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Looking to buy

Yes, i forwarded the link to my Father. I love a good auction, i have bought 2 motorycles and a truck via auction. Mind you the 2 motorcycles were on ebay and got 3k worth of accessories for free, i have always been a deal hunter. Tried to get my dad to take a look at the Auction in St Charles (2 hours from home) comming up but all the cars that i would be interested in are selling thur or fri and Pops cant get the day off this short of nocitce. I will be back state side end of Oct and off on my 30 days of leave Mid Nov so it looks like the Dec auction in KC that is the only one to attend while i am on leave. KC is about 4 hours from home soo thats dooable.

Well after taking a look at "rare" i wouldnt sell it for 10 either i would sell a leg before i sell a bueaty like for 5k or less lol.

I see that alot them priceing 81s at around 15k when to me they are not worth that much, pant problems, interior problems and the engine looks like crap, am i missing somethng when it comes to that year and why some places think they are worth more than they actually are?
 
The price is what the car is worth to the owner and what the buyer is willing to pay ;)

As you mentioned,,, condition, Condition, CONDITION then comes documentation, Documentation, DOCUMENTATION.. all add to the price of a Corvette. Certain things about each year "can" make them kind of special, e.g. 1981 Last year of the 4-Speed Transmission, First full production of a computer aided carb and Last year of a normally aspirated engine, only one engine option... a few other unique items in the suspension, body panels etc. but kind of stuff happens every production year. Each year more is refined ;)

Just for the record :D Hagerty Insures RARE for $26,000 :dance :Steer :D

Bud
 
I'm heading off for my annual 18 mile pilgrimage to Auburn tomorrow. Last year the sale was full of Corvettes. Check the listing for Corvettes at the sale this year and then check back later for the sale list with bid amounts. I'll be posting some auction reports on things I find interesting over then next few days. RM has really turned this event around since they purchased the auction park.
Tom

Auburn Fall Classic
 
:w Steven,

I am curious, what are your expectations in this C3 you are looking for ;)

Are you looking for a "Daily Driver", Weekend Driver, polish shine & show??

C3's a beautiful Corvettes but remember even the (1982) Newest of the C3's is almost 30 years old. And as any 30 year old vehicle there are bound to be issue's that come up from just being 30+ years old and parts are not manufactured by GM any longer, at least for the most part ..

Even the C4's are getting a little long in the tooth and here again age makes the parts harder and harder to come by as time goes by..

If I was asked, which I am not here, I would suggest buy the newest best Corvette you can afford, DRIVE IT and enjoy it, once you become part of the Corvette Community it will be in your blood :Steer ..

If you like working on cars, I mean MORE than just Tinkering but fixing stuff RIGHT not BUBBA fix then please disregard what I've just said ;) ;LOL

Good Luck and enjoy your search..... One thing young folks need to know... Corvettes are NOT gear slamming Hot Rods, esp. the older ones..... parts are just to hard to come by :D

Bud
 
Yoda said:
:w Steven,

I am curious, what are your expectations in this C3 you are looking for ;)

Are you looking for a "Daily Driver", Weekend Driver, polish shine & show??

C3's a beautiful Corvettes but remember even the (1982) Newest of the C3's is almost 30 years old. And as any 30 year old vehicle there are bound to be issue's that come up from just being 30+ years old and parts are not manufactured by GM any longer, at least for the most part ..

Even the C4's are getting a little long in the tooth and here again age makes the parts harder and harder to come by as time goes by..

If I was asked, which I am not here, I would suggest buy the newest best Corvette you can afford, DRIVE IT and enjoy it, once you become part of the Corvette Community it will be in your blood :Steer ..

If you like working on cars, I mean MORE than just Tinkering but fixing stuff RIGHT not BUBBA fix then please disregard what I've just said ;) ;LOL

Good Luck and enjoy your search..... One thing young folks need to know... Corvettes are NOT gear slamming Hot Rods, esp. the older ones..... parts are just to hard to come by :D

Bud
Click to expand...

I agree with the "Wise One"!~!!:thumb

:D
 
Well i am not a car show kind of a guy, i have showed one of my trucks and it wasnt my cup of tea. I have been riding motorcycles for the better part of 10 years and i have moved to a city that i dont feel comfortable being on a motorycle anymore. So what i want out of a C3 is a weekend driver, something fun to drive, and give me a project. I have a brand new truck for a daily driver and its less than a year old, work truck, no frills and 2 wheel drive, there is a thing that i would do with it actually there isnt much i like that i could do to it but thats beside the point. I have looked at the C4s and out side of the fact that they have a convertable, i cant find the one i really like love the curves of the C3s. The C5s they come in even in 97 they are still priced around 20k lowest i have seen anywhere is 16k which just isnt going to happen for a second car. I have also looked at other small 2 door roadsters out there as well, the BMW Z3, MB SLK, and Audi TT. They just dont have the same thrill as owning a corvette does to me.

