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I currently own a 93 corvette for a dail driver and I am considering buying any where from a 69-75 convertible to drive when the weather is nice and a beater for the winter. I grew up with 69 and 71 corvettes so the shark is my favorite body style. Does any one here drive there c3 alot and any tips for keeping it on the road. Thanks Oh I read some threads concerning c4 and c5 owners bash c3's on the c3 forum and my two cents on the topic is if c3's had not of sold as well as they did there would have been no c4 and thats the truth.
I use my 72 most days during the non snow months. If something needs repair, I do it myself or have it done. Last year I put 12,000 on the counter. About 6000 of that was 2 cross country trips and two runs to Bowling Green.
I use my 71 as a daily driver year round. These are simple cars. Just do preventive maintenance and don't wait for stuff to fail before checking it and you'll be fine.
After wrenching and 'investing heavily' in my C3 for the past six years, it is now fit to be my daily driver. I keep the C5 for driving the wife to dinner on the weekends and for northern summer road trips. 'Keeps the miles off the C5.
'78 as daily driver non-winter. Just watch the garage floor for leaks, best way to know what it needs. You'll be fine if you check the U-joints and calipers regularly. Get one with A/C if you can.
You sound just like me. I used to have a '93, too. Sold it, and now I have a '77 as a semi-daily driver. I drive my Bronco on rainy days and when it is really hot out...or when I am in the middle of doing a project on the '77. :-)
When i first got my 69vert. everything looked old on the car , but i used it as a commute car for two years with no problem then i started all kind of modifications with the engine and drove really hard on it that when it broke down on me 3 time in a rows just b/c the water pump. Now it is my friday to work and weekend . I think if you want A C3 for daily driver you should keep it stock with regular maintenance then it can be really reliable, i bought an 81 for daily driver it is in the process of replacing interior and can't wait to drive it every day. :yesnod:
Drove mine over a year as daily driver and like said above, maintain small things continuously and you will avoid big problems. It's always smart to budget for unexpected failures if you cant work them yourself and want them fixed fast.
I think if you want A C3 for daily driver you should keep it stock with regular maintenance then it can be really reliable
No offense, but I have to disagree with that statement. Many modifications are done not only in increase power and performance but also make the car more reliable.
I love my Vette. But I keep it as a treat. It's just not a good daily driver. It uses too much fuel and is not as comfortable. So I turn to my truck instead. But on warm nights, like tonight, nothing else comes close.
I'd like to buy a C-4 and use that more for a daily driver (with my truck as a rain/snow/need to carry more than 2 people back up)
Daily driver here. It doesn't snow here, but we do get plenty of rain, and my Vette won't melt when I drive through it. As you can see in my sig, I've had a few repairs done. One thing I will say, my car is very reliable. Even when I broke a belt, I was still able to make it 3 or 4 miles farther to get home(my fault, they needed replacement).
When I purchase the car, the first thing I did was drive it home 1500 miles from Boston to FL!
The car is in much better mechanical shape now.
Thanks for all of the replys, I feel I am a true corvette owner who does not expect my car to always run right because working on them is part of owning them. If I wanted all time reliable car then I would get a honda but I need torque :D . Thanks when I buy a c3 I will be sure to post pics. Thanks again
I drive mine whenever the weather isn't too horendous. It's taken alot of tweaking and tinkering (with help thank God from some good friends) but she now runs reliably. That doesn't mean I don't keep a AAA card and cell phone in there though...although I should get a fire extinguisher still...
Only downside is she drinks gasoline like my old man drinks liquor.