Mid Seventies Corvettes

I know these cars have no value as collector type vehicles and the reduced compression and smog controls pretty much robbed them of any performance. I also know you can spend more then what they could ever be sold for. With that said what is the potential for taking a small block (350 CI) and replacing it with a 383 stroker engine some performance handling package on all four corners and generally rebuilding a mid seventies coupe. Is this putting perfume on a pig? Anyone out there owned one? What are areas to look for. I ask because I may have a line on a fairly low mile coupe with a blown engine but it would require a fair amount of labor which I can handle.

They have value to collectors. They are neat cars. Undertake this project if you love the car. It can be made to handle better, but it will never handle like the newer generations.

As you describe the car, I cant think of a better platform for a hot-rod Cheap foundation for expensive dreams.

Contrary to today's cars, GM left a lot of performance potential on the table during the 70's in order to deal with the new regulations. If you like the looks then go for it.

Edit:

Took a look at the chassis Not going to win any prizes for being the stiffest platform on the planet. Body must add something?

Post-'73, when they went to the body-colored bumpers, and post-74, when the 454 stopped being available, hit value hard. So monetarily they are pretty worthless, except for special editions. Mod away and don't worry about hurting value too much. If it had a SBC in it, any small block of any level of modification will drop in. Big blocks too. There are options to run pretty much any transmissions, both stock and aftermarket, from Muncies to T56s, Powerglides to 4L60Es. Vette Brakes & Products makes everything you need to make one handle, bushing kits, springs, shocks, sway bars, rack & pinions, big brakes. The underlying chassis is pretty solid design-wise. The IRS is kinda flimsy and jury-rigged and not NHRA-legal below a certain e.t. (due to the U-joint axles) but if you aren't launching it hard on a prepped surface on drag slicks it'll hold up. Tom's Differentials makes all the stuff to beef it up if you do break it, by stuffing 12-bolt guts in the 10-bolt carrier and axle loops and stuff.

Google "C3 bird cage rust", also look out for frame rust.

Sit in one before you buy. Those Buck-Rodgers inspired fenders rob a ton of visibility. They aren't for everyone, but if you fall in love--- no harm modding a rubber bumper car. The chrome bumpered ones bring more $$. (73 had a rubber front bumper, but chrome rear)

I like them a lot and a friend of mine had a black ’73 (plastic front / chrome back makes it a ’73; right) that had one previous owner who was a fairly significant TV actor from the 70’s.

The car just sat in front of his house and I asked him to call me if he ever wanted to sell it.

One time I dropped by his house and it was gone…”oh, sorry dude, somebody popped out of nowhere offering to buy it and I forgot to call you.”

Added Later...

Thanks Joe, I was asking while you were posting.

Neat cars and fun to drive. The chassis is flimsy, and they are not very light, but it's certainly entertaining. They are not trivial to work on, most of the same stuff that went into a Chevelle but stuffed into a smaller envelope.

as said Heavy, hard to see out of, some rust issues,, a Small block CAN Make BUCOUPE's of Power and they can be made to handle DD, but a race car they are not unless you aren't EVER going to sell it and have a trust fund. Great looking,and Chicks love them ( course all the chicks I know are over 50)

I've got a '78 Pace Car I inherited from my Dad. When he bought it the original L82 was missing, so we built a nice little small block for it, nothing outrageous by any stretch. I keep resisting the desire for more cam and a better exhaust - I have other hot rods. We dropped in a 700R4 tranny, and it's a nice cruiser. Lots of squeaks and rattles, but fun to drive. They look cool, and have neat (if tiny) interiors. It's a fun car and attracts a lot of attention.

Wifey had a mint '78 L-82, which we sold not long after kid #1 came along. I was impressed (if that's the right word for it) with how much it drove like my truck. Even so, they practically ooze 70's charisma, and lots of people would point at it and smile. Squeaks and rattles, yes. Middling stock performance, yes. Strange view of the road, partially obscured by bat-wing fenders, yes. Buy it? Yes! It's a great car for a weekend cruiser.

I always wanted a corvette. Found a 1977 with a zz3 crate motor about 350hp. That was about the only good thing with the car body needed paint and an interior. Spent a couple of years restoring the car to compete in car shows. I found out I did not like sitting around all day watching the car so people did not scratch the paint. Then i found autocross and ran the car for three years in SM. First year i did really bad with the stock suspention over the winter replaces all the bushings added lowering and stiffer springs and the biggest sway bars I could find. After that I was very competitive even beating an S2000 a few time. They can be made fun to drive and handle. I sold mine a few years back and bought a 2004 mustang GT. I had more fun in the vette

Sit in one before you buy. Those Buck-Rodgers inspired fenders rob a ton of visibility.

Oh, i thought you were going to mention how stupid the seats were!

