Do I want a Corvette.

Yes, you want one.  Deep down, we all do. 

The C3 and the C5 are apples and oranges.  I've had both.  I had an '81.  Super sexy car, IMO.  I loved the look.  Mine actually belonged to a local drug dealer when it was new, so it had been a bit pimped out...tri color stripes on the side, L88 hood (or maybe knock off, with bigger cowl induction bump), spoiler on the back.  I had the tri-color stripes painted black, so the car was gold and black.  It was quick enough...the engine had a cam, intake and exhaust.  Great cruising car.  But not a serious sports car.

I've had two C5s.  One was pretty close to stock, the other heavily modified.  Both were seriously fast and fun cars.  Comfy enough to be daily drivers, easy to drive at low speed, but will go balls out when you want.  Even highway mpg was great because 6th gear was huge....I got 30mpg easily when cruising at 75mph. 

If I wanted a car to drive daily or nearly daily, it'd be the C5 hands down.  If I wanted something to take my wife on a date night or go to a cruise in, I'd go late C3....specifically '80 or '81 (don't want Crossfail '82) because I love the nose and tail designs unique to those years.  Plus, I absolutely love those 8 slot rims, they fit the cars look perfectly.

I had a Viper too.  Best looking car I ever had, but IMO nowhere near as fun to drive as my C5s.  The Viper was uncomfortable, cramped, didn't make good "noises", cheap interior (even worse than GM), and it tram lined like a S.O.B.

I will add to the C3 idea that they street drive very nicely, sound very good, look very good, but are a terrible nightmare to work on. Everything in the car as the same dimensions as it did under a Chevelle, but it's way smaller.

Keith Tanner said:

Datsun310Guy said:

Do you want to win in life?

Everybody needs a Corvette so when you get old a lot of stories can start out with; “back when I had my Corvette.....”

I think that only works when you were young and single with a Corvette.

 

I dunno; My dad’s “Back when I had my vette” story includes a couple years of my brothers riding in the luggage tray.

Ian F said:

So... why exactly are you selling the Abomination? 

Because the fun of driving it is being overwhelmed by the pain of driving it. It's a small car. As in tiny. At 6'2 and 290, I'm not a small guy. The Abomination fits me like a pair of too small jeans. I hate driving it in the summer. Even with the insulation and heat shielding I did last year it's a extremely hot car to drive. I have literally gotten 2nd degree burns off of the transmission tunnel. 

There was a local autocross last weekend. 10 minutes of work to change the oil cooler fan and I could have run it. I knew it was going to be hot as hell so I didn't bother to fix it, or even go to the autocross. When it's too much trouble to use it, it's time to move it on down the road to someone else that will dream about it at night. That's not me. 

I do not pass the broomstick test so tracking the car is out without extensive modification. 

I'm ready for some uncontrollable torque. 

I want to sit in grid with the A/C on. 

I don't want to load the car, air up 12 tires, check and service two engines, unload the car, load the car, then unload the car, to go to a autocross. It's time to drive to the autocross, run, hang out with friends, and drive home and park the car in the garage.

I will be keeping the car through the end of the year so my youngest son gets a chance to drive it. He will be 15 in August, so it's going to make a couple of more events at a minimum. I think he's going to be a spectacular driver. That may change my mind about selling it. I have as much or more fun watching my kids flog it as I do flogging it myself. 

As a C4 owner, I'd say buy a C5. Its a nicer car, nicer to drive, easy to daily, and outperforms the C4. The aftermarket for them is HUGE.

For those saying a C4 would be more fun to autocross because it has that raw unrefined feeling... any $1000 beater will do that. Skip the C4 and buy a beater if you want a wild, raw experience on the autocross course.

I had a 1969 C3 for most of last summer. I am an "old car guy." I have had many, many old cars. Right before I had the Corvette I had a very basic '68 Mustang coupe, with a 302, 4spd, no power steering, and 4 wheel drum brakes. The Mustang did everything better than the Corvette, and it was more comfortable. I really, really wanted to like the Corvette. So much so that I sometimes think about buying another C3. But aside from the looks, it was a very bad car. Maybe it was just the one I had, but I doubt it. 

