Non Mopar. Opinions/advise C3

[dodj]

Hi all. Been thinking about buying a C3 Corvette to work on. Mainly because buying a '69 Charger or any '70's 'cuda seems to be too expensive for me.
So are there any Corvette owners on here that can school me on problem areas of C3's to be aware of? Links to good info?

[Chryco Psycho]

Straight up I hate those cars!! Miserable to work on no leg room , I took the seat out of one put some foam on the floor & it was more comfortable.
Wiring issues , tough to work on anything inside the doors , the dash if you take it apart can be impossible to get to fit right again . Lots of brake & diff issues with 4 piston calipers , rear suspension is miserable to work on , it took me 4 hours to replace the + battery cable , it is above the driveshaft in the tunnel & with no slip yolk you cannot even remove the driveshaft without hours of messing around . Even pulling the engine is a feat as the nose is so long no normal engine hoist will reach .
Someone would have to pay me to take one off their hands & I would just flip it the next day !

[anlauto]

Usually goes the other way....Corvette guys dreaming of owning a Mopar 

[Chryco Psycho]

Could have bought my fully restored 71 Charger for 14k

[RUNCHARGER]

I had a 79 when it was 1 year old. I drove it like a Mopar and it was the worst car I ever owned. No power and yet the transmission couldn't take the abuse, clutch went bad as well (I think a bent finger or 2). A/C only worked part time, power window only worked part time, trouble with the power antennae, headlights didn't come up evenly, you could see the edges where the factory bonded the panels, it had great brakes though other than the E-brake. I traded it when it was 2 years old for an 81 W250 and never bought another GM product.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Hi all. Been thinking about buying a C3 Corvette to work on. Mainly because buying a '69 Charger or any '70's 'cuda seems to be too expensive for me.
So are there any Corvette owners on here that can school me on problem areas of C3's to be aware of? Links to good info?

I currently own a C2 but everything in the rolling chassis is pretty much the same. Everything Chryco Psycho said is spot on. They are awful to work on. Mine was a disaster car in every possible way so I was forced to fix it all. No joke, I have done everything on my car....frame issues, body work, suspension, etc. etc. I even painted it myself. Aside from the amateur garage paint job, it is a true nut and bolt restoration. I could write a damn book on these cars now.

Have never driven a C3 but my 64 drives beautiful. It is an absolute pleasure to cruise around in. I've let friends drive it and they are always amazed by how nice it drives for an old car. If you do it right, it should drive very nicely. Road manners are great and the suspension feels pretty good for a roadster. I put in a five speed to tone it down on the highway.

My advice, get one. You won't be disappointed. Just plan to break knuckles wrenching on it. I can't tell you how many times I've had to walk away pissed off to try it again another day.

One thing that requires warning....corvette people for the most part are really weird. And snobbish too. I have removed worn out broken stuff off my car, advertised it as trash, and sold it on eBay for more than the cost of brand new repo stuff. Those guys obsess over originality. And while the repo market is really good and strong market wise, you won't find my Vette people admitting to using repo parts.

I actually don't associate with the corvette world like I do the Mopar crowd. Just not my kind of people.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Oh as far as problems, really look for fiberglass repairs. You need the car up but worth the trouble. Few people repair fiberglass correctly. They have lots of bonding strips everywhere on the backside. It will become very obvious what is original versus repaired. While it's up, really examine the frame. They are notorious for rusting out. There is another frame in and around the cockpit and windshield frame which supports the weight of everything in the midsection (called the birdcage) these can have rust issues too but much harder to inspect.

Other than that, like so many other cars, you want one that isn't missing pieces (gets expensive to buy stuff) or taken apart.

They make excellent factory blow up assembly manuals for every system or area on the car which helps working on them. A real life saver.

Hit me up if you need and other information. Out of necessity, I've become more of an expert on these than I ever wanted.

[71-440]

Usually goes the other way....Corvette guys dreaming of owning a Mopar 

No lie. I met a few corvette owners when I had my 2009 that sold their vettes for the Challenger.
Same as Neil said from them. Horrible driving and a bitch to work on.

I would rethink that decision. 

[Chryco Psycho]

The old saying comes to mind ... You will have 2 awesome days with the Vette , 1 the day you buy & the best day will be the day you sell it & watch it driving or being towed away

[JonH]

The old saying comes to mind ... You will have 2 awesome days with the Vette , 1 the day you buy & the best day will be the day you sell it & watch it driving or being towed away

Hmm...that's what I've been told about my boat

[FM3AAR]

I've owned my '72 C3 since 1974 when I sold my '71 'cuda because I wanted something with A/C. Vettes are sports cars and are harder to work on because room is tight. Like any car buy the best example you can afford. Look for rust on the frame and on the birdcage. The chrome bumper cars ('68-'72) bring the most money but the later year C3's are basically the same and can be had for much less. Storage room is tight in the earlier models and the addition of the bubble rear glass in '78 gained additional storage room. Pretty much everything is available parts wise making them easy to restore. Because they came with both SB and BB from the factory, upping the power is easy. I pulled the original SB and 4-speed and installed a stroker and Tremec TKO-600
and can run with late model vettes on the interstate. My vette friends appreciate my Mopars and vise versa. If you decide to look into the C3's further, join the CorvetteForum here: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-general-119/. It's the best forum for Corvette owners and they will answer all your questions and ensure you get a decent C3. Good luck.

[Chryco Psycho]

Welcome to the site FM3 AAR

[FM3AAR]

Thanks! 

[HEMICUDA]

We are in the process of doing my buddies 69 427 in MY shop right now.  Yep, once the body goes back on the chassis the real work begins.  I wouldn't even had considered doing this car hadn't been for one of my guys that has been working on glass cars for the last 35 years.  My buddy is doing a bunch of upgrades, sure is cooler assembling the chassis complete without the body on (the easy part).  Tough part is after the body is dropped back on after body/paint and trying to get the restored interior back in.

[6bblgt]

played a small part in the restoration of this '69 427 car - about as perfect OPTIONED 'Vette as I'd care to own! 

..... but this did cost about the same as a HEMI '69 Charger R/T or 440+6 '70 'cuda hardtop