HomePick of the DayPick of the Day: 1971 Chevrolet Corvette

Pick of the Day: 1971 Chevrolet Corvette

Powered by an L48 V8

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I was on a call with my collector friend, Henry, and he recently came to the conclusion that just about every classic sports car built before the mid-1980s is at some point or another a pain in the butt to deal with.

My comment back was to ask what took him so long to figure this out and to re-explain that this is part of the deal with older sports cars, such as his series 1 Jaguar E-Type. He then said there are one or two cars that have little aggravation and one of those was the C3 Corvette. Besides not being a pain in the butt to deal with, C3 Corvettes offered more bang for the buck than any other classic high powered sports car he could think of.

1971 Chevrolet Corvette

I thought for a minute about what my own experience was with these cars, and I had to agree. If you are looking for a classic late 1960 to early 1970s sportscar that has lots of power and yet is also easy to maintain; the C3 Corvette was hard to beat.

As a result, I decided to make my Pick of the Day a C3 Corvette.

The C3 Corvette had the longest production run of any Corvette in the history of the model, running from 1968 to 1982. This is unheard of today and even at the time was quite a long run. There were many reasons for this, mostly due with financial concerns at GM, but even at the end of the C3 production run people lined up to buy them.

Not all C3 Corvette are created equal, but the general rule of thumb is that the earlier the car, the more of a sports car it is. My personal favorites are the 1970-1972 models, which is where I think that the quality, styling, and performance all came together to make the C3 ‘Vette a great classic sportscar.

The Pick of the Day is one of these cars, a 1971 Chevrolet Corvette painted in factory correct Sunflower Yellow with a correct black leather interior. (Click the link to view the listing)

This Corvette is being offered by a dealer in Mundeline, Illinois and is a nicely optioned example. In fact, this Vette has just about every option I would want in a C3 Corvette. These include power steering, power brakes, A/C, tilt/telescopic wheel, and its numbers matching L48 engine with 270bhp. The L48 engine is capable of taking the car from 0-60 mph in 7 seconds. This might not sound fast now, but in 1971 it was plenty of performance and is easily capable of dealing with aggressive modern traffic.

The seller states that all lights and other systems in this 1971 ‘Vette work as they should, with the exception of the fiber optic warning light system. They add that the car has very nice paint, due to an exterior restoration, and it drives well.

The photos in the ad show a nice looking and well preserved 1971 Corvette in a great color and no noticeable flaws. No, it is not likely to win an NCRS award, but the car is perfect for local shows, rallies, tours, and anything else you might choose to do.

The best part about the car is its price, especially when compared to any of the offerings from Europe. The seller is asking a market correct $34,900.

Andy Reid
Andy Reid
Andy Reid's first car, purchased at age 15, was a 1968 Fiat 124 coupe. His second, obtained by spending his college savings fund, was a 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2. Since then, he has owned more than 150 cars—none of them normal or reasonable—as well as numerous classic motorcycles and scooters. A veteran of film, television, advertising and helping to launch a few Internet-based companies, Reid was a columnist for Classic Motorsports magazine for 12 years and has written for several other publications. He is considered an expert in European sports and luxury cars and is a respected concours judge. He lives in Canton, Connecticut.

7 COMMENTS

  1. If I were to dream of a Sting Ray ‘Vette I would be dreaming about THIS car!!! Wow, it has it all including the automatic transmission which I need due to a permanently injured left foot.
    God, this car ROCKS!!! C’mon Mega Millions!!! LOL

  2. Hello! I would very much like to buy this car. Please let me know how to get in touch with the owner so we can make it happen. Many thanks, Stefan

  3. Is this car still available? I would like to see more pictures of the interior and underside (a northern state where it snows and rust may be an issue. Finally I did not see anything on the mileage.

  4. Oh, but Mr. Reid, it’s an automatic; that’s a deal breaker. Rowing gears is for me as good as therapy, and I have to own at least one car with a stick or I become crabby. Beautiful car, though.

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