Wow, no love from the Porsche crowd - of course! :)

I had a 71 roadster and drove the wheels off of it. It ran great with the base 350 and 4 speed. It handled pretty well. Definitely better than any muscle car iron of the same era. The engine sits far back behind the front wheels and the balance is quite good. The car felt raw with a long throw shift, mechanical clutch, loud etc. and I enjoyed the seating / cockpit position in it.

Now, this was NOT a 84 corvette, so there definitely still is a difference. I would save up for a 68-72 and get a ragtop if you can. Throw your money and wrenching efforts at a decent looking classic instead of a later plastic bumper smog choked excuse of a corvette that will always be a $8k car, even if it is close to cherry. That's just my two cents. :)

G

My Dad had a 427 69' Stingray with the T-Tops, which I drove once in a while.
he also had it modified with if I remember an engine that put out roughly 500HP.

At the time, I believed it was the end all.

After driving a 911 of the same vintage, it was not even close. In the vette, I was simply a passenger, and it was great for being 'seen' in, as in drawing attention to oneself. Fast but crude. After 100MPH, it didn't really seems to be saying, let's go faster.

Driving the 911 was an epiphany, as if I discovered something I did not know existed. The car always seems to be saying:"lets go somewhere"...any excuse to drive. Even today, I believe the C-7 is a fantastic value for the money, but the 911 is still judged by journalists as the benchmark.

I (maybe unfortunately) own one of these cars. I've driven it about 30 miles since picking it up in August.
Underpowered - yes
Torque - yes
Handling - more of a boulevard car in my opinoin so I've never tried to push it
Brakes - 4 piston calipers on all 4 corners......pretty impressive actually
Comfort - seems comfortable on the few short drives I've taken

At least it's fun to look at.....haha
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/69...0/585/nvh3.jpg

Looks great to me!

They are not a bad looking car and yours looks nice with those rims and the glass roof over red. But the build quality and performance in those days left a bit to be desired. Could be a very enjoyable boulevard cruiser, as you say. :)

All I could see from the wheel house were 2 unconnected bulgy fenders leading me around....didn't like it......but it was a 70, 427 tri power & not hurting for HP. Not mine, BTW.

I luved my old 58 Vette......top off with a snarling 327. Sold that for 1200 bucks when the wife got "with child".....sigh.

How do you know I didn't go all 'Carrie Underwood' on him and the car - smile...

I adore old cars - and wouldn't turn down that old 'vette if given to me... however, it is somewhat sobering when you stand back and realize that a Camry SE V6 (3.5 liter) when compared to my old '72 ZR1 will be faster at the top end, faster 0 to 60, handle much better, and have a radio, stop faster and have working air.... (but horrendously boring to drive ;) )

One of the few times I can agree with you. After 1972, the beginning of emission standards requiring cars to get de-tuned, 5 mile/hr bumpers that were just hung on and downsizing became the trifecta of some awful looking and performing cars. It continued in the 80's too.

My favorite C3 yr is 1969. Chevy got all the bugs out from 1968. 1970 and 71 would not be a bad choice either but after that not so much. Overall the C3, C4, C5 would not be on my list. I do like the C6 zo6 vette and if money were no object, a 1967 tri-power 427 w/ 4speed.

There's already a thread on this topic: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/788917-award-biggest-pos-car-goes.html

Can't speak for the C3, but I 'borrowed' an 'friend's' C4 Vette back when I was 17 in high school while he was out of town.

It wound up in a ditch. Bad times.

But the events leading up to it being in the ditch were AWESOME.


Yeah, I don't have a lot else to say about it oddly enough.

The '69 Corvette I had once upon a time was definately NOT underpowered!

The day I brought it home I dropped it into third gear and floored it to pass a truck- Left two wide, dark black strips of rubber on the freeway at 55 mph.

I have very few regrets in life, but one thing I should have done before selling that car- Toss the keys to my close friends, tell them to be back in 15 minutes, and don't tell me what you did with the car.

A couple years ago my son bought a C-4 1991 ZR-1. It was a 50K mile car that he paid around 15K for. He enjoyed the car for a couple of years and recently sold it for a small profit. With the 32 valve Lotus-designed engine and the ZF 6 speed, it was a far cry from the ordinary small-block engined C4 Corvette. Truly a fast car, and the sound of that V8 when you took it up past 7,000 was really something. Unfortunately, the interior was very dated, the car had a lot of body flex, and the brakes weren't adequate for extended high speed running (like on a track.) Still, the drive train was a work of art, and at the current price points the car could be a pretty good value considering that the early ZR-1 are not all that common.

