I am a contrarian. This is, of course, well known hereabouts. Many things that are popular bore me. I, instead, seek out things that are unusual. When I was in high school, an aunt I seldom saw sent me a Christmas gift. I have always loved music and was excited to see that it was a record album. I was fond of my aunt, but wondered if she had any idea about my odd musical tastes that were all about vintage jazz. When I pulled away the wrapping, I could see that I had received one of the most popular albums of the year: Peter Frampton’s “Frampton Comes Alive!” I appreciated the thought, but I never even listened to it. It’s popularity with everyone else my age was enough to banish it from my collection with no consideration of its possible musical merits. I have no idea what ever happened to it – I think I gave it to a friend.
Corvettes have always occupied a similar role in my life.
Don’t get me wrong, I always liked Corvettes up through the end of the C2 era in 1967 – who wouldn’t? But after the new wore off of the C3, it kind of became my automotive Peter Frampton. I could work up some enthusiasm for the early chrome bumper C3s – I could appreciate the clean design and appreciate the level of performance being offered for the buyer who checked the right boxes on the order form. But when the plastic bumpers came along, the Corvette was toast. At least in my mind.
I created a picture in my mind of those who drove these cars – these were the guys with loud leisure suits and gold chains around their necks. Teenaged me had no respect for these people and no respect for these cars. These were what balding, paunchy middle-aged guys drove as a kind of pre-Viagra remedy in a desperate last attempt to live the scene in the brochure artwork. My attitude did not improve as these cars aged. The C3 stayed around far too long and my disdain only grew as my tastes started to come around in line with the European designs favored by the (other) yuppies in my age group.
Perhaps it was these long-lingering prejudices that kept me from writing up this C3 that I found while picking up some groceries one day early in my CC-snapping career. I recognized that the car was significant in how someone had really cared for this one as it aged, which was why I took the pictures on October 10, 2011. Yet, I could never summon the enthusiasm to write about it. I didn’t know much about them, but it was a significant car, so research would be involved. So I took paths of less resistance or more reward and skipped ahead to other cars I found more interesting. Still, I occasionally thought of this one.
In the almost one dozen years that have passed since I snapped these shots, I have mellowed a lot when it comes to the C3. Even the later ones, the products of Detroit’s well-known “malaise” period, now appeal to me as a budget-friendly way to have a fun old car that performs better than most of what was being built then. I would absolutely consider a 1976-78 Corvette if the right one came knocking on my door today.
I believe this particular subject is a 1973, based on the combination of a plastic front bumper and a chrome one out back. If I am right, it is a 1973 on which the owner has taken a couple of liberties. The 1978 gas cap, for one thing. And the taillight lenses. I am not going to put more effort into confirming the year of manufacture, but will instead let the many Corvette fans here set me straight if I have wrongly dated this one.
The L-82 powerplant was a step up from the standard engine, and a slightly juiced 350 (5.7L) V8 would be a fine choice for a lightweight 2-seater. As one in my sixties, I could even be fine with the autotrans as making the car more of an ice cream cruiser than as something for carving curvy country roads.
What causes someone to put aside old prejudices and make friends with a former foe? I have certainly become one of those paunchy older guys, but one who has been married for 33 years and therefore one with no need to pick up girls. I am happy with my life and am not going to let a car get in the way of me enjoying it. So let’s all imagine what owning a car like this could be like.
A trip to the grocery store for a loaf of bread or a carton of ice cream would be a lot more fun than it is at the moment. The car has a fairly small footprint, so garage space would not be a problem. Anyone can fix it and parts simply have to be everywhere – a luxury that Mr. Nonconformist here has not always enjoyed. Nobody can grouse about the basic components – a Chevrolet V8 engine and a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic are low-stress propositions for most any car owner. There is no need to explain to people that these can be satisfactory to own IF you do about three dozen things that only the most anal-retentive car owners practice. I like stupid-simple, and this car is really about as stupid-simple as things get in this day and age.
I don’t care about the specs. I don’t care that it isn’t strictly original. I like the looks, I like the color, and I suspect I would like the way it sits and drives. It may rattle a bit and may be a little on the crude side, but that never stopped me from being a fan of old Mopars.
I am not sure I could commit to a monogamous relationship with this car – more likely, this would be a car to pick up, enjoy for a season or two, then sell to someone else who would appreciate it while I found something else. Then again, maybe it would surprise me. After all, it has kind of done that already in the last fifty years. I guess the only still-open question is whether I should give Peter Frampton another chance too. I may not like it, but at least now the question would be answered on musical merit and not because “everyone” is listening to it. I can follow a herd, but I require a safe following distance. 50 years should be safe enough.
I owned the pinnacle of C3 Corvettes, the 1982 with the dreaded crossfire engine. I can just say that I loved it, it was always my favorite car from childhood on. Of course, being here in Europe, Corvettes are exotics, and no mid-life crisis solutions. I ised mine for 3 years as my daily driver and only car, never let me down, and I only sold it because live keeps changing, and I came at a point it did not fitted my needs anymore.
As documented in my COAL series, my partner Jack got a silver 1978 Vette (automatic) the same year I got a baby blue 1978 280Z (5-speed). You know… company cars.
Jack rode in the Z many times as I picked him up and dropped him off at the local Chevrolet dealer to address his many complaints about his car.
If memory serves, we did this shuffle often. I do recall Jack sitting the Datsun opening and closing the glove box door which operated with a satisfying click open and a solid click close. One of Jack’s complaints was that the Vette’s glove box would sometimes not open, and if open, would not close. Also, sometimes it flopped opened when the car hit a bump.
The Vette rattled a lot even on smooth roads and on very cold nights after a long business meeting, it needed to stall at least once before one could drive it.
