Questions About Owning A C3 In The UK?

[Gus]

After a narrow squeak with an incendiary air conditioning unit....always got an extingusher in the passenger footwell!

 

[Chuffer]

Perhaps the answer is to invest in one of those roof hoists you can get for some of those cars like Merc's with really heavy removable hard tops - fix it to the garage roof and using some form of strapping to sit in - simply lift and lower yourself through the convertible or T roof aperture a bit like one of those air/sea helicopter rescue operations.

You could always get your squire to hoist you in and out like a medeival knight onto his charger in his suite of armour

 

[Mr. Cricket]

We just completed a one day round trip of 374 miles. The car used 18.5 gallons, and the MPG came out at 20.2 mpg. I re-fuelled close to our destination (including a pot pf Millers EPS) and again on our return home at our local station. It was down to about half a tank on the gauge on both occasions. It's worth noting that the second half of the tank seems to go a lot quicker than the first!

On long trips I reckon to plan on a re-fuel at around the 250 mile mark, which gives me a nice amount of leeway. In reality, I try not to do more than 300 miles in a day, as more gets a tad tiring.

That's a lot in a C3 but eased no doubt by the beautiful French scenery Stephen. 2018 I did the Nationals there and back on a blisteringly hot day in a C3 which from here is 320 round trip. Slept like the dead that night.

Glad to see I'm not the only one that thinks the second half of the tank seems to fall away quicker

 

[Roscobbc]

It surprises many to learn that my modded '68 BB powered car will just about squeeze 16 mpg at a 60/70 mph cruise. However get fed up with that speed and advance to 85/90 mph where the secondaries are tipping in and that reduces significantly. So much so that you really can see the fuel needle move over a five minute period....

 

[Nick B]

I had a 455 Super Duty Trans Am, I'm sure that I could see the gauge dropping as I drove along!

 

[GCorvette]

Ironically I have a shipping container, but as you say, I don't think I could get a car in & get out.

So an update:

I've decided I cannot live without my C6 Z51, it ticks so many boxes for me, so that is staying.

That said, after an insane amount of research that almost fried my brain, I am also going to go ahead and get a C3.

It might happen shortly or perhaps next year, just depends on the right car I guess, but I do have some options to think about.

The question over fitting a shipping container I've answered.

My C6 fits snugly, BUT the only way in and out will be to add a Window Valet and even then it is quite a limbo manoeuvre.

I've yet to check the width on a C3, but length would be fine & naturally depending on age, it might have manual operation on the windows.

Not ideal, but doable.

I'm keeping my eye out for a suitable new property at the same time, so anything could happen on that front as well.

Thanks for all the advice & suggestions.
Very much appreciated.

 

[Gus]

Good luck.........hope you can find a property with suitable 'accomodation' for a C3.......Gus

 

[CaptainK]

The question over fitting a shipping container I've answered.
My C6 fits snugly, BUT the only way in and out will be to add a Window Valet and even then it is quite a limbo manoeuvre.

Its like looking at my C3 in the council garage I have. Oh fun days.... and how I wish the silly-icitors would hurry up with my house purchase so I can be rid of the council garage and into a lovely huge double garage.

 

[Gus]

Aaaah.... the joys of a big garage....
Never very bothered about the house [to my wife's irritation] .......as long as I have a nice big garage to play with!

 

[GCorvette]

A toe in the water here, so please bare with me.

The C3 has always been an itch to scratch since I first saw one as a teenager in the 70's.

I've subsequently owned and loved 3 newer generation Vettes which are naturally extremely different animals.

Given my own set of circumstances, I wanted to ask the following about ownership of a C3 in the UK.

Unfortunately, it would currently have to live outside on a dusty / windy farm. Will that cause major corrosion or water ingress issues if exposed to the English elements?

It would have to be maintained by a Corvette specialist. I have zero mechanical knowledge & have a mobility issue. The car would start with no known issues, but what kind of future problems and costs could I expect via a specialist?

Insurance - what mileage limitations do they impose and what sort of prices on a mid 70's C3?

Finally, on a well maintained C3, do any of you (pre Covid) tour into Europe with yours or are they really only suited to travelling to closer locations?

Thanks in advance.

I stumbled upon this post of mine from 20 months ago & I can now look back on my journey with extremely mixed emotions.

The negatives in my life over that time period were many, immense & completely unexpected. 🫣

However, for all of those difficult times, I now live in a lovely new home, have a double garage & I realised my dream and have a C3 & a C6 sitting side by side.

The icing on the cake is of course most importantly, my major health blip that fell amongst the other unexpected dramas, is almost over & so I feel truly blessed.

Thank you to everyone who chipped in with advice, comments & observations along the way & continue to do so. I truly appreciate it.

 

[teamzr1]

Is it common in the UK where a 2-car garage has a damn column in the middle making it hard to park
the way you want them ?

 

[GCorvette]

Is it common in the UK where a 2-car garage as a damn column in the middle making it hard to park
the way you want them ?

View attachment 16508

Unfortunately, yes.

 

[Letank]

Is it common in the UK where a 2-car garage as a damn column in the middle making it hard to park the way you want them ?

Yes, and it’s a real pain in the @$$ when you want to work on the car
Fortunately she doesn’t need very much work.

 

[teamzr1]

Yes, and it’s a real pain in the @$$ when you want to work on the car
Fortunately she doesn’t need very much work.
View attachment 16512

That sucks and looks like 2-car garage there are more narrow than here in the USA are more like a 2 1/2 car wide garages

 

[GCorvette]

That sucks and looks like 2-car garage there are more narrow than here in the USA are more like a 2 1/2 car wide garages

Every building is smaller in the UK vs the US.

 

[Letank]

That sucks and looks like 2-car garage there are more narrow than here in the USA are more like a 2 1/2 car wide garages

Older built properties are normally more generous in size, but mine isn’t too bad really for a relatively new property. It probably is about 2.5 car widths.
We’ll add it to the list of things that are smaller here than in the US

 

[CaptainK]

My double garage has a central pillar at the front, but the whole garage is one big space. My Corvette being LHD I park on the left (as you look at the garage) so I can get out into the big central shared space. The FTO, being RHD, I park on the right so again I can get out into the central space. Definitely the largest double garage space I've had / seen. Normally I see "two single garages next to each other", like my parent's house, or the "large single" with no central pillar, but the garage space inside is only enough for one car and a lot of junk around it. Both of these options are labelled as "double garage" - and it was annoying when house shopping as I wanted a proper double garage.
Note: Photo below is an old photo from when I had just bought the house and shoved the cars in there whilst I set to doing work on the house etc before moving in properly. There is a back door now in the garage, freezer, lots of tools and other stuff in there - what you can't see from this angle is there is a good 1.5 metres space behind the cars at the back.