Why I love the C3

[James Vette]

The C3 corvette is an icon. Everywhere you look it has style and character. I personally love the wood panels in the door cards and also the console which looks exactly like a pilots instrument panel. Even the air conditioning has 2 cool wheel controls. And just look at the detailed dials for the AM/FM radio.

When you sit in the car it feels so nice and cosy I love it. Especially when driving at night and all the interior lights come on and you can have fun playing with the popup headlights. And who could forget the skinny steering wheel that is so so comfortable and basically sits in your lap.

Even the door handles are perfectly designed flush into the car door!

Since I left school I had been working full time and managed to buy a project 1971 corvette a few years ago. I was only able to keep it for a year but I was so glad to experience owning one and pretending I lived in the 70's. Here is a few pictures I took of it:





(Yes I had a custom plate made to make it look more authentic and I thought the C7 stingray emblem looked good on the side)

God I cannot get enough of those curves.

Maybe in the future I will be able to get another one or maybe I can just rent one for a week road trip or something.

And that is why I love the C3.

 

[Roscobbc]

Shame you didn't/couldn't 'hang-on' to that car James........understand and agree with every thing you say. I've always preferred the C3 to other Vette marques......but every now and the you'll see a nice, immaculate Corvette in a specific colour that particularly suits that marque......and you'd love to own it just for that colour combo. A later C4 in Polo Green comes to mind.
This morning drive into Upminster to collect something from a shop and I was kinda wrapped-up with all the local traffic and concentating trying to make a turn......when doing the left turn into a side road off the high street I almost missed seeing an absolutely superb silver C2 coupe coming from the opposite direction........irritatingly I caught a brief glimpse but was unable to see what year (or even if it was a 'splitty') - but it was resplendant in silver.
Was it a local car ? (reg. started with RHD) don't know, never seen it before. Currently the Gallows Corner A12/A127 flyover is closed and all through traffic is being re-directed through Upminster, Hornchurch and Romford (hense the congestion) so perhaps it was en-route towards East and West London.

 

[CaptainK]

Gotta agree that the C3 does have a lovely shape to it, especially (IMHO) the earlier chrome bumper ones. I love the look of mine, how it feels sitting in it, and how it feels driving it. I mean we are all aware they have rubbish mpg, and other "flaws", but I 100% driving my C3 over more modern cars I have driven before. The C3 is more raw, more "seat of your pants" and just makes you feel alive. And mine is just a baby 327 small block.....

The ONLY thing I don't like about my C3 is at shows are the chats with Joe Public that go along the lines of:
"Is that a big block mate?"
"No, 327 small block"
"Oh that's a shame, you should have got the big block"

 

[Roscobbc]

Gotta agree that the C3 does have a lovely shape to it, especially (IMHO) the earlier chrome bumper ones. I love the look of mine, how it feels sitting in it, and how it feels driving it. I mean we are all aware they have rubbish mpg, and other "flaws", but I 100% driving my C3 over more modern cars I have driven before. The C3 is more raw, more "seat of your pants" and just makes you feel alive. And mine is just a baby 327 small block.....

The ONLY thing I don't like about my C3 is at shows are the chats with Joe Public that go along the lines of:
"Is that a big block mate?"
"No, 327 small block"
"Oh that's a shame, you should have got the big block"

Ignorant people - same ones will be saying that to someone with a L36 390 hp 427 powered car......"shame its not a 435 hp engine mate" - same tossers will say "I'd never have a big block, the fuel consumption is so bad"..........,yeah right........., reality is they are ALL bad, small block or big block, with UK gas prices as they are even a 50cc Honda Cub will be comparitively expensive to run nowadays compared with perhaps 10 years ago. Reality is that a 'hi-output' 350 cu in (so 350 cu in/350 hp or 370 hp LT1) won't be that much different to a big block in terms of fuel economy.
Those same idiots who all get their information from plagiarising magazines will fail to realise that 'like for like' a 327 small block will have similar/equal HP ratings to the then newly introduced 350 cu in engine in 1969.......in fact if comparing to the post '70/'71 lower compression engines onwards......they'll have more HP.
327 cu in engine was always a favourite with hot rodders and drag racers being a potential rpm 'screamer'.

 

[James Vette]

Gotta agree that the C3 does have a lovely shape to it, especially (IMHO) the earlier chrome bumper ones. I love the look of mine, how it feels sitting in it, and how it feels driving it. I mean we are all aware they have rubbish mpg, and other "flaws", but I 100% driving my C3 over more modern cars I have driven before. The C3 is more raw, more "seat of your pants" and just makes you feel alive. And mine is just a baby 327 small block.....

The ONLY thing I don't like about my C3 is at shows are the chats with Joe Public that go along the lines of:
"Is that a big block mate?"
"No, 327 small block"
"Oh that's a shame, you should have got the big block"

Hahaha. The 327 and 350 have more than enough power for a little corvette stingray. I don't understand Joe Public. I remember one night pushing the pedal all the way down on the motorway and I honestly thought I was about to take off like a plane.