I admit to exploiting this stalling fault by starting the Z (it had EFI) and immediately and smoothly driving away while Jack waited for the Vette to warm up, and even then, the Vette usually stalled at least once before allowing itself to be driven.
Of course Z’s rusted vigorously in our snow belt NJ location, and today, fully restored original body Z’s are just too expensive to consider.
For me, if a Corvette has a solid rear axle, then that is one I’d love to drive. I know C2s are better, I don’t want better.
But being realistic, Martin Milner, George Maharis, and Nelson Riddle are all dead, and I have no reasonable option but to keep going forward and appreciate what the present offers, modern cars and memories.
I had a ’79; bought new. It seemed wonderful after my prior car (a Maverick!) but the bloom faded quickly. A water leak into the driver’s footwell (right on top of my right foot!) was solved by me after two trips to the dealer failed, with a can of rubber sealant. Then the shift link failed (the lever started flopping around on the highway). I managed to catch second gear and limped to a gas station. This was in the first year of ownership.
Granted; these were assembly defects. As for the performance – after a while it seemed just ok. It was confident at speed, but getting there was not that big of a rush (I had driven many of my friends’ true muscle cars in the early 70’s and still remembered the experience). I bought an ’86 Civic Si as my main vehicle and quickly decided it was much more fun. By ’87 the Corvette was gone; the proceeds going to my wife’s engagement ring. A much better purchase all in all.
I still like Vettes and stop and look at C6’s in the parking lot (my sure-fire system for informing me that I truly want one) – the dimensions; especially in profile, look a lot like the C2’s that I like the most. But, at this point I’d be just another old guy in a Vette chasing his lost youth, and I hate the idea of becoming a cliche. I also suspect it would be a short-term purchase; I’ve learned the hard way more than once, that when it comes to big toys, the wanting is always better than the having.
Had a good friend who back in 1978 wanted to celebrate a difficult divorce with a new sports car. He cross-shopped a new Corvette with a Porsche 911. Only a few hundred dollars separated the two. (Quite different from today, where a new 911 starts at $106K, while you can get a new Vette for 65 grand). Anyway, he bought the Vette. Big mistake. Had the same water leaks as you did that filled up the footwells. Drivetrain was ok, but fit and finish were just awful. This was deep into this generation, so you would have thought the kinks would have been worked out by now. Replaced it after a few years with a 280 ZX which proved far more reliable.
Yes; I’d forgotten at the time that a 911 and a Vette were close in price. Your reply made me try to remember if I had considered a Porsche (or anything else) other than the Vette. The answer was no – it had to be a Vette. The reasons? In 1979 ( I was 23) all the most desirable cars in my circle were American, and the Vette seemed the top of the heap (of course, this was largely laggard desire from age 16 on). In my blue collar neighborhood, foreign cars were either tiny economobiles or finicky expensive-to-fix sports cars; to say nothing of my parents’ generation prejudice against Japanese or German cars – the WWII thing. Obviously, I’d come around by 1986. .
Great color, sexy car, until you see the silicone sisters taillights!
They look like the lenses on our ’56 Olds.
The ’73 was the closest to the original (GM) design sketches that I saw, as a student, at Art Center College of Design in the early 70s. To each his own but this owners’ “enhancements” didn’t…….. 🙁 Nice color tho!! Sure beats WGB (WhiteGrayBlack), the achromatic blaahz that slather most of todays’ vehicles.
Personally a stock ’73 is my favorite C3, design wise. :); even tho functionally I’ll take a C5, like this blue ’02 coupe I had. DFO
The question for this Corvette would be do you – you! – feel like I do?
Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Like you, these never excited me but there is a certain attraction to them now. Of course, I am now 50 and thickening in the middle although my 25th wedding anniversary is next month.
You’ve had a Miata; might this be somewhat of a step up in the two-seat category?
Interesting. I too have feelings about Corvettes that extend back to my youth. Even back then, they caught my eye, but there was something about them – perhaps it was the same type of contrarian thing that you describe – that just never made them a car that I was ever interested in. Then, a bit later, I began to notice that no one I ever saw driving a Corvette was less than about 30 to 40 years older than me; and so the idea was set in my mind that the Corvette was for old dudes trying to automotively relive their 20s from the mid-to-late 1960s. Nothing wrong with that, but it wasn’t for me.
Now, here I am at probably about the age of those “old dudes” I ignored in the 1980s and 90s, and the other day I saw a new (2022?) Corvette…and you know, there was something that kind of clicked with me. For a moment I could see myself driving that thing. I could see going to my Chevy dealer and thinking seriously about putting $62K down on something that if better optioned might cost 50% more than that, but who’d know that I only went with the appearance packages and got out for close to base pricing? And mostly, I noticed the color (this one was a fascinating vibrant light blue). I have no youthful associations with Corvettes, and yet, here I am suddenly and finally thinking positively of them. Go figure.
So, I don’t know what it is…but for over a half a century, Chevrolet has managed to make a car that has some kind of magical draw just at the right moment – and often ONLY at that right moment. Fortunately for GM, the world keeps making older people. Sooner or later, they’ll get a shot at most of us. 😉
” … the Corvette was for old dudes trying to automotively relive their 20s …”
I agree.
I was a skinny 16/17 year old new driver cooking triple nickle burgers on Long Island’s Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre when the boss’ son Tony let me take a short drive in his new 1961 duck tail, fawn beige over fawn beige over fawn beige, white cove, 4-speed, 283/270 hp w/two four barrel carbs.
There are some things one never forgets, and while most of my long ago memories involve women, this one did not.
Later Tony took me and my friend Jim (three of us jammed into two seats) for a longer ride and showed us what 1961 Corvette performance was all about.
Very impressive, especially if one’s own car is a fluid drive flat-head six 1953 Chrysler.
I guess I did some kind of reliving my youth in 1978 with the 280Z, and in 1998 with the 1999 Miata. As my father used to say: “Close but no cigar.”.
