Any C2 Corvette Enthusiasts Here?

[Peter M]

I've had a hankering for C2 Corvettes since I was a little tacker and go through phases of following them on Carsales  for a while until reality sets in and I give up on the idea of ownership.

However recent realisation that I'm running out of time has got me thinking that if I'm going to do it, it really needs to be my next car purchase. (Well after a dualcab ute and a XJR but that's another story or two.)

But following Carsales suggest they are priced at levels where they never seem to sell!

Can anyone give me some guidance on the forums I should be lurking on and who are the wheeler dealers that I should be chasing up?

No interest in big blocks, just a later 327 4 speed with disc brakes in smick condition is what I'm thinking. 

 

 

 

1963 Corvette Stingray - Jay Leno's Garage - YouTube

 

[tomo]

You might be able to get a 65 for reasonable  money but the the 63 forget it . There ends my knowledge : )

[Troubleshooter]

Peter at the Flinders heritage show there was for sale a quite well documented original 65 manual seemed to be excellent. Milano Maroon and same rims as the white one above. I've seen it around before at shows, someone would know the owner with a bit of fishing around. Alas 427/390 though ... and no price

[HH1]

My kids have started a YouTube channel and one of the first cars they did was a 1962 C2. Here the link. If appropriate it if you would subscribe, like and comment on the channel. It'll help them out. Cheers, Sohan 

 

 

[tomo]

I see there is a 65 left hooker on stalkbook  @ $220.000 

[Peter M]

1 hour ago, tomo said:

I see there is a 65 left hooker on stalkbook  @ $220.000 

A big block Tomo?

From what I can see all the C2's are overpriced and just sit on Carsales.  Even worse than some 911 sellers!

On 16/04/2021 at 15:00, HH1 said:

My kids have started a YouTube channel and one of the first cars they did was a 1962 C2. 

While my tastes don't align with Allan's lairy C2, we both share the Corgi toy story.  Here is the one I stole from my brother and have held in my clutches for nearly 50 years:

[Peter M]

What's all this Corvette talk in a Porsche forum?  

The guy standing next to the silver C2 above, drove for the Porsche team in '54 and '55 at Lemans,.  Won his class in '54 in a 550.  Also introduced Porsche to skid pan testing, shared Maurice Olley's seminal suspension analysis with them and apparently was the reason 356's got a front sway bar in the form it did. He became known as the model's godfather

The guy below airbrushing a Stingray concept car, led Porsche styling for 2 decades after he left GM.  

[brian in buddina]

1 hour ago, Peter M said:

What's all this Corvette talk in a Porsche forum?  

The guy standing next to the silver C2 above, drove for the Porsche team in '54 and '55 at Lemans,.  Won his class in '54 in a 550.  Also introduced Porsche to skid pan testing, shared Maurice Olley's seminal suspension analysis with them and apparently was the reason 356's got front sway bars.

The guy below airbrushing a Stingray concept car, led Porsche styling for well over a decade after he left GM.  

Tony Lapine

[tomo]

2 hours ago, Peter M said:

A big block Tomo?

From what I can see all the C2's are overpriced and just sit on Carsales.  Even worse than some 911 sellers!

While my tastes don't align with Allan's lairy C2, we both share the Corgi toy story.  Here is the one I stole from my brother and have held in my clutches for nearly 50 years:

Went back to have look but it seems to be gone, Pretty sure it was a L78 396/425 hp . On C/s having a gork and spotted a 68 ragtop 427 @168000 Crikey I sold mine for 10K back in the day .

[tomo]

15 hours ago, tomo said:

Went back to have look but it seems to be gone, Pretty sure it was a L78 396/425 hp . On C/s having a gork and spotted a 68 ragtop 427 @168000 Crikey I sold mine for 10K back in the day .

There's  a 63 L/H coupe @ Bernie Smith Classic cars in Melb. Been there awhile.

[Peter M]

9 hours ago, tomo said:

There's  a 63 L/H coupe @ Bernie Smith Classic cars in Melb. Been there awhile.

