Owned by my good friend Neal. Yes, The Real Neal. This is a longer video because Neal has lots of good explanations for why the C3 are the way they are. You'll like this one!
No one in the southern half of the country lol. I couldn't live in Florida, not because of the residents or culture, it's the humidity. I die when we go over 50% humidity and it's hot in southern California.
I've always loved the C3 body style. I'm old enough to have remembered when they were on the road normally. The C4 seemed like they took the curves of the C3 and flattened them out. I was not happy. It was like dating a girl with big boobs only to come home one day and find that she had a breast reduction, not because she needed it, but because she thought big boobs were ugly.
Yeah i prefer the style of the c3, but i've heard the handling of the c4 was better. Im going to buy one in the next 6 months or so in australia, bit more expensive here because they have had have been imported, but i dont know if ill get a c3 or c4 yet.
@@matthewpiper4328 Might be a dumb question but what's that dealio with having to saw the car in half to get it through customs? Is that just if it's being imported with a non-factory engine? Can't remember haha
There was a good time spent on the technical details, and the various upgrades made to the car to satisfy the 'gearheads', but what I enjoyed the most is, how well the youngish presenter described the essence of the seventies at the end. From someone who didn't live then, that was awesomely well done, and I say it as an old geezer, who was a young adult at the time. Keep up this fantastically good work, and keep up this one-of-a-kind eclectic approach!
9:05 common issue, the interior door mechanisms get really tough with age, if you go through and lubricate the various joints/springs again, it'll pop open pretty easily, without needing to use your thumb at all
Not the same thing but I could hardly open the vent windows on my '69 C/10 till I oiled the bottom hinges along with the door latches and hinges. Granted it's never been restored,though.
+maximus9401 Front engine, rear wheel drive, double wishbone suspension front and rear, precisely the things I look for in an appliance. Maybe the base, with no options, driven by some urban professional upwardly mobile type who knows absolutely nothing about the car. He probably had a Jetta TDI before that because he liked the fuel economy and thought it was good for the environment.
I always liked these with the flat glass rear window, it just goes to show with a little work in better brakes, better suspension, and a free breathing engine that's not strangled by 70's smog and oil crisis. It makes a good machine!
My dad owns 2 C3's an original 74 454 TH400 car numbers matching fun car and a 75 L82 350 stick car, engine is now 355 has cam, heads, long tubes, no cats and is around 400-425hp and an absolute blast. I just purchased my first Vette an 81 L48 auto minus the L48 and trans, I will be putting a 5.7L and trans from a wrecked IROC Camaro into it over the winter hopefully it will be a decent toy to drive around.
I honestly didnt know they made factory bbc c3's. I have a 1980 with a sbc, but a bbc would be so fucking cool. I honestly doubted you for a minute untill i went to look it up.
As usual another great commentary. So true. We drove across America in the summer of 1977 in a black trans am. Before the smokey and bandit movie came out. No joke. I remember how the fleet wood mac rumors album was played on every station coast to coast. God I loved that album. And couldn't wait to hear the same songs over and over. I remember the older kids around 17 and I thought they were so adult and cool with their long hair and bell bottoms. They also seemed reckless and fearless. I was seven.
ivanoffw Fuck it's been awhile since I've been in a c3 but the one I drive was just like miata headlights. You turn on the lights and they go up at the same time. There's no separate button to do it without turning on the lights though. I'm guessing this one just has a bad electrical connection or maybe the headlight hydraulic pumps (if it has those) are just a little slower on one side than the other.
+Armoured Skeptic assuming it had the origional l48 350 in it, it had 198bhp... not very impressive... and 250 with the 454, his one however i would not know.
My favorite version of the C3 was the 1980-82 version with the updated front end and spoiler. It gave the car a wider, lower profile more modern look that still looks great to this day.
I've always thought of the C3 as the most striking looking Corvette, but the majority of them didn't live up to the looks. This car gets it right - very nicely done.
My neighbors growing up had a silver C3. I still think it’s the prettiest sports car ever! I wish inside matched the outside! Beautiful car! I would love to own something similar!
+Cry Whit Start down low with a 350 cube, three and a quarter horsepower, 4-speed, 4 : 10 gears, ten coats of competition orange, hand-rubbed lacquer with a huplane manifold, Full fuckin' race cams. Whoo!
@@JeremyMcBane Whoa there Jeremy, pump the fuckin brakes! Whilst Boogie Nights is no doubt a good movie, it absolutely does NOT warrant line by line quoting as say, a Pulp Fiction would! You have done it a disservice and have actually taken away from the film by over quoting. Amateur league! I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
The C3 and C2 have been two of my favorite cars for as long as I've liked cars. I always thought it was silly how the post-77 models weren't hatchbacks, though.
