OK Thinking of selling the C4 and moving to a C3. I want to spend around 10K. Would love a chrome bumper but am open to almost anything. This will be my daily drive, I only drive a 100 mile or less a week. So what are the Pro’s and Con’s? What should I be looking for both good and bad. Or should I just move up to a newer C4 “92 up”???

You can't beat the styling of a C3! I drive mine to work, about 50 miles per day, if it isn't raining. They are as reliable as any other car of the 70's was. You just have to buy an unmolested or well restored example. Don't fall into the buy-it-cheap-and-fix-it-up trap. Buy the nicest one you can afford. If you want a nice chrome bumper car for $10K you are looking at a 350 coupe, with few options, probably with a non-original motor. However, you can buy a very nice mid to late 70's version for $10K. Usual problems are frame and windshield frame rust. They are very basic cars so they are easy to maintain. They are a little more finicky than C4's, but have less things to go wrong, too. Look around, and resist buying the first one you see. JOe

As Joe said. You are going to be looking at cars that are 30 years old so be choosey. Many nice C3's can be had for the price you are looking to spend. The thing you need to look for can be seen if you put it up on a rack. Rusty frame, windshield post, and rocker channels can cause a lot of grief. The power may not be what you are use to with a C4 unless engine work has been done.
Good Hunting

I'll echo some of Joe's sentiments. Don't even think about buying one cheap and fixing it up, unless you don't mind owning a really deep "money pit". In my humble opinion, the C3's electrical and vacuum systems are complex and trouble-prone. Your best bet may be to find one that's already been restored and whose owner is being forced to sell. He'll end up letting it go at a "fire sale" price (compared to what he has invested) and you will end up with a nice car. In most cases, unrestored originals are going to need a lot of work. Those that are truly low-mileage, well-maintained "survivor" cars that don't need work will cost a bundle. Obviously, a T-Top coupe will cost you a lot less than a convertible, and for a daily driver, a coupe would probably be a better choice, especially if you find one with a/c. Stay away from cars whose engines have been hot-rodded (that's a mistake we made with our '71). For a frequent driver, pay close attention to the condition of the steering, brake system, suspension, cooling system, electrical system, vacuum system, weatherstripping (look out for leaks), and so forth. Be a smart and informed shopper, take your time, don't allow yourself to be rushed, and you should end up with a suitable car at a price you can deal with.

Good luck!

don't dispare , it might take a while but tjere are rare finds still out there. try to find one that has not been molested , for $10k you should be able to find a CB C3 with a matching # engine in desent shape, but it will take a lot of looking and you will have to be patient and willing to travel a great distance to find it. i woould recomend looking at a lot of cars just to get to know what to look for. frame rust, accident damage, headlights not working , look at the shims used to do the front end alignment in the upper a arms they should be equal in number , if not may be frame damage from an accident. get some corvette parts catalogs and look up prices for items to see which items are the most expensive to replace. some items are not avaiable.
i looked for about 9 months before finding my buy of a lifetime. i had to drive 400 miles to look at it and bought 1 day before it was to be in the sunday newspaper. i won't tell you what i paid for it 1 1/2 years ago, it would make you sick. 78,000 orgional miles 1 owner always garaged matching #'s never hit 87 year old owner. i drove it home from kansas city to florida ,the only problem was wiping the smile off my face when i got it home. hang in there and look at as many papers you can everyday, you can look at the classified ads in most papers on line. have the cash on hand and get there early early as the good ones don't last. look at as many for sale sites and have alerts se up to email you when a c3 come on for sale and be ready to tell your boss that you suddenly feel sick and have to go "home right now"

Thanks for the great responses. I am in no rush to buy so I will take my time and use the information that all of you have provided. I will be visiting this site often. Great site keep up the good work.

My opinion...... not that it should matter. If you want a chrome bumper car, find you a classic car loan company and spend 15 to 18K. If you have good credit they will finance the money for 5 years. You should be able to get a really nice 4 or 5 year old restored C3 for that. I've been upgrading and working on mine and there is nothing that I have found that is cheap for these cars when restoring. Well almost. I did manage to get a really good deal on a reman master cylinder at Autozone for $14.95 and it was just like the original after giving you back $18 for the core. No lie that is the cheapest thing I've gotten so far. Even my corvette Key chain cost me $8.95. Good luck in your search. I would look in the forsale section on this site, there are a few for sale now that look to be great buys and the owners appear to be hungry to sell them.

i personaly would NEVER give any porgional parts back for the core charge, omce gone you will have a hard time finding another one and when if ever you sell your car rhat box of orgional perts even if they don't work will bring hundreds and hunderds of $$$ to the person buying the car. i have every part i have replaced from my car. my ac compressure is froze up and i have replaced it with a rebuilt one , i can see it is not the same as the orgional and they wanted to give me $20 for the core, i can get the orgional rebuilt some day and it will make the car worth much more to have the orgional ac compressor in it. save those orgional parts no matter what shap they are in. there are lots of people out there kicking themselves for discarding the orgional air cleaners only to find out now the repos go for $350

i'll send you any CB cars under 10k i find

I've been looking REAL hard for a good '70-'71 coupe, with small block (non LT1) & A/C as the primary needs. As far as chrome bumper small block C3s go, here is what I am seeing:

$10k and under: JUNK, with the occasional solid car that requires big bucks to make decent

$10K- $15k: drivable, but non-matching engine or paint, amateur work, noticeable body repair, etc. many risky cars here

$15k-$20k: decent rebuilds or restorations, high mileage originals, still some NOM or color changes; decent to good cars

$20k-$25k: nice originals or good restorations, mostly numbers matching; excellent cars to show cars

If your budget is set around $10k, I think you will have to go for a rubber bumper car just to get a driver, otherwise you will look a LONG time for that miracle buy.