Having just sat next to a new Corvette at a stop light driven by a…balding old guy with the requisite mustache, no thanks. It seems they all are driven by this demographic.
Anyway, where are you going to use its performance potential, or even 50% of it? I prefer caning my 102 hp xB at every stop light, freeway ramp and back road to “idling” along in a supercar.
There must have been some sort of Corvette event going on in central CT yesterday, because while driving up RT. 9 in Middletown I saw no less than three red corvettes – a C5, a C7 and a C8. My first though was that of the three, the C8 was the least desirable; a mid-engine Vette, no matter how advanced, is just not a real Vette. to me. Just my personal prejudice.
My second thought was that these very fast cars were stuck tooling along at 70 or so max; in heavy traffic, just like everyone else. If I ever did cave and buy a Vette, then I’d have to find a track to drive it on – maybe our local Lime Rock. That’d be the only way to really have fun with it in a safe environment.
Same. I know a lot of the hoopla surrounding the C8 going mid engine was to capture the tech yuppie McLaren driving cars & coffee demographic, but as far as I see it’s mostly the same old guys who had C7s, C6s, C5s etc.
I agree, I think it would be very frustrating to drive something like a new Corvette and not be able to unleash all that power for more than a 1/2 second at a time.
But for me that is part of the reason why this era Corvette is one that I would own. Not really fast by modern standards, unless of course you significantly up the HP on that small block. But not such an expensive collectable like the earlier generations that I wouldn’t want to drive it for fear of damaging it.
So yeah if the right one came along I could see myself with a disco vette, at least for a while, to pop off the T-tops for a cruise on a sunny day with the wind in my, somehow still present, hair.
Both good points. Low output V8s (let’s say say under 300 horsepower) are essentially extinct, with some valid rationale that a modern V6 or Turbo 4 can do that more efficiently, but for me and I suspect most Corvette owners would say, the V8 is a big part of the experience.
There’s been a long running debate on the Mustang forums about whether the old SOHC 4.6 GT exhausts actually sounded better than the modern and vastly more powerful 5.0 Coyotes. My theory is that both sound similar, but the 4.6 you hear wrung out a lot more often because it encourages that slow car fast driving style. The reality today is neither a L82 smogger or a L88 is going to win races against the big boys on the street today, so if you just want classic Vette to drive hard on the reg a 70s C3 isn’t a bad prospect.
If it has to a Corvette then sure, and this isn’t any kind of trick question, but where do you fall on the option of just getting a Camaro instead for those summer nights? Something later 1980s up to mid 1990s – to me the styling of both is more, let’s say “approachable”, it’s got at least the same tunability, weighs similarly, likely handles far better, can also be had in T-top or convertible guise, can’t be more difficult to get in and out of, you sit just as low, it’s more practical, perhaps cheaper to insure, and perhaps far cheaper and easier to find whatever bits you may want to add to it nowadays. Yes, it’s not a “Corvette!” but the C3 isn’t that model name’s high point anyway, I wouldn’t be posing the question in relation to any other generation…
Well I don’t have a C3 for summer nights which I think answers the premise of your question, so my previous statement is definitely in the “it has to be a Corvette” sense. In the broad sense the SN95 Mustangs I mentioned would fit the bill and the dashboard even resembles the C2 dash!
BUT I wouldn’t write off a C3 completely, there’s a page long list of cars I’d rather have than one but if it had to be a Corvette I’d still likely choose a C3 over a C4 for the same money. If nothing else I do think it’s a fun car to look at, albeit the earlier ones
For me that is an easy win for the Corvette over the Camaro of that era. One of the reasons is that I prefer the Firebird from that era, and the other reason is that I already scratched the 70’s F-body itch with a 72 Firebird that fell into my lap. Drove it as a toy for ~2 years and then passed it on.
But to be clear, other than right now just for the fun of it, I’m not searching for a Vette, just would buy one of this era if it fell into my lap.
As far as the 80’s F-bodies, the styling has never really done it for me so no interest in those.
Now you’ve done it I went to the list and found this. https://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/d/poulsbo-1979-corvette-82/7626663540.html Good thing it is on the other side of the sound or I might be tempted to go take a look and see if I could get it for $7k or less.
Same thoughts. They are not per se ugly cars, but the (extra) details make them ugly, like those horrible boy racer wheels. And the mudflaps 🙂 in front of the wheels. And the plastic bumper. The cheap interior, and so on.
The stigma the Corvette has in the USA (middle age bald white man), it did not have in Europe. As Pete says, Corvettes were seen as exotics here.
When we had one in for some electric trouble I was a bit disappointed to see low quality everywhere.
That said, there are some very nice cars around and I can see the usefulness.
For many, the last of the Corvettes with the Kamm design rear ‘kick’ was the end of an era. The next year (1974) got the rounded 5mph rubber rear bumper that matched the front and, suddenly, the C3 was all disco from that point on.
Yeah, the C4 returned to a flatter rear style, but it just wasn’t the same without the chrome.
As to body mods, typically, those occur after some sort of body damage and the owner decides to use their own styling touches. The only time I’ve seen anyting that was close to an improvement over how a Corvette originally left the factory ‘might’ be the C2 six taillight conversion, and then only when it’s done right.
It’s that tunneled back window for me….
but my own repairman limitations have me in a Miata RF.
I’ve gotten to drive three Corvettes, one just two or three weeks ago. My neighbor across the street recently bought an ’89 in the same color as this feature car. He came across the street and tossed me the keys, and we went for a ride. I can see why people like them: the TPI 350 has more than enough power, the transmission (an automatic in this case) shifts with authority, and it rides and steers like you’d expect and ’80s sports car to ride and steer. It’s a little rattly, but with the glass top off, it’s a heck of a good time.