The $220k price tag might have something to do with that! That's at least one bevel drive Ducati more than I want to spend but admit it's pretty damn cool. (Needs a good detail though!)

I can't see how the iconic split widow can be priced at $220k but owners of later big blocks expect higher amounts and even into the 3 hundreds.  I struggle to understand the C2 pricing.

[tomo]

1 hour ago, Peter M said:

The $220k price tag might have something to do with that! That's at least one bevel drive Ducati more than I want to spend but admit it's pretty damn cool. (Needs a good detail though!)

I can't see how the iconic split widow can be priced at $220k but owners of later big blocks expect higher amounts and even into the 3 hundreds.  I struggle to understand the C2 pricing.

Yes the money is crazy ,But at least with the 63 350 /350 with the Rochester fuel Injection It is a very  special car, Has to be my fav Vette, Or maybe the 59

Edited 6May, 2021 by tomo

[spiller]

My dad has a 1964 convertible 327 with a Muncie 4 speed that he’s owned for 10 years. I drove it back to Adelaide from Melbourne when he bought it, which was an experience I’ll never forget. It made the journey with a cracked head, unbeknownst to us as the seller did not disclose it and tried to hide with the issue chemiweld. We had no idea until sometime later as it never overheated. I could not believe how much performance these cars had for their time. Definitely not built to stop (not at least with drums) or go around corners but there’s few classic car experiences out there that capture the essence of that particular era as well as a C2 does. Much better car than the C1 IMO as well. The C1 was a beautiful car but more for looks than performance. 

[Raven]

Buddy mine has this 500 + CID C3 that he spent a huge lump of money on ..

 

 

 

[Peter M]

I know the C3's are iconic but for me they just make me think of Dirk Diggler and decline in tastes and sensibilities.  Interesting discussion here though:

Like it or not, the C3 Corvette is an American auto icon

PETER CHENEY

PUBLISHED APRIL 6, 2016UPDATED APRIL 6, 2016

When archeologists dig down through the sedimentary layers of the 1970s, some dubious items may emerge. Shag carpets and mirrored ceiling tiles. Polyester disco suits and Farrah Fawcett wigs. And sooner or later, they will unearth the most telling cultural artifact of them all: a third-generation Chevrolet Corvette.

Few machines are as polarizing as the C3, also known as "The Coke Bottle Corvette." The C3 hit the market in 1968, and lasted until 1982. With its narrowed midsection and flared nose and tail, the car did resemble a Coke bottle, but other comparisons may be more apt. Viewed from the front quarter, the carapace is a steroidal vision: Like it or not, an engorged, V8-powered phallus comes to mind. From the rear, the C3's swollen thorax and nipped waist conjures a fiberglass Kim Kardashian that has been decked out with cooling scoops.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, and for a certain stylistic constituency, the C3 was the perfect car. As I recall, Corvette ownership circa 1975 ran heavily toward the Fu Manchu-moustache-and-leather-jacket end of the scale – it was powered by testosterone as much as gasoline. When fictional porn star Dirk Diggler of Boogie Nights chose his dream car, what else could it have been but a Corvette C3 with a Hurst shifter, a high-lift camshaft and hand-rubbed Competition Orange paint? But the C3's story isn't quite as simple as that. The vehicle was also the chosen ride of the Gemini astronauts (they did get a discount from a Florida Chevrolet dealer, but the car definitely suited them, with its air of raw American performance). Other wellknown C3 drivers included Sammy Davis Jr. and David Partridge (he of the ultra-lame Partridge Family musical group). Most confounding of all, the C3 was the car of my literary hero Joan Didion, author of some of the finest non-fiction ever written. (If you haven't read Slouching Toward Bethlehem, you owe it to yourself to do so.)

