MsVetteMan

I just bought mine about 2 months ago, and it has either been in the garage with the hood up, or on jack stands for at least 75% of the time since I have had it!!

I guess this is part of the vette mystique!! Drive it one weekend, then park it for 3 weeks while upgrading, tweaking, and repairing.....

At least a enjoy working on it!

P.S. (I realize some of you have never driven yours, or are going through extensive rehab with your loved one and I'm not referring to you guys, cause y'all love pain!)

1970-Bronze

Ha, I bought mine in 2003 and it's been driven 500 miles since I bought it. 250 was from where I bought it to my house....

It's been on jack stands the rest of the time for one thing or another....LOL

cannonfl

1968 vert - A basket case when I bought it in 1990. That didn't stop me from driving it from Richmond to Miami. Afterwards decided, "Yep a real basket case", and parked it for 15 years!

Finally getting around to bringing her back to life with the help of this forum.

79VetteMike

I bought mine in Dec '99 and drove it for about 10 months. Since then, It's been in the garage. The first motor I put in was a Vortec crate motor. That's now gone and I'm working in a nasty little 400 small block. Almost every nut, bolt and everything else is replaced, including every supspension peice, yada yada yada......Hopefully, I can drive it within the next few months.

LIQUIDDRAGON

DRIVEN?????????????? who ever told you that has been filling you with lies i was really lucky sense my vette was actually my mom's befor i got it from her so i actually got to drive it quite a bit befor she decided to start restoring it. well she started to restore it but with one problem right after another she soon gave up and the car sat in her driveway for 6 years befor she decided to sell it to me for 1k which i couldnt turn down so now after 10 months and 25k later in just parts its still not driveable but im hopeing to drive it by May.

Corvus

Driven mine alot, but taking body off soon. so won't be for a while

70_Shark

On top all the repairs and modifications, some of us have snow on the ground for 6 months of the year.

Eddie 70

I must admit that I have had mine on jack stands quite a bit. But I have been through everything now and would not be afraid to drive it anywhere. So this spring and summer it will be driven as much as possible, with the top down. You cannot put the top up on a convertible. At least that is what I tell everyone when they want me to drive it to work.

R1234

Well, I did drive mine to the local vette experts repair shop yesterday to get a second opinion on the noise coming from the rearend. Looks like a rearend overhaul is in the works.
Bryan

79blue

I,m 35 Bought mine when i was 22and single, it was almost just a parts car.12+years, 2 kids, wife,house,dog,and 8k+ later.there only 1600 miles more than i when i bought it. Now almost complete,it's time to start thinging about some mods.Sorry to say a vette just isn't the family car.I'm sure the older the kids get the more i'll be able to enjoy it more.For now working on it as a great hobby and believe it or not is a stress reliever to me.(those that are self employed know what i mean

ruby76

I drive mine quite a bit, not a daily driver, but at least every other weekend. even when I have "projects" on the car, I tend to get them done in a weekend, so I can drive it the next. Im probably one of the few who actually drive it all winter long (no, I don't live in the south) if it isn't raining or snowing. Eventually I'd like to do a frame-off, but then what would I drive around for fun? I'll just have to get another one to rebuild while I drive this one, or rebuild this one and rebuild the other!!

mx9k

I bought mine about a month ago...

It was trailered to my garage, I got to drive it up the driveway! And now it's snowing and the roads are VERY salty (almost like a pasty white), so it looks like it'll be another month or so before the maiden voyage. The scary part is that I already have problems that need to be addressed...

Kalway

Right now I drive mine every day, and dear lord the gas price is killing me! I still needa calibrate my carb to the new cam, but at least it runs pretty well now. Next thing on my agenda is the front end suspension. Needs all new bushings and such. Luckily I'll have a motorcycle in the next couple of weeks so I can save on gas and start working on the vette myself.

2TONE82

I know I sound like a broken record if you’ve read any of my post on this topic before; however, this is exactly why I bought a car in the best condition possible when I re-entered the Corvette market. I rotated between driving and jacking up my previous high-mileage ’82 for five years. When I decided to sell I thought I was going to buy a C5…long story short I ended up with the exact same car, year, color and 95% of the options as my previous ’82 – only this one has 25K on it vice the 150K+ of the other. It’s like I restored my previous car but was saved the frustration of having it on jack stands every other weekend. Whenever I feel the need to turn a wrench I can find something that needs to tightened or taken off and cleaned!

Biker

I got my '81 about 11 years ago and have driven it an average of 200 miles per year. When the weather is warm, I'd much rather ride my Electra Glide than drive any car.

Frankenvette

Going on 6 years of ownership, and I've only driven her about 3,000 miles. I spend 99% of my time working on it and 1% driving it. But I love it and would not trade her for anything.

stingraymaniac

Yep that white stuff pisses me of cant it go away soon!

Corvus

Sounds alot like me

I guess that proves that 76's are very very driveable

Robert N

While I know most of us buy these cars as projects and never want anyone else to work on them, and others buy the nicest drivers to simply enjoy, I fit a cross.

I see no point to owing a car I cannot drive (basket case or museum piece, but I cannot see buying a great driver that offers me no opportunity to tinker.

That said, I bought a car that sat for 24 years.

My overall plan is to let the entire rebuild process take 10-15 years. I made a list of those areas of the car that need attention and listed in in ordrer of importance. I have started working the list. Repairs are done as time any money allow unless something creeps up that affects safety or the would severly limit driving time.

All repairs that can be accomplished by me withing 2 weeks is done by me. Everything else goes to the shop. I have taken a car that sta for 24 years and now owned for 2 1/2 years and put quite a few miles on her. She gets driven an average of twice a week, even just for a quick errand run. (I can drive year round.)

She may not look pretty and may need quite a bit of work, but I bought her to drive. Repairs and rebuilds are merely a necessity to keep her driving.

isosceles

Until recently I drove mine every day. After I put the 383 in it, I started getting frustrated with not being able to use all that power and still burn so much gas.

now I save it for Fridays to work and weekends at the track. I find I appreciate it more that way. Don't take it for granted.