PS, I currently have an NC Miata, and it also is better at everything than the vette, including being quicker in a straight line. (The vette was a 350 car with too big of cam and 3.08 gears, so it really was not the cars fault it was slow, mismatched parts by a previous owner.) 

In reply to Klayfish :

What year was your Viper?

I liked driving my c4. And given the crap I usually own I thought it handled great. The automatic trans killed the magic though, and in this little retirement town I have met far too many "corvette guys" to be comfortable owning one for long. Unless it was a trollmobile.

yupididit said:

In reply to Klayfish :

What year was your Viper?

'99 GTS coupe...all black, no stripes.  Looked just like this, but had blacked out windows...

I think early C3's look cool but by the end of that generation they just look awful to me.  

Isn't the problem with the C5 is that it's so good it's almost boring?

In reply to Klayfish :

That's basically what I would want. I've never had the chance to drive or sit in one. 

Pete Gossett said:

Definitely not. Unless you hold out for JG’s Z06 when he’s done with it. 

Edit: To give a little detail to my “no” answer, spend some time around Corvette owners - a Vette-only show, or if you really want to be scarred for life, join the Corvette Owners, Wives & Girlfriends secret Facebook group...

There are a lot of seriously creepy Vette owners out there, that go way beyond the stereotypes. Oh sure, there are cool ones & racers too, but it’s a minuscule number compared to the rest. I do not want any association with that mess...

I found that the local Corvette guys are cool enough - even if they just don't see anything that's not a Corvette - but my wife will not accompany me to their events anymore. Not because the guys are creepy, but because the wives were insufferable.

Toyman01 said:

Here is a bizarre cross shop. How about a Cobalt SS? Are they as horrible as I imagine they are? 

Didn't this car beat Camaro's/Vettes in the slalom the year it was released?

Klayfish said:

Yes, you want one.  Deep down, we all do. 

The C3 and the C5 are apples and oranges.  I've had both.  I had an '81.  Super sexy car, IMO.  I loved the look.  Mine actually belonged to a local drug dealer when it was new, so it had been a bit pimped out...tri color stripes on the side, L88 hood (or maybe knock off, with bigger cowl induction bump), spoiler on the back.  I had the tri-color stripes painted black, so the car was gold and black.  It was quick enough...the engine had a cam, intake and exhaust.  Great cruising car.  But not a serious sports car.

I've had two C5s.  One was pretty close to stock, the other heavily modified.  Both were seriously fast and fun cars.  Comfy enough to be daily drivers, easy to drive at low speed, but will go balls out when you want.  Even highway mpg was great because 6th gear was huge....I got 30mpg easily when cruising at 75mph. 

If I wanted a car to drive daily or nearly daily, it'd be the C5 hands down.  If I wanted something to take my wife on a date night or go to a cruise in, I'd go late C3....specifically '80 or '81 (don't want Crossfail '82) because I love the nose and tail designs unique to those years.  Plus, I absolutely love those 8 slot rims, they fit the cars look perfectly.

I had a Viper too.  Best looking car I ever had, but IMO nowhere near as fun to drive as my C5s.  The Viper was uncomfortable, cramped, didn't make good "noises", cheap interior (even worse than GM), and it tram lined like a S.O.B.

Do agree with the noises of the Viper, its not as great as an LS, definitely sounds like a truck motor with no exhaust.  The lack of crossover tubes really hurt it and its a super weird firing order.  Do get some nice backfires from time to time on decel though.  Comfort wise though, must be an acquired taste.  Its pretty comfortable for me at 6'2/250 with a seat lowering kit, but it does get hot, hot, HOT!  The A/C is worthless, no top, and you are basically wrapped in exhaust piping.  The cheap interior adds to the flair, mine is holding up pretty well but its definitely bargain basement, seats and steering wheel are nice, everything else is Dodge Dakota circa 1992.  