Didion is a style icon, famous for her laconically cool presence and letter-perfect sense of fashion. In 1972, she became indelibly associated with the Corvette when she was photographed for Time magazine by Julian Wasser in what would prove to be a timeless series of pictures. Among the collection were images of Didion with her 1969 Corvette C3. (The pictures are black and white, but Didion's car was Daytona Yellow.)

I never really liked the C3 Corvette, but seeing Didion with hers challenged my aesthetic assumptions. With her leaning on its fender, a cigarette dangling from the thin fingers that had typed The White Album, the car suddenly seemed perfect. The horndog macho mobile was redeemed, at least for a moment. Chalk it up to style by association.

 

The history of the Corvette is not unlike that of America itself, veering from high to low, with the occasional excursion into farce. It all began in 1953, when Chevrolet introduced the first-generation Corvette at New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel as part of the Motorama exhibition. The C1 was a sensation, but under its stylish skin (masterfully crafted by Don Draper-esque GM stylist Harley Earl) it was a mediocre machine, with an underwhelming engine and sub-par suspension.

In 1963, the second-generation Corvette was introduced. This was the Sting Ray, a car that inspired Beach Boys music and captured the spirit of America as it began its historic odyssey toward the moon landing. The sophomore Corvette was spot on, with an inspired combination of aggression and restraint, and a tail-end that conjured days on a California drag strip.

And then came the C3. In a 1968 road test, Car and Driver magazine called the new Corvette "the Barbarella of the carmaker's art," and waxed poetic about the car's magnetic allure to the male species: "Corvette owners begin with very young men who can barely afford the front money, care nothing about sports cars, and invariably lose their driving licenses for overindulging," they wrote. "But Corvette owners also include middle-aged doctors and lawyers who view their cars as surrogate mistresses."

The 1968 model was available with a 427-cubic-inch V8 that produced 400 horsepower. But as the years passed, tough new emissions standards gradually choked the life out of the 'Vette – by the mid– 1970s, the C3 was a wheezing, emasculated parody of its former self. (If you watched Boogie Nights, you will realize that the decline of the car paralleled that of Dirk Diggler himself as cocaine and partying took their toll on his priapic powers.)

The Corvettes that followed the C3 were toned down, as if GM had finally lost its nerve. Generations four and five look like rental cars compared to the C3. Now we're up to the C7, which is a far better car than any of the previous models, with a just-right combination of bulges and curves. But will it go down in history like the C3, hormone-laced mako shark that it was?

[Troubleshooter]

Well, there's C3's and then there's C3's. The 68 , 69 and 70 are way way more to some peoples tastes than the strangled donk models of 71, 72, and half bumper 73's, then 74 on adding full plastic bumpers, 75 on no BB's and 78 on with the rear bubble etc etc.

I had a very sweet original 69 Roadster 350/350, red on red with white hood / black hardtop, back in the bad ol' days when they had to be converted to a right hooker. Took 6 months to unload for $32k in the early 90's recession. Loved that car.

While I'm talking of yanks I've owned here's a rad rod I had for a few years, stinkin' hot 383 blah blah....

[Peter M]

So I'm starting to think there are no C2 enthusiasts here........😀

[OZ930]

Actually saw one in Nemingha for sale.  Black convertible with a hard top.  It was there for about a week.

Shoulda stopped and had a look.  Never seen one in the flesh before.

It was before you mentioned you wanted one Peter.

[brian in buddina]

Shall I say it, what everyone else is thinking? The Vette is the antithesis of the 911.

The C3 is a good, no, a really good looking car in the flesh. But has a cramped cabin & no boot other than what can fit behind the seats. When you look under the bonnet at the motor the car keeps going forward for what seems like miles, before you get to the front bumper. There is room up there to put a frunk but alas its just space. I have never owned one but the build quality is often brought up in article. This is a platform designed for looks and to house a big, really big motor. 
 
Just the opposite of the 911. You are either a Vette person or Porsche one. Be interested in hearing if anyone has owned both. 