When I was 14 my sister was dating a guy with a white C3. It was a brand new 1980 or 1981, he was from a very wealthy family. He took me for a ride in it, I remember being impressed by everything but the acceleration which wasn’t as spectacular as I’d hoped.
Nowadays one could drive a C3 as reasonably priced ridiculous fun. One of my church buddies has one, every year he lets some high school kid drive it to prom for a thrill.
That air dam really threw me off. Not natural to this car, it looks out of place.
The colour on this Vette looks allright, but would be better if it was more red than burgundy. And the seating (seat backs) looks much too flat for a sport s car. Needs more lateral support, but I appreciate their originality.
Corvettes today are confusing. I find it hard to tell them apart from other cars. Is it a Firebird? A Camaro? They seem to have lost their way in looking for that shock value.
Two acquaintances of mine have late model Corvettes, they attend all the Corvette events locally (maybe there’s only one?). I’m glad they enjoy them, there is a definite belonging to a niche crowd. I take nothing away from them. Enjoy your car, you deserve to.
As for Frampton, I was introduced to his sound on an 8 track all the way from Toronto to Windsor. What a great album, my friend said. I disagreed then, and am glad to never have to hear it again. Little Red Corvette, “Show me the Way, I want youuuu….”
Uhh….well: “You’ve had a Miata; might this be somewhat of a step up in the two-seat category?”
I’ve had 4 Miatas and 4 Corvettes (2 C4, 2 C5) plus I’ve driven both C3 and C6 versions; frankly I enjoyed driving my Miatas more, particularly the 2 NA ones I had. I have driven one of my NA Miatas and the blue ’02 C5 on the same twisty mountain backroads in SE Kentucky. I had more fun and went quicker in the lil Miata than the C5. OTOH the C5 was roomy and very comfortable, neither of which I can say for any of my Miatas. At 6’4″ (then) I wonder why that would be.. 🙂
All fine cars in their own ways, so I guess it just depends on what turn$ your crank!! DFO
Heil Talk Box
Heil remembers, “Joe Walsh had recorded ‘Rocky Mountain Way’ using an 8″ speaker and a funnel, a device used in Nashville by the steel guitar players. Well, it wasn’t very loud, so you couldn’t use it live. So here we are, two ham-radio operators on a Sunday afternoon out in my plant. We grabbed a 250-watt JBL, built a low-pass filter, got all the plumbing together, and voilà – the Talk Box. That’s how it started.”
…
Frampton later heard Walsh’s solo and Stevie Wonder’s use of Kustom Electronics’ 1969 The Bag talk box on his 1972 LP Music of My Mind. As Heil ran the sound system for Frampton’s previous band, Humble Pie, the two were pals.
“My girlfriend knew I was looking for a Talk Box,” Frampton says. “She called Bob up and said, ‘Do you have one I can buy?’ and he just gave her one to give me as a Christmas present. That was the one that was on Comes Alive.
Vintage Guitar Magazine | Sep 2013
Congratulations! Your mellowing process is further along than mine, because I still dislike these. Well, I can appreciate certain theoretical aspects, but ultimately they’re poorly built rattle traps that are not conducive to the kind of driving I do.
I was of course utterly smitten with the C1 and C2 as a kid, and was initially wowed by the new C3 in 1968, but I turned cynical that year, and the wow factor dissolved very quickly. I just couldn’t see it as a genuine improvement over the C2; in fact it was retrograde in certain aspects.
I’d take ’71 LTD over this; seriously.
“I’d take ’71 LTD over this; seriously.”
Wow, I never saw that coming. In another surprise, I think I’d take this over the 71 LTD. Both are attractive but flawed, but this would be fun for a year or two and I wouldn’t have to obsess about the hidden rust that silently advances every day on the Ford. And I think I could live with the floppy structure more on this car for some reason.
I rather regretted not buying that pristine ’72 LTD that I wrote up some years back, jokingly saying that I’d bought it. It would be driven ironically, of course.
Unfortunately it’s not possible to drive a C3 ironically. At least not readily so.
Also, I really dislike sitting in these; it feels like a very tight cave with lousy visibility. At least one can stretch out on an LTD’s sofas.
If one of these landed in my driveway, I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I drive my xB to the hardware store, or to a trail head (with the dog), or out in the boonies. A C3 is utterly useless for all my driving patterns.
Corvettes are the cars for all the Mr. Furleys, as played by Don Knotts in “Three’s Company”.
Not a Corvette guy, except for maybe a C5. But then, not a jazz guy either. On the other hand I wore out the grooves on my Frampton Comes Alive album and saw him live (with Santana, Lynyrd Skynyrd and others) at a “Day on the Green” at the Oakland Coliseum in 1977. There were probably more than a few ‘Vettes in the parking lot, but I went there in either my Vega or my friend’s Chevelle so at it least we kept it bowtied.
Corvettes of this era sure get a lot of hate, they are derided as a “gold chain-er special.”
The early third gens haven’t been treated so poorly, but malaise hit these cars pretty hard. During the muscle car era, insurance for a two seat high performance car driven by an under 25 year old male was through the roof! So it was mostly old guys that could afford them, they were reward cars for middle aged guys. As a Sixties kid, Corvettes have always been magic to me. Though I’ve never had one, but I went through the 70’s Japanese Superbikes, and a couple of Harley Sportsters, the two wheel equivalent of the Vette.
My Wife laughs when I tell her that I still want an older Vette, though I’ve had several sporty cars like Datsun Zs, and currently have two Mustang GTs. I would say that my ’94 Seville STS was more in line with my preferences. I just put 300 miles down on my ’06 Mustang a couple of days ago, which I’m sure is faster than that ’73 Corvette.
