We love C3s. They’re a great way to join the ranks of Vette owners without breaking the bank or taking out a second mortgage. With C2’s grabbing the spotlight (and gobs of cash), rubber bumpered C3s are cool, plentiful, and cheap. Just ask “John” out of Portland who snagged this very pretty 1973 T-top. The story comes to us from Barn Finds.

He’d been looking for a C3 Corvette with a four-speed for quite some time and found this one which was parked in a unheated barn for 23 years. It didn’t run, but it looked to be a high option example and upon further investigation, proved to be a one-owner car purchased from Ed Randall Chevrolet in Portland.

The car was originally listed on Craigslist in June 2014, with crappy pictures and an inconvenient location between Portland and Seaside, Oregon. A deal was struck with the original owner’s son and the car changed hands.

This silver and black, 1973 Stingray is a small block, four-speed car with optional leather interior and obligatory rally wheels. From the looks of the photos, the car received new BF Goodrich radial T/As, new interior and carpet and mechanical work to get it running again. Aside from the worn urethane bumper and a little detailing, we’d leave it as is and enjoy the car.

The owner has similar intentions and says he doesn’t have a full restoration planned and just wants to continue to tweak the car back into shape. A happy byproduct is the preservation of the long dead assembly line worker’s toil. These original cars are the only trace left of these folks.