Non Mopar. Opinions/advise C3

[FM3AAR]

I did a frame off restoration on my 72 C3 454/4sp A/C . Car was and still is amazing. I sold it to a friend so I can build another car. Ran out of room and money but I got to keep playing. Big blocks with air are a bitch to work on. 73 and up I'd stay away from. Chrome really sets the car off and that's gone other then the rear bumper on the 73. Vacuum lights and wiper door have issues. Check for signs of rivets popping up under the fiberglass between the hood and headlights. Stay away if you see that. Check the frame and body mounts by the rear wheel. Every kind of car has issues. It comes down to which ones you want to deal with. The body won't rust on a vette but the paint likes to crack and get stress cracks.There are some special tools for working on the rear wheels. It is a very nice car if you get a good one.

Very nicely done. I would have had a hard time letting it go.

[FM3AAR]

Sure wish I still had my 71 454/4spd/AC

Doesn't get much better than a BB/4-sp/A/C vert.

[FM3AAR]

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.

Of the chrome bumper era, the '69s are my favorite.

[FM3AAR]

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 

BB sidepipe car: thumbs up.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Here's my small block 5 speed A/C vert.

[FM3AAR]

Looks like a '64 with sidepipes. Friend of mine has a '64 that had an '70 370 HP LT-1 but gas got to be a problem with the compression. He put the 327 back in.
Great looking '64 you have and the background is gorgeous.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Thanks!  The sidepipe option wasn't available for a couple more years but I decided to add them. C2 and C3 Vette are one of the few vehicle styles that really work well with sidepipes. They sound great wide open like that and not as loud as you might expect. Mine is a 327 out of a 68 and when I built it, I purposely chose a mild cam so I could run power brakes as well as keep the mileage reasonable. It cruises very nicely with the overdrive trans.

Not sure if I will keep those wheels. Definitely won't go with the turbine knock offs. That's so over done on these cars.

One of the biggest challenges was getting the folding top to fit right. I finally gave up and took it to a real upholstery expert. The thing fits like a glove now and not a wrinkle to be found anywhere.

[dodj]

Nice looking car! 
A friend of mine had a, I think, '63 split window 427 vette. He passed away a couple years ago and I never found out what happened to that car.
Might not have been '63. I'm not good with vette years.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Nice looking car! 
A friend of mine had a, I think, '63 split window 427 vette. He passed away a couple years ago and I never found out what happened to that car.
Might not have been '63. I'm not good with vette years.

I know the C2s best since I was forced to learn during this restoration. They only made them 63-67 but the C3 versions are largely the same except for obvious body differences

If you like Vette styling, you will enjoy owning one and driving it.

[Chryco Psycho]

As I recall the first 427 vette was the 66

[70 Challenger Lover]

The 396 big block came on in 65 but not sure if the 427 was 67 or 66 for the first year. They had to notch the engine crossmember for the larger engine so the 63 and 64 wouldn't have the room unless someone modified it. Probably pretty common to do so I'd think since everyone wants a big block. These cars actually could be made to perform better on the track with the right small block since it was so much lighter and had a different power band.

The 64 is the least sought after of the midyears. I actually like them best though because the 64 has a bunch of unique styling things. 63 and 64 had recessed gauge centers but the 64 gauges were cooler than the 63 because they were black centers. The 63 and 64 had the cool side sculpting and recesses on the hood but the 64 didn't have the weird fake hood grilles. Ton of other little differences I learned about. The only downside to the 63-64 is the lack of four wheel disc brakes and no big block option.

C2 driver quality Vettes can be had at a good price if you look around. Especially the 64s and convertibles as well since they were more common.

[dodj]

I remember him talking about it being a factory 427 'vette, and the split window was unique to the year of the car?. He kept it beside his Countach, a newer vette and a v12 Jag.

Never saw that Jag move actually.

[ToxicWolf]

The 69 L88 was a seriously fast car. 

[70 Challenger Lover]

It was a very common transplant years back to put in the 427. It may have been a factory correct 427 from a later year corvette. The 63 is the only year of the split window, discontinued in 64 for visibility issues. The first year of the big block was 65 and it was a 396. The cars are a lot of fun no Matt which engine they had. The big block cars in the last couple years command hefty prices. So much so, they've become investments and don't really get driven.

[GrandpaKevin]

12 years ago I went to small town near Columbus Ohio to look at some cars stored in a barn offered on a trade deal.
I knew nothing about Corvettes but this one got my attention as it had a big block with a tri power setup on it with 30k original miles.

I worked a swap deal on the car and after a few hours of tinkering with it I drove it 3 hours home.
It had been sitting in the barn for many years.

A Corvette buddy convinced me to look for the car's tank stick(build sheet) which after dropping the fuel tank was located in perfect condition.
The car was an original factory L71 427/435hp solid lifter tri power car with 4 speed and factory 4.11 gear.

In contacting the seller and doing some more research I discovered the car was bought new in Columbus Ohio and had factory GM L88 flares,L88  hood, huge Fenton wheels and Hooker side pipes installed shortly after.
The car was slightly modified and tuned back then by a small upcoming speed shop in Columbus by the name of Jeg's.
The original owner went off to Vietnam and never returned.

I gave the car a tune up and fluid change and the car was an absolute beast!
The car would smoke the huge rear N50 tires at will....

I thought about keeping the car but we had just finished construction of our house and needed the extra money so I sold the car to a Corvette broker who sent it over to Europe.

I would love to own another C3 (convertible) someday.