Currently I find my Navigator to be more satisfying to drive than my Mustangs. I’m seriously considering getting an XTS, which would probably satisfy me even more. I’m running out of time to get that old Corvette, but who knows? At my age, I’d better get whatever I want, there “are only so many Summers left!” ( That’s Peter Egan’s line, but it sums up the truth!)
I wouldn’t say that I like or dislike the 74-82 Corvettes. I view them pragmatically, as a sort of placeholder for Chevrolet.
Within the restrictions of primitive emissions controls, and some unwillingness or inability to explore performance possibilities like fuel injection (seriously, it wouldn’t have taken much to adapt the FI from the Seville/Oldsmobile 350, would it?) Chevrolet couldn’t abandon the Corvette, and it was selling well enough to the gold-chain set, so why bother?
Aside from the change to the bubble/fastback rear window, the C3 didn’t change much from ’74-’82. I can only assume Chevrolet felt unmotivated to do so.
For me the “guess you had to be there” thing applies to both Frampton Comes Alive as well as the negative stigma of the C3 Corvette. I truly love classic rock from the 70s but I really don’t get Frampton, not even in a contrarian sense which I also tend to be as well, I didn’t know it was a huge selling album when I first listened to it going through my parents record collection as a kid, I just didn’t(and still don’t) enjoy it. The C3 I missed seeing the stereotypical gold chain leisure suit types driving them, in fact what probably tints my glasses rose colored with my passion for old cars is aided by that, I rarely think of who the owners were over the car itself, so from my perspective a C3 isn’t any different from a C2 as a Corvette, until the smog/bumper regs set in and actually physically changed it. I always had a good understanding why the 73-82s weren’t sought after but it really surprised me when I realized a lot of people didn’t like them all the way back to the 68s.
Taillights and front spoiler aside I like this one, the turbine wheels are period correct
I am pushing fifty, six feet, pretty fit and slim, and recently got a chance to drive one of these, getting in and out made me feel rather old and unlimber.
I love that you found the angle from which to write about and present this ’73 after *twelve years*. I wonder what it looks like now.
Your relationship with these C3s seems to echo that of some of my relationships with some of my former high school schoolmates. Like you’ve found things to like (or sort of like) about the later C3s in present day, I’m now friends with people I used to pass in the halls of my high school for four years, decades ago, without exchanging ten words with them. And now we’re genuinely cool with each other. I’m glad you’re cool with these C3s, from one contrarian to another.
It is true that we can see both cars and people in similar ways. I went to a large high school, and there were quite a few people there I never had much to do with, for various reasons. But now, I am not the same guy I was in high school and neither are those others.
Although this 73 Corvette is very much the same car it was when I was 14, I have grown enough to appreciate it now for what it was – and is. And, for that matter, what it is not.
I’ll just come back here to note that back then (1976) when Peter Frampton and his “Frampton Comes Alive!” album was all the rage, I assumed that his gorgeous locks were what first drew the girls (both as I recall back then, and as confirmed by talking to some of those girls over 40 years later) to him.
Well, Peter is still going strong in 2023, just like the Corvette. Peter without his gorgeous locks, and the Corvette…well, it’s different too. I guess though I give them both props.
Not that I’m going to pick up a Frampton Comes Alive! album from the flea market, or a Corvette, any time soon.
I don’t remember the exact circumstances that caused my wife to see a current picture of Peter Frampton w/o his trade mark hair and confirmed that yes indeed his hair was a large part of his appeal to her back in the day.
I had Peter Frampton hair when I was at school. Grew it extra long and then had it permed. The girls went nuts over those blond locks. Many asked if they could pick it out, wash it and caress it. Needless to say, I was alway obliging.
As to his music – it was OK. It was constantly played repeatedly until Fleetwood Mac showed up and everyone forgot him. I like that he’s still around and going strong. He really is quite talented.
I’ve had a similar lack of fondness for Corvettes for as long as I remember, though you articulated your Corvette Aversion Syndrome much better than I ever could.
As a fellow contrarian, Corvettes are antithetical to many things I like. Though I’ve always felt somewhat guilty about thinking this. After all, my father bought a 1962 Corvette when he was in his 20s – and he used it to get lots of dates, including with my mom. With a history like that, how could I dislike this car model?
But as you and other commenters have described, in the 1970s and beyond, these became a calling card for a much older demographic than in my father’s day. But it wasn’t just the age of buyers that I found off-putting – for example, I liked Chrysler Imperials, which almost certainly attracted a more geriatric demographic than Corvettes. Go figure. Sometimes our preferences defy easy explanation.
I do remember thinking in the 1980s that Corvettes would just fade away at some point soon, because all these 50- and 60-year old guys weren’t going to buy sports cars forever. But here we are 40 years later, and – well, they’re still bought by 50- and 60-year old guys. I do give GM a lot of credit for keeping this going for so many decades.
My point exactly.
Old(ish) age springs eternal.
C3 Corvette was overexposed. As a really young kid, I didn’t care, or notice, what the drivers looked like. Or what they represented. Rather, it was how often they were shown on TV, in commercials, and magazines. It was too much. Just as the Dukes of Hazzard turned me off late ’60s Chargers.
The C1 is interesting in that it was the beginning, but to most (especially the under 60 crowd) it’s basically just another classic now as relatively few were alive or of buying age when it was new.
The C2 is acknowledged as being gorgeous and was a very formidable competitor on the track. (and probably the one I’d most want to own, if not necessarily drive regularly, the looks though..).
The C3 is kind of a parody of itself even all these years later, just so much penile extravagance that one just has to be self-conscious (or just completely un-selfaware) driving it. Sure, you COULD drive it on a Sunday afternoon for ice cream but after a few weeks you’d probably wish you were in a ’57 or ’62 T-bird or a Barracuda or the Kia minivan or something, anything else instead.
