Buying a Restored 1971 Corvette and Driving It 1,000 Miles Home

When shippers became a headache, the buyer of this 1971 Corvette decided to bring it home the old fashioned way.

These days, finding the perfect car for the right price is easier than ever, thanks to the internet, but it also means that many of us are buying cars in other places, then having them shipped to us. Of course, one could drive those new rides home, but in the case of old or valuable vehicles, that isn’t a terribly common occurrence. However, it didn’t stop Corvette Forum member 71BHG4SP from doing exactly that once he located the 1971 Corvette of his dreams, roughly 1,000 miles away from home, as he explained in this thread.

“After looking for over two years, I finally found my C3,” he said. “Seemed like most of the ones for sale are on the east coast or in the midwest. Really wanted a west coast car for ease of access and lack of rust. Happened to take a look at Autotrader Classic, and there it was – a fully restored ’71 C3 coupe, BHG, 4-speed. It looked and sounded almost too good, but after lengthy communication with the seller, I decided to roll the dice. I’ve bought cars and motorcycles online before, and some have been, well…not quite as advertised. I was optimistic about this one, though.”

The original plan was to actually have the 1971 Corvette shipped to him, but as is the case with pretty much everything today, that process proved to be elusive and a bit of a pain.

“I started contacting transport companies. Most had caveats, or crazy-long lead times. I asked my wife if she was up for an adventure, and she was on board immediately. So we booked a flight to Seattle, and her sister drove us an hour and a half to pick up the car. Seller was the nicest guy, if not the most mechanically-inclined, and we were out of there in an hour. Over four days, we drove 1,055 miles, mainly at 55 – 60, down the coast to the Santa Cruz, CA area. Tweaked the idle and timing by ear the first night, and the trip was hassle-free. Compiled a list of things to address during the drive, and we’ll be making those improvements over the next few months, while driving it as well.”

It’s a pretty cool story, indeed, and proof that one can road trip an old vehicle and make it to their destination with no trouble, at least in this case. Plus, the new owner got to spend some quality time with his new ride and learn just about everything there is to know about it, which is the whole reason to own a classic like the C3 Corvette, no?

Photos:Corvette Forum

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