i am considering getting a new project, and am wondering which would be easier: Buying an older corvette (Expensive to buy, but better start) or a 3rd gen camaro (cheap to buy but Ls swap and suspension parts add up)

any advice on this is welcome (although a little biased, since this is a camaro forum)

 

BOTH!



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wow, if only...

 

What kind of old Corvette? A 63 Splitwindow? 84 Crossfire?

Personally, I would always take a Corvette. Except those mid 70's - 82 ones. I hate those, evey one I ever see looks like junk.

 

There can be a lot of nastyness hiding in these corvettes, I assume you want to look at a C3? Make DAMN sure the birdcage is OK, or at least is OK where you cans ee it. Behind the kickpanels, around the windshield no rusted through bodymoutns and so on. You really do not want to rip apart the entire body to fix it.

Hey, I resemble that remark..I have a 77 (and an 82) and it doesn't ook like junk

 

Wow that thing is REALLY nice. But Twin Turbo you are the exception not the rule.

Somehow I don't think the OP will be looking at a car like yours if it's a tossup between a Vette and a Third gen.

 

That car was a pile of junk when I bought it

For the OP, if you need Corvette info, instead of going to CorvetteForum, you can also visit my site, http://www.vettemod.com We pride ourselves in having good technical info and knowledge.

Parts are expensive, especially interior parts. Try to buy a car that is as complete as you can afford.

Any specific cars you have your eye on?

 

i am considering getting a new project, and am wondering which would be easier: Buying an older corvette (Expensive to buy, but better start) or a 3rd gen camaro (cheap to buy but Ls swap and suspension parts add up)

Before buying my Camaro, I had looked at the 80-82 Vettes (my preference; especially in Canary Yellow) but the reason I didn't buy one was the seating. I didn't want to only have one passenger max (those of you with kids will understand). A second reason that developed (after purchasing the Camaro) is that of all the pick and pulls I've been to, I've never seen a Corvette in any of them. There's usually at least one Camaro in most any salvage yard, making parts plentiful so that not everything purchased has to be brand new. Further, living in New England, there aren't many Corvette parts available on say Craigslist. Where you say it's a "new project" if you have a third gen already, I'd personally go with a different car to mix it up a bit. My

 

As for specifics, i've been looking into the 85+ Irocs, and as for Vettes, pretty much the cheaper ones on craigslist.
majobis had a good point about parts availability, and also, aren't Vettes fiberglass bodies (harder to fix?)

 

Man, Junk that is harsh. My junk goes 12.0 with modest means, Twin Turbo that is an awsome ride i have admired that on the vette forums alot, nice to put 2+2 together.

My vette has been a family project for the last 7 years. I inherited it from my dad. I keep projects cheap by taking the vette out of the equation, and fabricating alot of stuff. Currently I am making my own dash. My headlights are retrofitted linear actuators, and so on.

 

thanks for the advice everyone, i think i will go 3rd gen, for parts availability, and to save me some $$$, plus, the weight savings of a corvette aren't that much lower than a camaro

 

but the resale value is much much higher, bodywork is easy and parts aren't necessarily more expensive. Quality (oem) 3rd gen parts are expensive too.

 

I don't think anyone is going to complain about you doing a 3rd gen :-)

 

Earlier responses have covered a bunch of good information, but here's my two cents. I'm putting a 76 Vette back together from a long-neglected state and have an 89 Vette convertible for driving. One difference I've found between Vettes and third gens is that it's hard to find a Vette part that can't be bought from a catalog - the price may be high, but there is very little that isn't repro'd. With third gens, junkyards are the main source, and interior parts can be a real problem.

If you're considering a C3 Vette, by all means check the frame and birdcage areas. Also, while interior parts are available, they're also very expensive, so factor this into your purchase price. A C4 Vette is a really nice driving car, but it's much more electronic than third gens. Early C4's have an LCD dash that's expensive to fix and not really everyone's cup of tea from the looks standpoint. I've seen many people swap to regular gauges and only one or two looked good imho.

 

I just bought a really decent 1987 C4 Corvette for $3500. C4s go for bargain prices right now. I'm thinking that they have pretty well bottomed out and will be gradually increasing in value soon.... unless gasoline prices skyrocket!
David

 

C4's are a good buy. Your getting a world class car of the time. They are cheap but C4 parts are very expensive. Anything from interior to emblems is going to cost you. C3's are terrible, the only one I would buy is an 80-82 because they are sexy looking.

 

What os terrble about C3s?