The C4 was sort of a technological tour de force in its day that quickly was seen as too uncompromising and harsh-riding, then watered down a bit its second year, and then really advanced the 50-60yr old owner stereotype while being seriously let down by its arcade-inspired interior with fit, finish, and materials resembling those same arcade cabinets that aged very poorly very quickly. I drove a later model one about fifteen years ago and it removed any desire to actually own one, just too floppy, creaky, and kit-car feeling. Lots of engine, zero refinement.
The C5 finally eliminated a lot of the rough edges as well as the biggest interior foibles, yet was launched in the middle of an industry-wide interior materials renaissance which GM sadly somehow completely missed and ended up with play-skool quality plastics and touchpoints not befitting a car of its perceived stature. (although likely the current best value for money Corvette out there and one of the most usable versions of Corvette ever made. Were I to buy one, and I don’t see it happening, this would likely be the version.)
The C6 improved a little on the C5 but basically served as a reason to trade in a C5. (same summary as C5, maybe I’d find an extra 5-10k to step up but I won’t be doing so)
The C7 went back to the C3 ethos of trying to out-exaggerate everything else design-wise and is more of a bit of a strong flavor and extremely (too) polarizing to many due to that. (Not for me at all, zero personal appeal although technically I am surely in the correct age range and income bracket, I just have no need or desire for one). It does serve to make a very clean or maybe not so clean break between C6 and C8 in hindsight)
The C8 now finally produced the mid-engine Corvette teased for decades and while a very strong performer at a very attractive starting price, frankly starts at way too low of a price and will never convince someone driving a McLaren or Lamborghini or Ferrari to take a look as many of those cars are bought precisely DUE to their price tag, its not like you ever see any of them actually driven to anywhere near their limits, if even at the prevailing speed limit. I believe the low starting price actually hurts the ultimate desirability of it. (As others have said, where can you actually enjoy it, and if you look, it’s actually hard to see the occupants inside it which has always been more than half the point of a Corvette.)
The Cars and Coffee crowd has also had a large and unfortunate hand in making most Corvettes look like difficult to handle cars cursed with sub-par drivers at the wheel, adding yet another stereotype to the fold, with Mustangs are a close second there.
It’ll be interesting when/if they actually do the Corvette sub-brand with EVs and CUVs bearing the name, who will actually buy them, will it be the same 50-60yo’s or will it expand the demographic? Corvette has never been as attainable as Mustang so there would seem to be less of a familiarity aspect although everyone of course knows the name.
I am a little amazed at the general lack of love the C3 is getting here today. Especially this 73 that kind of closes out the original styling concept (especially in the back half). Maybe I am still a contrarian in coming around to this car. Or maybe I’m of an age that this still appeals a little to the 12 year old kid that still lives within me. Bottom line: it’s the smallest, lightest way to enjoy a Chevy V8 and it looks cool.
Yeah these appeal to the 12 year old in me and that is why I’d buy one if the right circumstances presented themselves.
Minor detail, but a gen 1 Chevy II V8 weighs some 600 lbs less than a ’73 C3.
Maybe that’s what you really want?
The car doesn’t innately turn me off but it’s just so over the top stylistically and without any real functionality to it that I can’t see the point of having one (that’s just me, to each their own of course, spend your money as you see fit). I do appreciate the fact that it’s quite a nice example of its breed. But my point was that the Porsche 930 for example is wild looking as well but there’s a reason for every little thing on it. The same with a Lamborghini Countach. Not so the C3. It styling accoutrements are just there to…be there. And the non-trunk-opening has always bothered me. That’s just laziness, why not make it a little more practical?
It DOES, or did, appeal to the 12-year-old in most of us. But that’s just it, I’m not 12, I don’t need a car to look like it was modeled on a Hot Wheels miniature.
I am glad though that you shared it with us…although you would have liked it better and sooner if it had that powerhouse Studebaker V8 in it unleashed to its full potential 🙂
Well the wing on the Countach wasn’t very functional, in fact it was a hinderance to its maximum top speed potential, plus I’m pretty certain it’s functionally stylistic features ended at the LP400s – I don’t believe, or at least have ever heard justified the Testarossaesque stakes it sprouted in various points towards the latter half of the 80s did much of anything. I’ll also say the Countach had the hands down ugliest and most jarringly out of place federalized bumpers ever put onto a car. I never liked the 74 Corvettes 5mph bumper rear end restyle but at least the were well integrated.
In fairness, the C2s lacked a trunk too. I don’t like that omission either, but it’s something you’d have to live with on the much more beloved predecessor as well. The 78s with the bubble glass (which don’t like the look of) somewhat mitigated it with a more accessible cargo era, and in typical GM fashion got it right and made the glass openable on the very last model year of a special edition package
For me a big part of the appeal is the over the top, late 60’s GM “show car” styling, that is done just because they could. As far as the later models go while the chrome bumper versions are the most attractive the Corvette pulled off the transition to 5mph bumpers far better than pretty much any other car that was designed pre bumper law.
Sure adult me doesn’t need such a car but I have no problem indulging my inner child with a Hot Wheels/show car come to life and let the old man take a brake. Now that you “made me” go check craigslist I’m picturing myself behind the wheel of the one I linked above or maybe below. Interior seems like it is in great condition and I don’t mind the patina of the added stripe fading away. The wife even agrees that the interior is incredible condition and likes that it is priced well below what I have set aside for my next toy.
Damn it Jims you are making me talk myself into buying a Chevy.
I’m the last guy to try to talk anyone out of a car, if it works for you then that’s all that matters. The weekend is only a few days away, from what I hear it doesn’t rain in Seattle anymore, and you might as well indulge your inner Mark Hamill and have that Corvette Summer of your own.
Go get that car, just be sure to tell us all about it afterward!