Are C3 Corvettes fun to drive?
I don't have the answer for "all" C3 Corvettes but I will tell you the mine is a hoot to drive.
This is a one of a kind, Scarab inspiration, that was built on a 1980 L82. It presently has a 300 hp engine but I took an Edolbrock aluminum engine out of a 74 911 that should produce 435 hp. When installed in my Corvette, I'm guessing it will make this thing scary to drive. At 1800 lbs even the 300 hp makes doing donuts just plain crazy.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1392429284.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1392429297.jpg

All this corvette talk, thought I'd go ahead and check out the local markets.

Don't know much about 'em, don't want one. This one seems to be pretty optimistically
priced, but what do I know.

1968 CHEV CORVETTE SOFT/HARD TOP

Edit: Love that Henry Schmidt car! That is just freaking cool.

Sounds like a typical teenagers life in South Georgia!
Was in the car when a buddy did the same thing in a WRX and when another buddy did the same thing in a GTI

I've been around them essentially my whole life. My father was/is a Corvette guy. A gung ho American car guy, mechanic, gas station/garage business owner. In matter of fact, it's now owned by my brother and is a 55 year old business.

So I liked Corvette's and had driven some C3's, but never really liked driving them. I bought a C3 anyways, hot rodded it with complete aftermarket suspension and full solid roller stroker motor. Never really liked it and would never buy a C3 again. I like my E46 wagon with sport suspension and 5 speed so much better and the 911 like no other car I've ever owned.

I've owned a number of Corvettes(63 roadster FI, 67 350hp coupe, 69 ZL1 conv "tribute', 68 coupe resto, 75 coupe, C6 Z06 modded for track, a C3 427 with full greenwood suspension, brakes,etc and the Car Craft Big Banana project Corvette(and a few others) so I think I can speak with some experience. I enjoy cars from the 60s and70s, so I also have a 68 Ferrari GTC, 68 XKE, a nice Cobra FIA replica,etc.
We are also Porsche enthusiasts and I've owned my 67 911 since the early 80s. I've owned a 73 RS, a 70 S, 914-6 with a 2.8 RSR swap, a LE 914, 78 SC, 85 Carrera,etc. Vintage raced the Porsche(and Shelbys,etc) for years.
I enjoy the C3 Corvettes that I own very much. When they are properly set up, are equipped with proper tires, brake pads,alignment,etc-I find them to be as good a handling car as anything else in period. My ZL1 is an absolute monster. I think most Porsche folks experience with C3 Vettes ,especially-is with smogged out, poorly maintained cruisers. Those really don't do the C3 justice. Like any vintage sportscar, they require an expert to set them up for spirited driving. Just as I'd never evaluate my 911 drive by only having a go with a clapped out 75 targa with lousy tires-I wouldn't base my opinion of C3 Corvettes with a drive in a mid 70s Cali 305 auto car with Pep boys tires. While my C3s are not as "all of a piece" as my 911s, they are not rattle traps and they are very responsive to drive. There is a reason that Corvettes and Porsches have been rivals for decades-both offer great drives-just different.

Looked at in the correct ligh they were okay except for the Cadillacessness of the later cars and the smog reg choking equipment. One of my favorite rides was my 65 C2 with the 396 off road package. It was brutal! Ride in some of Dick Guldstrand's modified C3s and you will see the car as I believe they should be. The hot engines and taught suspensions were really bargains, yet the public bought few of those examples. GM was not there to make cars. They were there to make money.

Diverdan

Having owned a couple. I and many others will break the c3 into 2 early C3 with chrome bumpers (68-72) and C3 1/2 (73-82).The plastic whale 73 up cars don,t do anything for me.
I have a 72 big block car in pieces in the garage at the moment. The vettes are worth the most as close to stock and as heavily optioned as you can find. since buying mine I have removed the headers and huge sidepipes ,replaced the aftermarket wheels and am redoing the interior.
Many vette owners are fanatic about numbers matching. (dated hose clamps etc LOL).
They are overweight and smog laws strangled all motors in the early 70,s .
I also owned a 1964 roadster years ago and it was nicer to look at and lighter.
In summary the C3 can be a decent sporty car and a fun hobby car.
Like many 70,s cars though ,they are more fun to look at than drive.

My Dad's 1968 Stingray is fun to drive but in a completely different way than a 911. I like both. My Dad bought the car new in 1968, still has it with its original engine, transmission and only one clutch. Everything is original (sometimes too original with the yellowing floormats).

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