My dad has a '79 in green. Automatic, functional side pipes, T-tops, 350 (I think) under the hood. Wonderful for cruising around Louisville on a summer evening.
Great statement towards the end I've always loved dat body style of vette even if it was made well before I was born but then again allot of my favorite cars r much much older than me.
I come for the cars but always stay for the deep and meaningful essays on the meanings behind automobiles, @regularcarreviews I love your channel so much
why not? Put the money where it counts (engine, suspension, mechanical) and go cheap on something that will have to get replaced sooner rather than later. As long as you're getting your 14.5 volts ans 500 cold ranking amps you're fine. I used a Farm and Fleet battery on my old car.
Love how C3's are all asymmetrical and lumpy - no two are the same - which is of course a pain when you need to replace the hood or a door or a headlight, but C3's have more character than just about any other car.
Being born in 1980, my parents brought me home from the hospital in my Dad's 79 Corvette. Can you imagine a new mother today just putting her newborn in her lap of a two seater for the ride home? Dad always had Vettes when I was a kid. I used to ride in the back of there. How safe. I made it! I totally forgot about that lock cylinder for the alarm on the fender! God, I remember how scorching hot those mf door handles would be in the sun! I love how the Miata RF has that buttress like this C3, and MR2.
The C3 Corvette is a beautiful car, probably the quintessential Corvette. I love the C1 also. Would love to see a modern car that looks like a late C1.
Streeters Garage i did. Everyone u see will say something about it. Cool to own. Don't expect a cadillac ride at all tho. Problaby will hold there value good at this point.
I got a 79 a few months ago, favorite car ive ever owned. I would recommend getting a 78-79 since they have the trunk space, and try to find one with a rebuilt engine so you can actually go fast. Got mine for 7k with a 400hp Small block.
Great video! I have a spot for these cars for some reason, especially the pre 78 small window cars, so it's nice to see someone else who appreciates them. I really like this particular car, but I'm not sure if it really fits the "resto mod" theme. Yes, it's being restored to non-original specs, but I don't think that in itself qualifies as resto mod. The fact that he's using a motor older than the car itself is pretty counter to the resto mod recipe. While the SBC is a great motor, it's low tech and what was available in the original car. And those "high flow Z/28 heads" were probably great in the day, but they are far behind a good set of aftermarket aluminum heads (as well as being designed for a 302cid engine, so I wonder how well they flow on a 350inch. I know for a fact 305 heads are a power killer on a 350 - smaller valves and combustion chambers). He's also running old style wheels, and there's no mention of big brakes. I think a correct "restomod" would be if he was running a LS motor (or at least an EFI setup on his SBC), big brakes with at least 17" wheels, and some suspension mods. Just my .02. I'm certainly not shitting on his car, I like it very much. I would consider it more of a nice driver though.
The commentary at the end of this video was by far the greatest portion of the video and the greatest thing I've heard today. Thanks for that. I can feel my chest hair thickening
Hey Mr. Regular, if you are ever in Ohio I have an almost perfect condition(only 40k miles) '89 5.0 LX Mustang convertible with the 5-speed manual you can review and hot-rod around. You can even drive it hard, responsibly of course. It likes to play rough. :D
+ftffighter Also have a black on black 2005 Toyota 4-Runner Sport Edition with the V8 you can do the same with. Idk if you get paid enough making videos but i'd help pay for the trip.
It was white with red factory interior and he converted it over to black? Sir... why. Btw, those door handles don't bother me. Your fingers naturally fall with the smooth chrome and it doesn't pull my fingers back.
Hey Neal, this car is glorious. I just bought my '77 Lady and she's rough, but I am stoked to rebuild the L48 from the block up, stuff it with modern parts and completely remove my (Also red, unfortunately) interior. We're hoping to get about 385~390HP out of her, with a Fitech EFI system and sidepipes(because America). I'm more of a Hurst kind of guy, but all that work you did to that car brings a tear to the eye. It's the definition of what a "regular guy" can do to a classic piece of automotive art like the 77 with time, determination, passion, and money. This channel is awesome.
I have a 75 Vette with a full Ecklers wide body kit. I don't care what any hater has to say. I love it and I'll even smile and wave when that 454 opens up as I pass by.
No one will ever be able to be able to describe a C3 corvette in a more accurate and heartfelt way. I own a 1976 corvette and I am a die hard chevy fan. I have to admit I teared up when you concluded your video because you essentially were able to put in words my incredibly irrational attraction to the C3 generation. SUBSCRIBED!
Thanks for making me feel once and for all that my inexplicable love of the shape of a C3, which evokes in my lost mind that of a reclining and beautiful goddess, is, while not quite normal, not misguided enough to wish we all had a better mental health care system. Brilliant video.
After seeing this, I realized I saw one of these and luckily snapped a picture in a wallmart parking lot lol, before this, I only new I had seen a good looking corvette