[tomo]

Yep had A 69  , Red with a white soft top, Before the 912 both enjoyable cars in there own right, The Vette was loud  fast and look at me type of car, The 912 was nimble reasonably quick once you got it rolling and kept it there and created its own type of attention and ran on the smell of a oily rag compared to the chev.

[Peter M]

6 hours ago, brian in buddina said:

Shall I say it, what everyone else is thinking? The Vette is the antithesis of the 911.

The C3 is a good, no, a really good looking car in the flesh. But has a cramped cabin & no boot other than what can fit behind the seats. When you look under the bonnet at the motor the car keeps going forward for what seems like miles, before you get to the front bumper. There is room up there to put a frunk but alas its just space. I have never owned one but the build quality is often brought up in article. This is a platform designed for looks and to house a big, really big motor. 
 
Just the opposite of the 911. You are either a Vette person or Porsche one. Be interested in hearing if anyone has owned both. 

Oh Brian!

I'm certainly not here to defend the entire production run of this car as there are many moments best forgotten. For me, my personal opinion, the versions before and after the C2 are those ones.   As I've said before C3's are far too Dirk Diggerly for me.  There is a deliberate reason why I specifically called this thread "Any C2 Corvette Enthusiasts Here?"

I agree that there have been periods where the "Vette is the antithesis of the 911" but for you to make a sweeping statement like that indicates an ignorance of possibly both Corvettes and 911's.  Whilst I'm obviously a 911 enthusiast, I'm certainly not blind to the foibles of the various series and have my favorites and are also clear about ones that I wouldn't touch with a barge pole.  Similarly I think its unhelpful to lump all Corvette's together too.

As for the space in front of the engine in Corvette's, that originated from Arkus -Duntov deliberately shifted the engine rearwards from the front axle line for improved mass centralisation in the C2's.   Arkus-Duntov was also very clear that his favorite C2's were the small block ones

I think of myself as a "car person" not exclusively a Porsche person as life is too short to arbitrarily cut off exposure to other equally good or better (!) motoring experiences.   You're welcome to have a drive of my 911 on our next State of Origin run, just like you'll be welcome to drive my C2 if I ever manage to get one. 

Next time we catch up I'll also tell you about my first Jaguar and how I'm itching to get another to create "my" perfect garage of a 911, a C2 and a XJR. 

Although I have another mate suggesting I should buy a Bentley Continental GT.  That would be the antithesis of an air cooled 911!

    

   

[tomo]

I went for a spin in the only genuine 68 L88 in Australia at the time it was owned by a bloke called Tom Carson from Canberra. I think a bloke from Queensland now owns the car , Wow that thing explains what a C3 is all about! The 427 was putting out around 610 BHP acording to Tom,This was in 76 , The grunt was incredible. 

[9er]

16 hours ago, Peter M said:

So I'm starting to think there are no C2 enthusiasts here........😀

I would call myself an enthusiast, and yes specifically the 2nd series.

I have worked on a couple over the years and really appreciate their style.

I came very close to bringing one in a few years back, but that ended up being a 68 Camaro.

I would still like to own one, ideally a 327 4 speed, I have found the BB cars to be a bit overrated with too much weight over the front.

If there is ever anything in SA that you need someone to look at, count me in.

[LeeM]

22 hours ago, Troubleshooter said:

 

While I'm talking of yanks I've owned here's a rad rod I had for a few years, stinkin' hot 383 blah blah....

 That was yours?  I've loved that thing since I first saw it, and its my favourite rod of all time

[Troubleshooter]

18 hours ago, LeeM said:

 That was yours?  I've loved that thing since I first saw it, and its my favourite rod of all time

Yes Lee, completed build in 06 and then I brought The Fink. One of the very first in Aust built like this and lots of trick details through out and big money drivetrain. Plenty copied it in various guises. Tell me where you saw it back then? Besides driving it and dragging it once, I only took it to one show. Sold it to a dude in Darwin around  09 and have never seen it appear anywhere since. Was an absolute head turner, got reasonable traction and I did a mid 11 in it.