When it comes to the repair work, the only way to actually learn to do something is reading about it and trying it out, i can go my whole life not knowing a thing about cars or i can actually learn by doing. There is always a repair manual i can beg burrow or steal that can help me out. I am not afraid of the work that it would take for these older cars they are easier to work on then alot of the newer ones which mostly are computerized and u cant really learn to do anything with them. How do people get in to restoring cars, or car repair they go out and get themselves dirty or they learn from knowledgable people. I just have never owned a truck that needed any repair work done with it maybe i have been lucky well thats probably true always owned a truck with low miles since i was 19 and i have owned 5.

I have way to much time to think and research right now and thats what i am doing, have i ever even drove a corvette the answer is no, i have drove trucks all my adult life (I know for some of you more classic people thats not a long time) I owned a race truck once and i just loved the power that it had lol it was a Dodge Ram SRT-10 the one with the viper engine in it.

Well i have gotten long winded again, lol i need to try to get a mission lol so i stop bugging everyone lol

Steve

P.S./Edit/ - What would be acceptable miliage for a 97-00? Whats a good range? I know there are alot of older vetts with very low miles what would be acceptable?
 
nevets181 said:
So what i want out of a C3 is a weekend driver, something fun to drive, and give me a project.

There is always a repair manual i can beg burrow or steal that can help me out. I am not afraid of the work that it would take for these older cars they are easier to work on then alot of the newer ones which mostly are computerized and u cant really learn to do anything with them.

I have way to much time to think and research right now and thats what i am doing, have i ever even drove a corvette the answer is no, i have drove trucks all my adult life (I know for some of you more classic people thats not a long time) I owned a race truck once and i just loved the power that it had lol it was a Dodge Ram SRT-10 the one with the viper engine in it.

Well i have gotten long winded again, lol i need to try to get a mission lol so i stop bugging everyone lol

Steve
Click to expand...
Steve,
I learned to work on cars by reading Hot Rod, Car Craft and Rod and Custom when I was a kid in the '50s. When I bought my first new car in 1968 (a GTO because I needed room for two little ones) I also bought the Pontiac Service Manual. Back then it was $8.95. If you want to learn about a C3 Corvette, there are GM Shop Manuals and Assembly Instruction Manuals (you'll see people referring to the AIM for answers to lots of questions about these cars). The GM Shop Manuals contain the step-by-step procedures dealer technicians were taught to follow when fixing these cars. The AIM is a collection of engineering drawings that detail how every nut and bolt and bracket was to be installed on the Corvette assembly line. These documents are available in printed form as well as CD-ROM. If you have a computer in Afghanistan, you could pop the CD in and read all about fixing your dream Corvette. The CD version is searchable and a lot lighter to carry around so it might be a better version for you. I appreciate you trying to get a mission but poring over engineering drawings might be safer. Here are a couple of links to one of the sites that sells them -- there are others but this gives you a place to start.

1981 Corvette AIM: http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~dyndetail~Z5Z5Z50000050g~Z5Z5Z532058~P24.95~~~~S3AY03AU1K76109105914a~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000050G
1981 Corvette Service Manual: http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~dyndetail~Z5Z5Z50000050g~Z5Z5Z531463~P29.95~~~~S3AY03AU1K76109105914a~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000050G
 
Steven,

Thank you for your service. Listen to them. They're steering you in the right direction. Wait until you're home and do the hunt yourself. It will be fun and educational. You'll learn a lot. Stay safe and come on back home to Iowa. We'll be waiting for you.
 
nevets181 said:
The Corvette Story
is this information at all correct
Click to expand...
I just skimmed thru some of the info there, and it looks legit to me. Good place to start is the history. Learn that in the C3 line, the first model in '68 is what's known as a 'one-off' year.
You'll find what we call 'bumper cars', soft noses & tails. Into the 80's came the 'aero vettes'.
Mechanical changes followed the years as well.
I'm always one to do my homework first, as I learned the hard way otherwise.
:D
 
Well i have decided to take all your guys advice and hold off purchasing the vett till i get back and sit behind the wheel of a couple. Just makes sense to me, been kicking around taking your advice but i did finanly make it official with my father and told him we are holding off.

I mean i will still look and if the perfict vett shows up i will give it a shot probably.

Well i know what the rest of this deployment is going to be like i have one more mission and then teaching classes the rest of the time i am here joy
 
I know its not a c3 but i am taking your advice and looking at something to drive rather than fix up what do u think my dad has drove it, said its a solid car nothing wrong with it minus a broken radio antenna.

Let me know what you think i know i said i would wait but this one poped up on my radar as i was looking through the websites i look at.

1994 Chevrolet Corvette - Premier Picks Auto Sales Bettendorf, IA

looking at 10 350 out the door
 
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