Of the five generations of Corvettes, the C3 or "shark" models are among the most popular with do-it-yourselfers. Produced from 1968 all the way up to 1982, most C3 Corvettes haven't reached the collector status (and inflated prices) of earlier models. Far from being the black sheep of the Corvette family though, these attractive cars are plentiful (500,000+ were built) and affordable enough that they can be purchased, maintained, and enjoyed by a large spectrum of car lovers. The vast majority are powered by the popular 350ci small block-perhaps the most modified and successful performance engine ever.
Tom Benford has been a freelance journalist for more than 30 years and contributes regularly to several national magazines. His titles for Motorbooks include Corvette: Five Decades of Sports Car Speed, Corvette Performance Projects 1968–1982, Corvette Gallery, Garage and Workshop Gear Guide, The Street Rod, and others. He lives in Brick, New Jersey.