I did show it to the wife last night and she agreed that it is a great condition from what can be seen in the pics and that she would be happy to ride in it. The only potential saving grace is that I’ve got a lot of things scheduled for the next few days and the weekend that will prevent me from making a ~2hr drive to take a look at it. That and we have really been discussing an actual convertible as the T-tops aren’t quite the same experience, definitely a step up from the panoramic roofs on our daily drivers but still not a convertible.
But who knows if it is still there after July 1st and a deal on the car we’ve actually been considering doesn’t come up I may just have to go take a look and maybe bring it home.
A good general overview of the C generations. I’ll add a few things:
The C2’s racing career was seriously blunted by the Cobra, as Dutch1960 explained in detail a while back. Although it acquitted itself fairly well, depending on the venue, it never nearly lived up to the C1’s racing success.
The 1956-1957 Corvette, with its high-output V8, arrived at a time when the Europeans were building sports/sports racing cars that were almost invariably at a significantly lower performance level.
A good example would be the Austin Healey 100/3000, a highly respected sports car. It was instantly and seriously spanked by the Corvette. And essentially everything else. The C1 humbled the whole European sports car industry in one huge swath. It was a genuine game changer, and serious sports car owners/racer swapped their rides for C1. There was nothing to compare, especially at the price. The only thing that could approach it was something extremely exotic like the Ferrari Superamerica, of which a handful were made at several times the price of the C1.
I could go on, but the C1 fully and honestly earned its reputation the hard way.
By the time the C2 arrived, the Europeans had very much stepped up their game. Think 911, most of all. The 911 offered serious sports car fans something that was both very quick, but also a lighter, more visceral and a better developed all-round package. That was always the strength of the Porsche; it was as suitable taking a family of four on a trip to the mountains as it was on the track. It was a better all-round automobile.
The mid-sixties was of course a huge transitional period in the US in every way, and the sports car scene (as the regular car scene) had a mammoth split, as US cars suddenly were not seen as cool, prestigious and “in” as imports. This affected the Corvette very seriously.
The C2 mostly came before that, but the C3 arrived just as the national split hit full-on in 1968. The extravagant styling of the C3 really spoke to a demographic that was not import-oriented or serious sports car buyers. It emphasized styling at the expense of functionality, a major no-no, and the exact opposite of what Porsche and others espoused.
Incomes rose strongly in the late 60s, and that allowed a rapidly growing group of buyers to afford a C3. These were not genuine sports car buyers, and seeing “rednecks” increasingly driving new Corvettes really put off the sports/import car purists.
The rest is well known history. The Corvette became the talisman of the working/upwardly mobile class, and that’s what it has essentially been ever since.
That’s fair and a good add-on, thanks. You did remind me of the C1’s racing success (and I recall seeing it mentioned or covered elsewhere here semi-recently?), until then though I for one wasn’t really aware of it somehow. I wonder how/if the younger generations in general (say up to 50) are at all aware of it – looking at the average C1 Corvette ad or picture you just kind of see skinny tires and contrasting paint in the side-coves with color-matched leather and usually some dude in a tie or cap driving it and a lady beside him. Which probably describes most Jaguar etc ads/pics of the day as well except there weren’t as many I suppose. And yes the C2 had very formidable competition as Dutch did explain quite well.
The later Corvettes also (including just this weekend at LeMans winning their class) did have quite a lot of success as well, I’ve seen multiples of them run in person at Laguna Seca and Lime Rock in ALMS in the early 2000s and now that I think about it I even own a yellow Corvette Racing hat! So they can certainly lay claim to that heritage as well. Yet the image remains different than it is for much of their competition in those starting grids and the C3 was the least convincing in that respect of all of them for partially the reasons you mentioned, not that it couldn’t itself generate some serious speed if properly equipped from the options list.
I think that’s pretty much right on the money. My only exception would be earlier C3s deserve an asterisk, on one hand you’re absolutely right that all those stylistic exaggerations lend itself to parody, but those bulging fenders did serve a purpose – the C2 could not accommodate tires and wheels as wide as the C3 could take, C3s were essentially an elaborate redesign around the existing C2 chassis to accommodate the kind of wide tires and wheels racers had to fairly heavily modify C2s for. It’s not unlike the Porsche 911 which exponentially gained flares through its run for the same reason.
Where the C3 Corvette fell into parody is its 1950s and 1960s racing heyday that spawned its extravagances was behind it, as well as the culture in the US as a whole had sort of moved on from sports car racing. It’s day as a track icon had passed. Unlike the 911 which in racing continued pushing its aging chassis to greater and greater heights to justify its flares and eventual whaletail(which is objectively every bit as silly looking as any detail on the C3. Not that I dislike it). This is reflected in the later C3s more than the early ones, and I agree the C7 kind of echoed it. In fact drawing the same analogy you could say the C5s were kind of in the ethos of the C2, and the C6 with it’s minor improvements and new styling the early C3s.
I’ll defend the C1 a little, I think the same generational profile largely can be applied to the C2s as well, I don’t think many under 60 really think of them for their racing prowess also 60 years ago either. If you’re younger than that and are aware of the Corvette’s early racing career and had seen photos and videos you’ve probably seen as many 56-62s as C2s, that’s the case for me for sure, and I went out of my way to study cars, and following the modern narrative (rightfully or wrongfully) the C2s racing career is more known for the cars that beat it – the Shelby Cobra and Mustang GT350 more so than the cars it beat. C1s seemingly enjoyed a longer racing career where the C2 despite its then state of the art engineering proved to be short lived in its dominance. Today I think most fans of the generation simply like the styling of it, first and foremost.
