New kid on the block here as well. I went thru the whole "value engineering". My issue was chrome bumper vs non chrome bumpers, My target price range was 5 - 7k. I didn't feel I could afford anymore. Now that I'm into it, I can see I couldn't afford the project car. You can drop money IN A HEART BEAT with these puppies. I ended up spending mid teens for a frame off restoration car, it was money well spent. Some of these cars, even if  the car was free will require too much work. I'll throw out the same advise I was given, take your time and learn. I'm not a patient person, but I'm glad I took the 4 months and did my homework. Good luck and half the fun is the search! 72 blue shark38607.4990625

Not to add too much more , but take some time and read through all the questions that have been asked in the how how to dept's here. That will give you a good indication as to what to expect from one of these cars. There are plenty of cars here in Florida but you really have to be careful. I spent plenty of weekends traveling up and down the coast looking at e-bay cars and everything in the auto trader for the years I wanted. No I didn't get the year I wanted for the money I had but I got one I could drive home and the A/C blows cold. I'm still dumping money in it but thats because I want to, not because I have to. And by the way I didn't buy an e-bay car all junk. Good Luck and welcome. There are plenty of us just reading and learning.

Welcome to the group!! My first Vette was a C2, 1965 Convert, a/c, side pipes, blue/black. I looked at the car, test drove the car & the engine (327/375) was really strong, paint was good & interior was fairly nice. The driver's seat was worn with a dip in the bottom of the seat that fit my butt. The upholstery was all together, no holes or rips. I bought the car back in the late '70's. Drove it to college & work. Little by little, things started to wear out because the car was OLD. Sold it.

Bought another one later, my C3 Coupe. Did not test drive it, just looked at a lot of pictures. Didn't want the rag top, my other one always leaked somewhere (don't miss that). Got the C3 out of Florida. The car is pretty clean underneath - good shape paid $24,000. a few years back. It needed breaks & lines, power stearing has all been rebuilt, put new motor mounts in and new hoses, tires ,changed the carb & converted to electric choke. The vacuum system is good, a/c good, no problems with the wiper door, headlights........everything works but the clock (radio - sucks). I didn't do too bad. I'm happy with the car. It's in better shape than the C2 ever was. But, my favorite was the C2 (please don't get upset with me) & it was a POS! You'll know when you see & feel it in your gut. Good luck & take pictures on what ya get - I wanna see! Sure wish I could find my old C2.........

if you buy off ebay try to find one close enough so you can inspect it

personally. I bought my 76 vette off ebay and did pretty good. there

are a lot of great cars on ebay, but you still have to be very carefull. I would never buy a car sight unseen.

Tvalenzaniro:

Welcome to the Forum.... and honestly if you plunked down 10 bucks
to joint then you can ask as many damn questions as you want to...

99.5 percent of our members I am sure feel that way....

Now:    You stated that you wanted a project car....
         &nbs p; you did not need  one that you could  drive  now...
         &nbs p; and you really have no knowledge of Corvettes...

          Personally I would know what your "skills" are... by which I mean I can turn a wrench...am pretty good with mechanicals...but
can not do body work ...period...and I am dangerous as hell with even a can of aerosol spray paint in my hands....

If you want a NCRS car after you finish then you have to start with the right pile of fiberglass... if you want a street machine almost
anything goes..as you do not have to follow any rules... lol

I BUY COSMETICS.... (others buy Mechanicas...) since I can turn that wrench buy can't do body work... Therefor I would be look for a Corvette that "looks pretty good" but needs a lot of mechanical work..
which I can do...

Find a local Corvette Club...and walk into one of their meetings I bet
you will make enough friends who can help you find your perfect project car before you finish your first beer... Happens quite a lot at
our club...

Lots of Luck...and again DO not be afraid to bounce any question off our collective back sides...

Bob

[QUOTE=tvalenziano]

Hey everyone.  I've been trying to decide on a good project car, that I don tneed to use as a daily driver...Anyway the C3 vette has always been on the back of my mind.  I started looking seriously a coupl edays ago, but can hardly find any, and when I do they are pretty pricey.  Now I went to E-bay, and I've found at least 6 or 7 that have tons of pics, clean titles, and seemingly great bodies....but they are very cheap....between 2k-5k...is this too cheap? or is it normal for ebay?  Just dont want to get screwed looking for my dream car!  Appreciate any feedback asap-thanks!

[/QUOTE]

TAZman.....

Since I see you already own a C3 ( 80 coupe ) and a Z06 I just have to assume you know a little about Corvettes...  So I do not have to tell
you to look for RUST ... its there just how bad and where is the question...

But 68-72's The Bumper cars even 'real" crappy ones  are going for at least 5K assuming the frame is solid...   Guess it really depends on what you want to do... I paid 2K for a 76  in pretty rough but solid shape

Spent 8-9k on it over a 2-3 years period going over the car replacing this and that...engine and trans are still stock..and it runs fine......At the time I already owned 3 Corvettes and this one was a project
without a plan to what I really was going to do with the car... I enjoyed the evenings in the garage...the car looks & drives good...
heck of a lot better use of my time and money then sitting in a bar and bending my elbows...

Bob

Lots of luck...
Bob