I've been very blunt about how E36 M3ty a c3 seems to someone who was raised on newer cars. On first impression i was shocked at how they aren't good at anything besides looking cool. BUT! I still like them... i just think i like them at a price it's hard to find them for. I think a c3 thats not especially nice or rare should be 5k and under, but it's hard to find one that doesn't seem like too much of a project that actually falls into that price range.

Whenever i think of building one i usually think of putting a smaller engine into it to be different and easier to work on. It would still be faster and would probably handle better than most of the malaise-era small blocks they came with.

Vigo wrote:

Sit in one before you buy. Those Buck-Rodgers inspired fenders rob a ton of visibility.

Whenever i think of building one i usually think of putting a smaller engine into it to be different and easier to work on. It would still be faster and would probably handle better than most of the malaise-era small blocks they came with.

That's a pretty appealing notion. Throw one of the better ecotec versions in there... I like it!

I love the mid 70s to 81 Corvette (don't like the Crossfire '82s). It was a dream car for me since I was a kid, especially '80 and '81. I like the bumpers on those better than the 70's. My FIL had a '75 for many years. He dropped a 454 in it and it was a beast.

The very first "expensive"...i.e. more than $2500...toy I ever bought was an '80 Corvette. It was owned by a drug dealer before I had it, and he pimped it out some. It was gold, had a pretty big wing on the back, Maaco shark hood, and 1980 style stripes all down its' side. I had the stripe painted black, so it looked less disco. Engine was worked some, cam, carb, exhaust. I had SO much fun with that car. Yes, vision out of it is terrible, it's all nose. You have no idea where the front of the car really is, unless the headlights are up. I never tracked it, but handling for street use was fine. Headlights work on a complex vacuum system and are prone to leaking, causing slow or non-operable lights (I think wipers are part of the system too, IIRC). The cars have great aftermarket support.

Prices are starting to go up on these things. If you want one, get it now before the Barrett Jackson crowd does.

I'd get another 1980 in a heartbeat, I still miss mine...and I sold it over 15 years ago.

Two words: Dirk Diggler.

I loved driving mine. The view out the windshield is awesome, with the huge fender bulges on each side. No, they're not great performance machines, but they can be made to be fun.

LOOK OUT FOR RUST!!! As mentioned before, google birdcage rust. I unknowingly bought a car with a lot of rust issues because it looked solid at first.

Appleseed wrote: Two words: Dirk Diggler.

Two more words: berkeleyin' Ay!

Vette Brakes and Products has some nice chassis bits for this generation. A very popular mod is to ditch the metal leaf springs for composite. Saves some weight, too. They can be made to handle surprisingly well given the starting point. The low point is 74-76 for weight and stock horsepower (especially 75), they started losing weight and getting easier to live with inside beginning in 77, mostly due to better control of drivetrain heat and more sound insulation. For sure try one on for size before committing, they are narrow inside and the seats, especially the 78-82 pace car style, aren't for everyone.

I love mine, 75, originally L48, th400, ttop. Now LT1 and 4l60e.

It's a fun car, but the rear suspension suffers odd toe changes under compression while cornering.

Lots of band-aids available for the suspension from coil overs and transverse monoleaf conversions at both ends to complete tubular chassis upgrades to stiffen things up. The chassis WILL flex over uneven surfaces.

That being said I'd get the best one you can afford and ignore the righteous argument about chrome bumper Vs urethane. GM made half a million shark bodied cars (I hate the revisionist C3 moniker) so no need to buy the first you see.

I have autocrossed mine. My Mazda 2 can be quicker depending on the course. The Vette is, for me, difficult to drive fast as I learned on fwd VWs.

Read up on Dick Gulstrand. He did a lot to make them handle and his alignment setting suggestions are real good.

And prices are going up. C4s are currently cheaper depending.

I read they can be entertaining rally cross cars.

All I know, is a C3 NEEDS sidepipes, flares and 315s in front

They are heavier and slower than the '77 B-Body! C4s are cheap enough to allow me to avoid a C3 project.

Type Q wrote: I read they can be entertaining rally cross cars.

Where is Madhatr? I haven't seen him post in quite a while.

Unless you are in SoCal, Arizona or NM, RUST, RUST, RUST.

You won't see it because of the fiberglass body and stainless windshield trim, but it will be there. As was said before, the "birdcage" rusts and depending of the severity, can require complete disassembly to repair. Frames rust too but that's pretty easy to spot on inspection. The problem is that when GM built these cars, the windshield frame and supporting structure were not coated with paint or other rust preventative. Over the years, these cars went from treasured to sitting outside being neglected. Windshield sealer dries out and breaks down, water intrudes and rust starts. Once started, it weakens the dealer more and destruction accelerates. Look around the windshield frame, the upper door jam below the A pillar and the kick panels. If you see cracks, rust streaks or anything that looks like rust, the situation is pretty advanced.

I live in South Florida and I've yet to look at a local 70s Corvette for sale that didn't have tell tale birdcage rust. Some of these cars were advertised as "restored" and were asking good money. Some were beaters. Don't buy one unless you take someone with you who knows Corvettes.