I'm a bit insulted

[oceangal]

by this:

Follow along as Mid America Motorworks and Corvette Enthusiast Magazine starts with a bottom feeder C3 Corvette and turns it into a classy daily driver! The C3 (1968-82) Corvette gives enthusiasts an incredible opportunity to take a car they appreciate and turn it into anything from a stock restoration to a full blown hot rod. You can buy a C3 for as low as $4,000-$5,000, invest a minimal in upgrades, and enjoy a world class sports car that can still be your daily driver. Check out the articles below for all the details on this fun project!

http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette-1-359.html

 

[GerryLP]

OceanGal,

You are right! It hurts the ego a bit that our venerable late model year C3's did not come with a tire-shredding engine in them to make them more sought-after, but, as they say, there is a silver lining to our perceived predicament (specially myself, as an L81 owner, have suffered from "Low-power-complex" for many years). One can obtain one with very little cost, and turn-them into Mustang-eating beasts from the obscure and isolated county roads with a turn-key LS7 crate motor....:L

They still are the most popular generation ever, and they have been very dependable versions as well. Look at your 1982 model. It has the sought-after 4-speed auto transmission! And it gives you a nice mileage on the freeway I bet.

Pretty soon, you and I will enjoy the satisfaction that our vette's are worth some nice money. Nevertheless, I have always taken the sentimental value that my Vette has in my eyes. She is like that sibling, or perhaps even that family pet which has become family. That is how I see Gail in my eyes. All those years taking me everywhere to include San Francisco State University. Never breaking down on me, not even once! Of course, the one or twice flat tire in the driveway does not count.

So look at your beautiful Vette, and accept what he or she really is -that dependable friend that no body wants to kidnap!!! And that is a GOOD THING!!!!

 

[oceangal]

Thanks Gerry I do love my car and it has always been my favorite body style. Not that I don't have other years that I like but overall my fav.

From a marketing stand point I am surprised that a company that sells parts for C3's would make such a statement. When I found that article it was because I was searching for parts and I have to tell you that even though they didn't have the part that I wanted, I will think twice when they do have something I want.

 

[LT4man]

I believe MAM was referring to the "condition" of the Vette!

I know Mike, personally, and he would never refer to an entire era of the Vette in negative terms. In fact, his brother, Ken, owns a C3 which is a stunning automobile. It certainly did not start out that way!

The C3s are the true "Shark" cars. No other design era can make that claim!

The first Vette I saw in person was a Yellow 68 Convertible when I was a mere 13 years young. Till this day, I have never gotten that image out of my head. Not that I would want to!

SAVE THE

 

[hotshotzny]

i know EXACTLY what you are saying, im tired of hearing (from my own father even) how the c3's are cheap and an easy way to get into a vette and how underpowered they were and all that nonsense, yet when i go for cruises with a couple friends of ours (2 c6's a c5 with about 20k in the motor alone and god knows how much in paint) my car which is 26 yrs old, has 70 some odd thousand miles, and is desperately needs a paint job gets the most attention...., sure they look at the newer cars but they walk up to mine, look at the reg to see what year it is, and no one ever says to them WOW this was always my favorite design of the vette..... I HEAR THAT ALOT............

 

[THORIN]

Personally I have found that my 76 will almost always steal the attention away from its younger siblings. A C-3 is one car that everyone knows is a Corvette. The new ones even I have to do a double look to see if its a Vette or some look alike. That will never happen with ours.

 

[oceangal]

Ii could be that I took it in a way that wasn't as the author intended. I see C3 & bottom feeder in the same sentence and it just rubs me the wrong way.

 

[LT4man]

Ii could be that I took it in a way that wasn't as the author intended. I see C3 & bottom feeder in the same sentence and it just rubs me the wrong way.

The words "bottom feeder" usually refers to the way a C4 takes in air to the radiator & A/C condensor. The air is picked up from the hot asphalt, passes through the radiator/A-C condensor and then into the air intake inlet for the engine.

A C3 takes air in the same way! This certainly contributes to some of the cooling system issues with a C3 that has a big block engine.

In fact, do a search for cleaning the C4 radiator on this site and you can find some nasty pictures of the debris we pick up along the way. A plastic grocery bag does a great job of stopping airflow in my Vette and causing my engine temperature to go up. Ask me how I know!

SAVE THE

 

[LittleRedFlatBack]

In fact, do a search for cleaning the C4 radiator on this site and you can find some nasty pictures of the debris we pick up along the way. A plastic grocery bag does a great job of stopping airflow in my Vette and causing my engine temperature to go up. Ask me how I know!

SAVE THE

I'm with you there lt4man. It took me weeks to grow skin over my knuckles after that little chore on my C4, but it was well worth it. I got all kinds of garbage out of there.

Oceangal, IMO...there's no other vette that's as well known as the C3's. That "hour-glass" figure is unmistakable! I just don't fit in them as well as I used to.:ugh

 

[skitch]

I wouldn't take it to heart , I personaly have owned a 68 and an 81 and I love those years. The 90 vert that I purchased not long ago was bought because of the price and condition. You better believe that I was looking at the C3's also. It's not very likely to find a decent C3 for cheap.The ones I was looking at was in the range of 10k. Of course they were nice cars. Some of the very low mileage cars were bringing double that. Sure they may not be the fastest vettes out there , but they are some of the stylish ones. It's all a matter of opinion, I love them all, just some more than others!

