William Rubano posted this shot of a Corvette that seems to be getting less than the best parking spot at this house. I’ll let you speculate as to why.
Cohort Outtake: Corvette In The Bushes
– Posted on July 12, 2014
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Curbside Classics Archives
And here I just got done reading Perry’s thing about annoying cultural signifiers. Oh well, at least it’s not red. The 1970s substitute for Rogaine and Viagra?
I will confess, though, that I have more recently started to look favorably on these as a relatively low-buck way to have a fun car on the cheap. This least respected of Corvettes is at least a better car than an awful lot of what else was on the road at the time. Not a fan of the bright yellow, though. At least the fiberglass eliminates the complementary rust stains that usually accompany this color.
This is an easy question to answer. It was NOT running when parked. Do not ask the owner if it is for sale. The answer to that of course is no. He plans to completely restore it someday. And so it goes.
Because all Corvettes are worth $100K when restored.
Unless it’s an otherwise perfect (plastic on the seats, inspector’s grease pencil marks on the windshield, etc) Bowling Green-built car with pebbles in the tire treads – then it’s worthless!
H.B Halicki in witness protection program?
I always think of the Car from ‘Boogie Nights’ when I see this era of ‘Vette.
LOL-Yep, Dirk Diggler has fallen on hard times and can’t afford the insurance.
I had a neighbor who had one of these (same color even) in the mid-90s, and was exactly the demographic you’d think…seldom saw the car run, but wasn’t for sale either. “I live in a rented condo, and my ex is hounding me about alimony, but by God I drive a ‘Vette! Or own a ‘Vette that sort of runs, anyway.”
Shit’s jammin’, man! Three fifty cube, three and a quarter horsepower, four speed, four ten gears, ten coats of Competition Orange hand-rubbed lacquer with a dual plane manifold… full fuckin’ race cams, WHOOOOOOOAAHH!
A “Flowerpot-Corvette”… Sometimes a car could be a better gardendeco than a gnome or a gypsumlion statue… A brick under each tire and won’t sink into the soil…as IT isn’t allowed to park on the grass…
Cyrus from Trailer Park Boy’s idea of gardening.
Probably got knocked into the weeds by a turbo Buick.
The owner can’t get behind the wheel anymore?
Yet another instance where somebody thought they could buy a Vette on the cheap and discovered that a cheap Vette is one of the most expensive cars that you will buy. If you can turn your own wrenches then a Corvette is a manageable car to own but if you don’t you will find it to be a money pit when crap goes wrong. Even if you can repair your Corvette yourself, every part is at a premium because it is for “corvette”
It is like that for F-Bodies also(which is why it took so long for me to find a good one)
Be vewy, vewy qwiet. It’s hunting wabbits.
Even though it looks the part, It couldn’t have been in this spot for too long. NY only started issuing those plates a couple years ago.
This is the most stereotypical C3 I’ve seen in forever, but remember when every other one of them looked like this? I was just beginning to soften my stance on these cars, but seeing one painted yellow with bad wheels and an aftermarket front spoiler reminds me of why I never really liked them in the first place. Apparently the Evergreens aren’t psyched on it’s presence either.
You are supposed to turn in your plates to the NYSDMV when your vehicle is taken off the road so this vehicle is probably still registered and probably still insured since you cannot cancel your auto insurance without turning in at least one license plate.
My guess is that the ‘Vette’s status is indicative of the contrasts routinely witnessed in upstate New York, which has trappings of past prosperity juxtaposed against decline and economic contraction.
I would bet this was taken somewhere in Long Island, but only because I know that’s where most of William Rubano’s pictures come from.
Yup, that is a good description and one of the reasons why I left.
It appears to me that this car might have been used on a track. The wheels look pretty wide for street use.
I realize these are more show than go. But I distinctly remember seeing a corvette for the first time as a kid and it was a spanking new Mako Shark. That car literally made me stop in my tracks even as a toddler. At the time, they looked like they were from another planet. These are the newest corvettes that appeal to me, every one before them are WAY cool too. The newer ones are just ‘meh’. I know the latest editions are pretty fast and deliver on the ‘sportscar’ thing much more than these ever could. But to look at it…it just doesn’t ‘wow’ me, the way these did.
Ive driven a ’76 model a while back. My ex had a friend whose dad had got ahold of one on the cheap. It even had a 4spd. Im not sure of the upgrades done to the engine, but it had been worked over a bit…all the malaise era clunky smog garbage was history. He let me take it for a spin which shocked me…but wow what a rush. Not even close to the fastest car Ive ever driven, but it definitely ‘felt’ badass on the ole’ butt dyno. Danny Disco these cars may be, but it could stick to the curves of the backroads in southern Oregon just fine!
These later C3’s give the early ones a bad name…the ’69 is still my favorite Vette, period. But even with the disco-ization they’re kind of cool. A buddy’s father purchased and restored an ’81, black with silver leather (maybe vinyl, he insisted leather) interior. I’d never seen a silver interior before and i don’t know if I’ve seen another since. Pretty nice ride actually, not a fireball but it looked good and he made some money after selling it. He also had a ’71 Convertible that was a total basketcase, not sure if that ever went anywhere. And a C5 as a driver.
The boat gets the primo parking spot, the ‘Vette goes into the weeds. Despite the fact that a ‘glass hull on a trailer would suffer from sitting over vegetation less than a low-slung steel chassis would. Seems like somebody just doesn’t care about this car — despite having put some pretty heavy rubber on all four corners.
Empire State plates sure are ugly these days.