HJG
Well-known user
Hello all
Hope everybody enjoyed Christmas.
Around a year ago I posted on here for advice on buying a chrome bumper C3. It has taken me that whole year to find a car but I am pleased to say I now a Corvette owner.
I originally wanted a chrome bumper small block coupe, so naturally I ended up with a big block convertible and without front chrome
Not the best photos so far - haven't had much of a chance yet!
The car has been in the UK for around five years but has only done around 120 miles since landing.
Let's start with the elephant in the room - that front end. I managed to track down the guy who originally exported the car (thankyou google and facebook). He bought the car from a bank who was holding the car against a loan against somebody else. I haven't been able to track that individual but the other guy tells me the car was being prepared for racing and had this front end fitted. Admittedly I was not keen on this front end and it annoyed me that it took the originality out of the car. However the more I saw the car the more I really started to like it. Luckily the car was local so I could see it a few times before making the decision. Two big advantages of the full tilting front end are 1) full vacuum delete for the lights and wipers and 2) great accessibility for the engine and front suspension components.
The engine is not matching numbers. It doesn't bother me. It means I can meddle with it further without devaluing it. It is a L36 427 and is the 'correct engine' but I am told has a different camshaft and the heads have been rebuilt in the UK. The only way I am going to know exactly what cam it has is to take it out at some point. The engine pulls brilliantly. The manual gearbox is very good and I was surprised how good it is for an American car. The differential has been fully rebuilt in the UK.
The sidepipes have had silencers put in because apparently when it arrived from the USA they were hollow, it would set car alarms off everywhere it went.
The mileage reads 99000. This number is meaningless to me. In fact it's my first ever car with less than 100 000 on the clock.
The roof is in very good condition, but the windows don't seem to meet the top seal, leaving around 10mm gap. Annoying but is not left in the rain so not a major issue right now. Any ideas here?
The passenger door needs a good slam which is already getting annoying. The drivers door interior pull handle came off in my hand the other day, also annoying.
The radio is all original but volume is awful and I can barely hear it. Any ideas here? (I know 'the real radio' is hanging on both sides of the car). The horn doesn't work so need to do that too.
Driving the car has been a big learning experience. It's my first American car and it is a whole body experience with hefty manual inputs. No power brakes or power steering. I've had cars without power steering so this doesn't bother me and isn't actually as hard as I thought it would be. The car drives and stops in a straight line.
Frame etc seems solid. Weather has been awful and I haven't had the proper chance to spend an entire weekend with the car looking at every detail, removing things etc. I am sure I will find something somewhere I do not like the look of if I keep looking hard enough, but I think this is to be expected of a car of this age without paying mega money for the car. I will add that my original post for advice mentioned a £25K budget. I am within 10% of that with this car.
Hope to meet some owners once the weather improves and the 'C' word disappears!
Will most more updates / cries for help as I learn more about the car.
Sorry for long post!
Hope everybody enjoyed Christmas.
Around a year ago I posted on here for advice on buying a chrome bumper C3. It has taken me that whole year to find a car but I am pleased to say I now a Corvette owner.
I originally wanted a chrome bumper small block coupe, so naturally I ended up with a big block convertible and without front chrome
Not the best photos so far - haven't had much of a chance yet!
The car has been in the UK for around five years but has only done around 120 miles since landing.
Let's start with the elephant in the room - that front end. I managed to track down the guy who originally exported the car (thankyou google and facebook). He bought the car from a bank who was holding the car against a loan against somebody else. I haven't been able to track that individual but the other guy tells me the car was being prepared for racing and had this front end fitted. Admittedly I was not keen on this front end and it annoyed me that it took the originality out of the car. However the more I saw the car the more I really started to like it. Luckily the car was local so I could see it a few times before making the decision. Two big advantages of the full tilting front end are 1) full vacuum delete for the lights and wipers and 2) great accessibility for the engine and front suspension components.
The engine is not matching numbers. It doesn't bother me. It means I can meddle with it further without devaluing it. It is a L36 427 and is the 'correct engine' but I am told has a different camshaft and the heads have been rebuilt in the UK. The only way I am going to know exactly what cam it has is to take it out at some point. The engine pulls brilliantly. The manual gearbox is very good and I was surprised how good it is for an American car. The differential has been fully rebuilt in the UK.
The sidepipes have had silencers put in because apparently when it arrived from the USA they were hollow, it would set car alarms off everywhere it went.
The mileage reads 99000. This number is meaningless to me. In fact it's my first ever car with less than 100 000 on the clock.
The roof is in very good condition, but the windows don't seem to meet the top seal, leaving around 10mm gap. Annoying but is not left in the rain so not a major issue right now. Any ideas here?
The passenger door needs a good slam which is already getting annoying. The drivers door interior pull handle came off in my hand the other day, also annoying.
The radio is all original but volume is awful and I can barely hear it. Any ideas here? (I know 'the real radio' is hanging on both sides of the car). The horn doesn't work so need to do that too.
Driving the car has been a big learning experience. It's my first American car and it is a whole body experience with hefty manual inputs. No power brakes or power steering. I've had cars without power steering so this doesn't bother me and isn't actually as hard as I thought it would be. The car drives and stops in a straight line.
Frame etc seems solid. Weather has been awful and I haven't had the proper chance to spend an entire weekend with the car looking at every detail, removing things etc. I am sure I will find something somewhere I do not like the look of if I keep looking hard enough, but I think this is to be expected of a car of this age without paying mega money for the car. I will add that my original post for advice mentioned a £25K budget. I am within 10% of that with this car.
Hope to meet some owners once the weather improves and the 'C' word disappears!
Will most more updates / cries for help as I learn more about the car.
Sorry for long post!
