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I agree that the best looking and performing C3 cars are 68 to 72, the 68 had some "teething problems" and worse body cracking than the 69, which is arguably the best "vintage".
That said the later 70's cars do have the bubble rear window that makes sort of a vestigial hatchback out of the car, although the 'vette never was and hopefully never will be a "practical" car. They are also pretty common and so not very expensive. A lot of these are not "bone stock" anymore, since they are pretty much all SBC powered, you can get whatever you want for under the hood.
NSX is right of course that you get value for your money as you move from C3 to C4, C4 to C5, and to some extent C5 to C6 (IMHO the C5 is so damn good, and so damn fast, you have to ask yourself what benefit you would really get out of "moving up" to the C6)
That said the C4 is IMHO quite a car, and you can find a good unmolested one for late-model Camry money. If I had room in the garage I could be talked into one of these with a 6-speed...
To me, a lot of the fun of a sports car is a manual transmission, that said if you will "settle" for it, a late-70's car with an autobox can be had really cheap, look around and you can find a good unmolested one, consider it an "entry level" 'vette...
One thing to keep in mind is proper tires for the C4 and newer are *not* cheap, nor do they last more than 40K miles tops, probably less. This does not add that much to your per mile cost, but you want to keep an eye on the tires and be saving up so you don't get "ambushed" by the sudden expense.
If you put, say, $5 in a jar every time you filled up with gas, that would most likely pay for your tires if you started with a new set.
Don't cheap out on tires for these, BTW, like ordering a cheap wine with a first-class dinner, the money saved won't be enough to compensate for the experience spoilt.
I've owned 3 vettes (a 79, a 97, and my current 08 Z06). They ALL are very special in their own way for their time. I think you have along way to go to understand the Corvette given your odd questions. Suggestions - 2 of the best sources of on-line info IMO are Smokinvette and CorvetteForum. Just add the .com. These are people who are passionate about their cars and just spending a few hours poking around each site will really get you on your way to learning more about the cars. Both sites have categories by model years (C1, C2, etc.) so you can concentrate on the areas that are of more interest to you.
On a side note - my 79 was an L82 and I believe it was rated at 210 HP - but it was a blast to drive and was actually very quick. And I disagree with the a previous post saying the C3's body style were weird and undesirable!!
I agree that the best looking and performing C3 cars are 68 to 72, the 68 had some "teething problems" and worse body cracking than the 69, which is arguably the best "vintage".
That said the later 70's cars do have the bubble rear window that makes sort of a vestigial hatchback out of the car, although the 'vette never was and hopefully never will be a "practical" car. They are also pretty common and so not very expensive. A lot of these are not "bone stock" anymore, since they are pretty much all SBC powered, you can get whatever you want for under the hood.
NSX is right of course that you get value for your money as you move from C3 to C4, C4 to C5, and to some extent C5 to C6 (IMHO the C5 is so damn good, and so damn fast, you have to ask yourself what benefit you would really get out of "moving up" to the C6)
That said the C4 is IMHO quite a car, and you can find a good unmolested one for late-model Camry money. If I had room in the garage I could be talked into one of these with a 6-speed...
To me, a lot of the fun of a sports car is a manual transmission, that said if you will "settle" for it, a late-70's car with an autobox can be had really cheap, look around and you can find a good unmolested one, consider it an "entry level" 'vette...
One thing to keep in mind is proper tires for the C4 and newer are *not* cheap, nor do they last more than 40K miles tops, probably less. This does not add that much to your per mile cost, but you want to keep an eye on the tires and be saving up so you don't get "ambushed" by the sudden expense.
If you put, say, $5 in a jar every time you filled up with gas, that would most likely pay for your tires if you started with a new set.
Don't cheap out on tires for these, BTW, like ordering a cheap wine with a first-class dinner, the money saved won't be enough to compensate for the experience spoilt.
I think you are right in that the C5 is a VERY GOOD vette, a quantum leap over the C4 - however the C6 is a big improvement. I've owned (and own) both and the C6 is definitely worth the move-up! BTW, I got approx. 12,000 miles on my original GY run-flats on my 08 Z06 - to echo your point about tires. The Nittos are a big improvement in ride and handling but I don't think I'll see many more miles than the GY's...
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