New dash for C3 corvette.

Wait a minute... they turned the C6 into an Acura, and you don't like that, but you want to turn a C3 into a Miata?

If you have more money than sense, you can do anything. You first must ask the most important question, WHY?

TomC

I think it would be much better to just graft the C3 shin onto your Miata.

nonononononono.. believe me.. I LOVE the C3 but only the exterior and the feel of the engine. NOT the interior worksmanship...

I may hav misrepresented what I wanted to ask... which was... is it possible to change the interiors and has anyone done it before... sure some may argue that it won't be an authentic vette anymore and that I'm raping the spirit of the car etc, but does anyone think the same way I do ?

OR would a better idea be to revamp the insides in corvette lines... ? with new leather and stuff..? see the image...

No, and they shouldn't be required to.

Barf, but the girls in the corral might like it. Striking, to say the least, well, maybe to say the most.

It all boils down to the fact that it's your car, do with it what you want, not what someone else thinks you should.

It's fun to drive my Corvettes, some wonder why I drive one so old, and then some wonder why I drive one of the new ones and not the older ones. You won't please someone else and their remarks come from God knows where. You'll spend a lot more time driving and enjoying the Corvette if you get the C5 than you will the C3, but then some like to own and look at it rather then drive them. Your call.

Gosh, didn't mean to upset your sensibilities, was only poking a little fun at your expense. My gut feeling is, it's your car, do as you wish. In the end, if it makes you happy, what the heck. There is one caveat, however, that I feel duty bound to include. If it's unique in any, shape, or form, fergodssake sell it to someone who will respect it for what it is. If it's an L88, or a ZL1 you'd have to be out of your f&^%&ing mind to mess with it. Otherwise, it's your money, do with it as you please.

This interior treatment seems to be quite popular with the ricer crowd, can't for the life of me figure out what the attraction is. Just imagine how many poor defenseless naugas had to die to make that interior. ;-)

Maybe zip on over to eBay and look at some upgraded interiors in some of the pictures there. I agree with you on the plastic and cardboard, but mostly that can be replaced with upgraded materials. I upgraded most of the stuff from the dash cap to the carpet including the shifter console and what-not. I'm still looking for something to use around the back window. After you spend a little time with the vehicle, you'll get accustomed to the interior, and it does have functional comfort. I stored the original seats and had a set built on a couple of frames from another sports car. They look almost the same, but added a lot of distance driving comfort.

If you do upgrade or replace, hold on to all your old parts. They will be very valuable when you go to sell.

Good luck.

BDragon

Thanks for all the helpful advice guys.

I think I'll respect the car and upgrade the materials...No Naugas will be hurt in the process. Theres one I have my eye on and the guy will sell it to me for 14k. Been looking at it for 3 weeks now about 4-5 times...

The engine stays... I know how much potential it has... And Yes Tom it is a L88 big iron block.It sounds really sweet.

The aluminum 427 ZL1 was I guess too rare and expensive at the time and none were actually sold to the public right ? maybe a dozen or so exist, from what i've heard... , . There seem to have been just a few made in 1968-69.

I'm getting mine from a dealer down in texas. I love it, wife hates it...and I still think the interior sucks :-p No place to put groceries she says, hah ! She'll have to stick with our durango then.

May I add, that the dealer is giving me a piece of junk on wheels actually... Its a total fixer upper.. But the engine runs, sounds good intermittently..... I'll probably sell it for about 50-60k once i'm done with it , ya think ?

I know that properly restored a car like this can fetch well over 100k, but i'm not greedy. ;-)

Don't think your going to buy it, build it and sell it for a profit ........... it never works quite that way Buy it and enjoy it. C-3's won't be worth any enormous amounts for at least another 10 years, and that's only if they don't outlaw gas engines by then

Kickstart

You have a dealer who is selling you a Corvette with an L88 for $14,000? You are going to restore it and sell it for about $60,000?

T hat may be the case if you checked it but I R eckon that there might be a lot more to this O r else you are getting the deal of the decade. L ocal deals can sometimes provide really L ucky breaks on cars.

I guess it is all in what you read between the lines, as I read any L88 for $14,000 must have a VIN tag and a motor and a pile of rumble in between. I've seen a lot of people who think they have an L88 because they either have a) a 427 big block engine, b) a big block engine of unknown displacement, c) a 427 hood, d) a high rise hood.

I remember an interesting '67 once that was an L88 because "it had the dual pin brakes and no heater". The problem is that L88 required C48 and J56, but C48 did not require the other two and J56 did not require the other two. There were 20 L88, 35 C48, and 267 J56, meaning that it was very possible to have J56 and C48 without an L88.

Now your C3 L88 would be interesting to hear more about, like what options are on it, what year it is, and so on.

Thanks Tom, for that insight.

HAHAHA.. I like your style of writing.. The paragraph below reminds me of a GRE/SAT question I did in college..

Please choose the correct option...

Option 1: J56 = L88 ?

Option 2: J56 requires L88 ?

Option 3: J56+C48 = L88 ?

==================================================

Except you forgot Option 4: "None of the above"

Option L88 = L88 + J56 + C48 (Taking Tom's specs as posted.)

Tom, I also picked up your note about alt.a.corvette as the original post source - hope that's OK.

Here's waving to ya - \||||

Owen ___

'67BB & '72BB ___

"To know the world intimately is the beginning of caring." -- Ann Hayman Zwinger