Keith Tanner said:

Pete Gossett said:

Definitely not. Unless you hold out for JG’s Z06 when he’s done with it. 

Edit: To give a little detail to my “no” answer, spend some time around Corvette owners - a Vette-only show, or if you really want to be scarred for life, join the Corvette Owners, Wives & Girlfriends secret Facebook group...

There are a lot of seriously creepy Vette owners out there, that go way beyond the stereotypes. Oh sure, there are cool ones & racers too, but it’s a minuscule number compared to the rest. I do not want any association with that mess...

. Not because the guys are creepy, but because the wives were insufferable.

That is how my wife feels about military spouses! 

A corvette is one car I've never owned, but have spent a bunch of time in them.  I guess I'm strange in that I like the C4 better.  I've wanted to like C5's, and test drove a bunch to buy one, but can't get by the interior.  The C4 isn't great, but I always felt like it was punishment to drive inside a C5.  It's just so depressingly grey.  The C4 by comparison while not great, has a certain nostalgia about it in all its digital greatness that works better at being a place to spend time in.  Having said all of that, i'd still pick the C5 as a Z06 is pretty much the cheapest way to go that fast.  Even by today's standards its pretty quick and they are getting dirt cheap compared to years past.  

I remember in college I passed on a '66 coupe that even my mom wanted me to buy, only to get a TR4 instead.  I seem to remember it was almost perfect and could have been purchased for about $6k.  I had way more than that in the Triumph before I sold it a few years later.

I'm really not a Corvette guy, but I can't get past the wanting one at least once phase. And I'd still like a chrome bumper C3 no matter how bad they are.  

Keith Tanner said:

Pete Gossett said:

Definitely not. Unless you hold out for JG’s Z06 when he’s done with it. 

Edit: To give a little detail to my “no” answer, spend some time around Corvette owners - a Vette-only show, or if you really want to be scarred for life, join the Corvette Owners, Wives & Girlfriends secret Facebook group...

There are a lot of seriously creepy Vette owners out there, that go way beyond the stereotypes. Oh sure, there are cool ones & racers too, but it’s a minuscule number compared to the rest. I do not want any association with that mess...

I found that the local Corvette guys are cool enough - even if they just don't see anything that's not a Corvette - but my wife will not accompany me to their events anymore. Not because the guys are creepy, but because the wives were insufferable.

Worst part about a C4 or a C5 is the shows, certainly.  If you want attention at a show, a C4 or C5 (and probably now the C6) is not the car for you.  They are so common at least here in Wisconsin in the summer its basically a Camry.  They are typically ignored at shows, and not super welcome because too new to be classic, too old to be new, and too mainstream to be included anyway.  People bring them, but they are pretty meh.  The C5s at shows have basically every stick on chrome doodad from Ecklers or Mid America Motorworks on them, super tacky color matched checkered flag interiors, those little turned around crying kid dolls, cheap Chinese chrome wheels with Pepboys tires, and are driven by wanna-be Boyd Coddingtons, even down to the awful shirts.  

At least the C5s are getting attention from the younger guys because LS motor so there are some nicely done up ones, but there are a lot of hoopties with too much cam, cheap ebay longtubes, and SLP Loudmouth exhausts running around with 5% tint and busted up bodywork too.  The C5 is pretty much the 4th gen Camaro of the 2010s.  

Toyman01 said:

Because the fun of driving it is being overwhelmed by the pain of driving it. It's a small car. As in tiny. At 6'2 and 290, I'm not a small guy. The Abomination fits me like a pair of too small jeans. I hate driving it in the summer. Even with the insulation and heat shielding I did last year it's a extremely hot car to drive. I have literally gotten 2nd degree burns off of the transmission tunnel. 

There was a local autocross last weekend. 10 minutes of work to change the oil cooler fan and I could have run it. I knew it was going to be hot as hell so I didn't bother to fix it, or even go to the autocross. When it's too much trouble to use it, it's time to move it on down the road to someone else that will dream about it at night. That's not me. 