For me I’m probably in the minority that I kind of prefer the C1, maybe because it’s the unpopular opinion, but I think there’s more of that pragmatic crudeness 50s and earlier sports cars that were derived from their parent makes sedans had. That and they were all roadsters/convertibles like a idyllic sports car should be, where C2s are most sought after as coupes, most notably the splitiwindows, they’re certainly still very attractive cars without the roof but I think gap between the C1 and C2s looks tightens significantly, especially the 60-62s that have basically the same rear end
No comment on the CUVs lol
I’m an old guy with a 73 Corvette, no hair and a mustache, never had a gold chain though. The only concerts I have been to are Glenn Yarbrough and Neal Diamond, where does that put me?
I would recommend getting a C3 Corvette, they are fun to drive, the parts are easy to get and they are easy to work on. When I bought mine they were a good value, you could get a nice car for a reasonable outlie of cash, although that seems to be changing now, as with all classic cars. Workmanship is a little rough, especially the fiberglass finishing, but mine is rattle free. The base 350 has plenty of torque, and I suppose if you wanted to increase the HP that is pretty easy to do. I’ve much less problem with the Corvette than the Boxster. The Boxster was always throwing codes having to do with with airbags, seatbelts. Plus I was always worried the engine would grenade itself, which was a distinct possibility. The Corvette has also been better than the Datsun 280ZX, I had. The 280ZX had problems with the ignition module, and I replaced a couple the them. It also used oil. The quality of the interior materials was not good on the 280ZX. The seats and carpet disintegrated on the 280ZX. The Corvette interior may not be the greatest, but it was much better than the 280ZX
Besides all that, if us old men would not buy new Corvettes, there would be no used Corvettes for younger men to buy.
Oh, crap ~ I’m geriatric and fat and I think Corvettes look better now than I thought they did back in the day .
I keep reading about ‘leisure suits’ but what I remember the old guys wearing were usually light blue coveralls (Boiler Suits) with the Corvette logo and maybe their name embroidered on it…..
The squeaks and rattles won’t bother me, it’s a _CHEVY_ F’chrissakes, it’s _supposed_ to be cheaply built .
-Nate
Very interesting reading about corvettes and their owners. I took the plunge not too long ago on a c6. Earlier in life than planned but seeing some classmates drop dead at 55 or thereabouts, and thinking my own self could be broken in 10 years, I decided to go ahead and fix it later if it turned out to be a bad decision. I looked at lots of different cars but my family pushed me towards the Vette as they knew anything else might be meh in my eyes ultimately.
It’s been a good decision. I love driving it as I’ve always been a coupe person. It’s a great cruiser that can turn ferocious instantly. And compared to earlier generations it has more power and less worry, I can take this anywhere anytime.
I thought for a second about the owners and their reputations and that was certainly rehashed here but I haven’t given it a second thought. I do get a kick out of the old fellas at the car shows, the fact they can get in and out of these cars impresses me. But If someone looks at me and makes judgements what can I do? At least they noticed me. I suppose I could make snap judgements based on their car or clothes or whatever, but I would have to notice them first.
I buy my cars for me. I don’t give a rat’s about what the stereotype might be. I’d love a C2,but they’re out of my reach.
So are chrome bumper C3s. For all it’s faults I still want one.
I’d always preferred the C3 over the C2; oddly, the latter didn’t really start to appeal to me until more recent years. My C3 love starts out with the earlier cars, gradually ramping down as they made the little changes to keep the car in production for 15 model years. As the years wore on, I think it almost became a victim of its own sales success… They were absolutely everywhere, so even though it was still a “look at me!” shape, they didn’t feel particularly exotic when you had a very good chance of spotting one being driven by almost anyone on any given trip. I even remember even seeing a couple relegated to winter beater duty when I was a kid.
One other thing that comes to mind, is that this generation of Corvette somehow managed to remain appealing to a broad audience from the high performance, go go late 1960’s, gradually taking on the burden of increasing emissions regulations, safety, bumper regs, broughamification, CAFE, two fuel crises, changing consumer tastes, and managed to emerge into the early 1980’s still swinging.
My ideal Corvette would be a 1968-69 coupe with a small block and a four speed, and hold the side pipes, I think? I remember seeing a gold 1969 fairly regularly in about 2005 that was quite appealing. It was a 427 car, and gave off absolutely no vibes of disco-midlife-coke sniffing desperation.
And lastly, I wonder if the unavailability of cars like Corvettes to younger people plays a part in their firmly entrenched image as an old man’s car. I looked at a 1988 Corvette in 1999, and the dealbreaker was not able to get insurance on it at age 20. I was calling around, and was given a straight out “nope” from all but one company; I think they quoted $565/mo. Once I got to an age where I could afford the insurance, enough desire for practicality had crept in to snuff out any Corvette dreams. I dunno how it was in earlier times, though my Dad briefly owned a 1965 Corvette when he was still in high school in 1970.
1st ride I had in a Corvette I was 15. It was a white C3 427 three deuces 4 speed car. Vietnam vet just back, thrilling rides to and from my first job.
I was surprised to see how heavy these Corvettes are.
The subject car just needs to loose those tail light lenses, love the paint detailing on the wheels.
I used to love these cars but the later model vettes made these loose their appeal. The front fenders remind me of the shoulder pad era of women’s clothing. The stance reminds me more of a 4×4 pickup especially with the tall sidewall tires. I would still buy one, just need to drop it a bit, some 18″ wheels and some wide tires.
Probably would favor a C5 or C6, given enough cash and it would be a C8. As a reminder I’m a dyed in the wool Ford fan.
As far as the demo graphic of the driver. A lot of us could not afford such toys as we raised a family, bought a house, etc. Now we are free of debt and we buy what we always wanted. We may be balding, we may not be in our best shape but our brain doesn’t care we still have the drive from our early years.
Example, ran autocross both days this last weekend. I drive a 2012 Boss 302, some suspension modifications, 200TW tires, stock drive train. Last generation of the solid rear axle Mustangs. Oldest guy competing in my class, finished 4th of 9 and 2nd of 8.
Lets go electric ⚡!!!! 🤢