought of a "1968" C3. It had a broken exhaust manifold and needed some serious TLC. 29 years later I am still driving the 1968 C3 with a big block cranking out over 500 hp. The Car still makes me smile when ever I drive it. It started life as an L71 Convertible, 4 speed Corvette delivered to a dealer in Kentucky. By the time I got it there was one carburetor on the engine with a factory Cast iron manifold that had a big crack in it.
The best part of having a 1968 C3 is that they are soooooo unique. They have so many one year only issues and oddities. The engine compartment is HUGE and was designed for a variety of engines. There is room to work, all eight plugs and be changed from the top in 1/2 hour or less. Somebody painted my Corvette the Daytona Yellow (used from 1967 and 1969) and NOT the Safari Yellow it was supposed to be. I have had several 1968 owners criticize my paint because it is "not original". Me, Paint does not make it right. Maybe it was because I had smoked every C3 and several C4's, and one C5 at the Track day.
For me it was an "opportunity" to buy this Corvette and it continues to rise in value as more and more people want the chrome bumper Corvettes. A 1968 Convertible with hard top and convertible with a L71 engine and four speed transmission. The Corvette popped up for sale and I saw it, we bought it for a few thousand dollars and it looks like my daughter would like to inherit the Corvette.
I love my Corvettes as they were designed for Americans with a thirst for real performance. My 1968 looks timeless and everywhere it goes it gets attention. The smooth Coke bottle shape and functional side gills make the Corvette very unusual looking. With a highly modified suspension system this Corvette can really surprise those who forget what cars could do in the 1960's.
The best part of having a 1968 C3 is that they are soooooo unique. They have so many one year only issues and oddities. The engine compartment is HUGE and was designed for a variety of engines. There is room to work, all eight plugs and be changed from the top in 1/2 hour or less. Somebody painted my Corvette the Daytona Yellow (used from 1967 and 1969) and NOT the Safari Yellow it was supposed to be. I have had several 1968 owners criticize my paint because it is "not original". Me, Paint does not make it right. Maybe it was because I had smoked every C3 and several C4's, and one C5 at the Track day.
For me it was an "opportunity" to buy this Corvette and it continues to rise in value as more and more people want the chrome bumper Corvettes. A 1968 Convertible with hard top and convertible with a L71 engine and four speed transmission. The Corvette popped up for sale and I saw it, we bought it for a few thousand dollars and it looks like my daughter would like to inherit the Corvette.
I love my Corvettes as they were designed for Americans with a thirst for real performance. My 1968 looks timeless and everywhere it goes it gets attention. The smooth Coke bottle shape and functional side gills make the Corvette very unusual looking. With a highly modified suspension system this Corvette can really surprise those who forget what cars could do in the 1960's.