I do not pass the broomstick test so tracking the car is out without extensive modification. 

I'm ready for some uncontrollable torque. 

I want to sit in grid with the A/C on. 

I don't want to load the car, air up 12 tires, check and service two engines, unload the car, load the car, then unload the car, to go to a autocross. It's time to drive to the autocross, run, hang out with friends, and drive home and park the car in the garage.

I will be keeping the car through the end of the year so my youngest son gets a chance to drive it. He will be 15 in August, so it's going to make a couple of more events at a minimum. I think he's going to be a spectacular driver. That may change my mind about selling it. I have as much or more fun watching my kids flog it as I do flogging it myself. 

Comfortable, easy to live with, competent. Sounds like a C5 to me. At 6'2"/290lbs, ingress and egress from a C4 is not going to be enjoyable.

I've done a fair amount of major work and driving in C4 and C5, and a minor amount of work and driving in C3s. 

My opinion is that C3s are terrible cars and if they weren't pretty everyone would agree on that. Keeping in mind of course that most of their terribleness derives from the fact that they are a 70s american car. Add 'harder to work on' and you're straight to terrible status.

C4s are legitimate performance cars as far as their bones, but only the lt1 cars are actually fast without mods. They have atrocious ergonomics and are not fun to get in and out of.

C5s are normal cars that happen to outperform 90% of all other cars. They aren't bad to get into, be in, or get out of. They have less downsides by far than a c4 or c3, and you don't have to do much of anything to it for it to be a fun ride. 

I vote c5!

Keith Tanner said:

That's when cars are cheapest, though. The valley of depreciation coincides with the abyss of parts availability.

That's a "say what?" comment/ blipshift t-shirt right there...

Enjoyable / comfortable / Capable = C5 

sexytime = C3

bang for buck = C4

id go C5

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

You mean the bizarre airbrushed under-hood murals aren’t common up there?

Regarding C4 ingress & egress, it’s truly as bad or worse than any exotic, for a car that garners all the excitement of a Camry, while often being slower and less reliable than one. 

NickD said:

Toyman01 said:

Because the fun of driving it is being overwhelmed by the pain of driving it. It's a small car. As in tiny. At 6'2 and 290, I'm not a small guy. The Abomination fits me like a pair of too small jeans. I hate driving it in the summer. Even with the insulation and heat shielding I did last year it's a extremely hot car to drive. I have literally gotten 2nd degree burns off of the transmission tunnel. 

There was a local autocross last weekend. 10 minutes of work to change the oil cooler fan and I could have run it. I knew it was going to be hot as hell so I didn't bother to fix it, or even go to the autocross. When it's too much trouble to use it, it's time to move it on down the road to someone else that will dream about it at night. That's not me. 

I do not pass the broomstick test so tracking the car is out without extensive modification. 

I'm ready for some uncontrollable torque. 

I want to sit in grid with the A/C on. 

I don't want to load the car, air up 12 tires, check and service two engines, unload the car, load the car, then unload the car, to go to a autocross. It's time to drive to the autocross, run, hang out with friends, and drive home and park the car in the garage.

I will be keeping the car through the end of the year so my youngest son gets a chance to drive it. He will be 15 in August, so it's going to make a couple of more events at a minimum. I think he's going to be a spectacular driver. That may change my mind about selling it. I have as much or more fun watching my kids flog it as I do flogging it myself. 

Comfortable, easy to live with, competent. Sounds like a C5 to me. At 6'2"/290lbs, ingress and egress from a C4 is not going to be enjoyable.

When I was 290 I had no issues driving my C5.  Very comfortable car, even though people complain about the seats they are not that bad.  

Of all the cars I no longer have, the one I miss the most was a beater of a C4 that just wasn't holding up well to an 80 mile commute. Had the Z51 sport suspension package. It was a bit more car than I knew how to handle on an autocross, although it may not have been any faster than my Buick in a straight line.