 

[chiefs81vette]

I love my 81, and in fact I havent sen a head turn yet....
Im having a blast

 

[chiefs81vette]

whoops not turn yet....

 

[LittleRedFlatBack]

Heads turn

whoops not turn yet....

Show us a picture of your Vette and we'll turn heads to look at it here on CAC!

Welcome to the CAC chiefs81vette!

Dennis

 

[minifridge1138]

Bottom breather refers to how air enters the engine compartment.
Since there is no grill, the car has to suck air up.
That's why the 78 spoiler was really an air dam, not a spoiler.
It is also why the 80-82 with the molded air dam tends to run a few degrees cooler.

 

[hotshotzny]

heard another one today and almost punched the guy in the jaw.... took it out for actually the longest ride i have had it out for since i got it, seeing how the front end is all nice and new and the engine is purring like a kitten me and my kid went out for a nice gormet lunch..... burger king.... and this was the first time i have had it out on the open highway... needless to say every other car that went by us (or we went by) gave us a look and/or a thumbs up.... with that of course on the 40 some miles of highway i was challenged in one way or another to a good half a dozen races.... which i declined all but one ..... i choose my battles carefully... so on the way home i swing by my dads house and see him and a couple of his old fart buddies sitting around with thier C5's and C6's so we pull in and the subject of how my car looks good for its age come up blah blah blah.... so im tellin them about out trip and of course the loud mouth of the bunch has to say how "people probably challenge you to race cause they know they have a chance against the older vettes" ad i got so mad right there i just told him... you are an idiot, no one knows what size motor i have in this thing, they all assume that it has a big block in it that makes so much torque it could knock a house off its blockshnoes... the only people who know otherwise are the spoiled suckers like you (change the s for an f ) who happen to know only because you read vette magazine... no one even knows what a crossfire is! i had a fun day right up until i saw that guy!!

 

[GerryLP]

I have always said that I have had a low-power complex since I lost sight of that Gold 1981 6.0 Turbo Trans-Am that pulled away after toying with me at 100 MPH back in 1986.

But again, if you are a guy, one has to realize that ones spouse cannot perform like Maria Sharapova (on the court ), and if you are a girl, one has to realize that ones spouse cannot perform like #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (on the track ).

And like you said, those old farts risked getting their rears handed back to them should you have had slammed a old-school 427 in your vette. But I digress. My point is that our late C3's have their own attractiveness and following.

I suppose that these C5's and C6's owners would be afraid of coming across a 2009 ZR-1 in due time. So t is all relative.

 

[rbryce]

Let's compare apples to apples here!

Not all C3's were exactly what I would call "under powered". I bought my 1st vette in 1971, a 1968 convertible with a 350/350 engine (and I STILL HAVE IT). On an autocross course, it ran like a raped ape, eating most of what the Mustang Club of Charleston, Porche Club of Charleston, the SCCA in Charleston and almost anything with wheels on it in Charleston. I spun bearings at Charlotte Motor Speedway at a speed event trying and almost beating the Top Time of the Day car, a 454 Vette. When I rebuilt the bottom end with a brand new 350/370 LT-1 engine, I was right back inhaling cars again, except for when I drove the car in town and to work (and I did!). And I was not the only vette in Charleston doing it either. The reason a lot of them later came out with under powered engines was not the fault of the vette, it was the fault of fuel quality and the insurance companies war on horsepower to body weight ratios.

In the 60's and 70's, we did not have the benefit of computer controls for preventing spark knock, controlling fuel injection and dozens of other things. Take ANY 1990 series and later tire burner, American or Rice Burner, remove it's computer and it's engine would gag itself if it would even run. When we lost all of our octane, it took a few years to work it out, but we did, and that is no reason to even think the C3 was an under powered bottom feeder. In fact, since I am now running aluminum ported heads, computer controlled fuel injection and ignition coupled with current technology front and rear suspension, I'll still put my 68 up against any of the current production cars without any hesitation.

 

[Koop]

No one ever called my '69 a "Bottom Feeder" before, in the '80's it was called "The Red Headed Step Child of Corvette's" more than once. As time went on people quit making fun of the early chrome bumper cars in favor of picking on the later C3's. Now it's your turn! I no longer own the entry level Vette, you do!


Here's to the 1980 305cid California Corvette.


Hope that makes you feel better, cuz it's workin' for me!

 

[minifridge1138]

I agree with rbryce. It is not the car's fault. I plan to drive mine until the motor seizes up. Then i'm going for a crate motor.

Old school displacement + modern fuel injection = Killer Shark!

 

[82ColEd]

I dont worry about what "they" say.. I have a Corvette, most others dont...

And it's not like they picked a 26 year old Mazda/Daewoo/Toyota/Fiat/BMW/MB etc etc to rebuild..

Show me any 26 year old car that turns heads and makes them eat it. Well, most 26 year old cars are soda can's now..