"Some of the C3 Vettes in running, driver condition are only bringing about $3k at times. I don't see that happening to Vipers. Do you?"
Highly unlikely, simply due to numbers produced. The production levels of each generation of Vettes from C1 -> C5 has gone up practically exponentially each time.
Those C3 Vettes for $3K you speak of are available for that price only because there is a glut of them. In addition to that, the body type doesn't seem to be as desirable as the C1 or C2 Vettes, so even if the number available was equal, I'm still not sure the price would be.
I was looking for a C2 a while back, and even a beat-up hunk-of-crap junkyard reject was fetching $10K, for what was essentially a mostly intact body.
The C4 Vettes still have a ways to go before they'll see appreciation, and I'm not sure they will ever achieve the same collector status as a C1 or C2 because the C4 is just so crappy looking. Easily the worst version of the Vette offered, ever. The ZR1 is cool only because of its powerplant - not its looks.
Gen I Vipers look good, and are already rare. While the production levels of the Gen II Vipers was much higher, they still aren't common. I grew up in Miami, which has a high concentration of exotic cars (just ask Will Smith) and from '92 until '01 when I left, I can only recall seeing a Viper on the road 3 times.
(insert comment about 'getting out more' here)
I couldn't count the number of Vettes I saw during the same time period, but it's easily in the thousands.
A running Gen I for $3K? Not in this lifetime.
