C3 Corvette Buyer's Guide: Part 2 of 3 (1973 to 1977)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.ค. 2024
- Lyle at C&S Corvettes and the Corvette Parts Center in Sarasota Florida continues part two pf a three part series on finding the "sweet spot" when shopping for a C3 Corvette. Part two covers 1973 to 1977 Corvettes.
www.CorvettePartsCenter.com - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Love my 76!! She's a great driver and lots of fun to work on. Will be doing some major rear-end work on it very soon. Don't forget, the 76 has the infamous Vega steering wheel!
And I believe first year with steel floor pan
I have a 1977 torch red corvette.C3 has always been my dream car,I added headers,high performance exhaust manifold,Flowmaster high performance exhust.tune up,timing chain,tuneup,new mono leaf spring,new tires ,brakes,harmonic balancer,new valve covers,air cleaner,This car is a head turner for sure.Iam very glad i have it.Its a daily driver,that i love dearly.russ
I had a 77 Vette till a man came by and offered me 3 times what I thought it was worth.... Cash...
I love your corvette videos. No nonsense and straight to the point....
1974 - last year with true dual exhaust, and last year without cats
1975 - last year with fiberglass floors (I heard they went to steel floors in 1976 because the new cats were melting the fiberglass floors in the 1975s. and so you have to watch out for rusted-out floors in 1976+ cars)
I have wanted a C3 since I was a kid, finally at 26 I got one. 1976 red with dark brown interior 😍
That's awesome man! I'm 27 looking my first Vette and I have my eye on a 73 close to me I'm hoping that I can snag it !
76 was the last "stingray" 77 had the cross flags emblems instead.
73 was the intro of the L-82 as the optional higher hp engine. I had a 75 vert and was never terribly disappointed in the power (at the time), but had the cats removed and ill assume most owners did that asap. Somewhere there is a huge pile of 1975 cats hahaha. Btw, your MPG comment regarding the 74 454 is spot on. Worse than a 74 Eldorado.
I have a 73 and I LOVE IT!
Hi Lyle. Love the content. Thanks! I have a 1973 vette, 69k miles, blue w/T tops. Bought in 1986 and had it in storage from 1991 to 2017. Just had the engine rebuilt from a 350 to a 383 and attended to the many mechanicals issues (that would a great friend and master mechanic that did it all, as I am a carpenter and teacher by trade). Looking forward to the summer and a car that starts....runs really fast with 300+hp, and has not only working wiper arms and a new stereo but even has a functional clock! I would request more C3 videos please. I always learn something.
I always learn something on every one of these great videos. I didn’t know about the one year only split bumper on a 74. I have a goal to be able to tell the year of any stock corvette without opening the hood... 73, 74 have unique bumpers... Good info. Don’t forget the 76 has the Vega steering wheel.
Love this series
I had a 76 4speed and drove it like crazy. If I remember nothing major went wrong with it. No power but fun times. My fave is a 70 lt1 4speed for those year C3 vettes.
Never understood the love for 73 over 74. They are identical cars, same power train options, identical trim, it’s like people freak out over the split rear bumper or something. Don’t forget the L82…basically an LT1 with hydraulics. 4 bolt mains, higher cam, carb tuning, brings it on much higher in the revs than either of the other 2 engines. I have one…it’s fast
I have a silver 73 coupe. Love my car. The optional YJ8 wheels were not really available until the 76 model year. Supposedly about 4 cars in 73 had YJ8. Great videos Lyle.
Great vid! My husband finalllly getting his dream car 77 black on black corvette.He was 14 dreaming and now 55 and said ya know what I found it!!! Can't wait...less than 2 weeks in our driveway.We live in a small mountain town so will be so awesome to take care of her.
I have a '73 coupe, small block, original TH400 auto, with PW, PS, tilt-tele, and factory air; however, I have modestly upgraded the 350 (which was not original anyway) with mild cam, aluminum heads, roller rockers, headers with true dual exhaust, aluminum intake, holley 750, MSD ignition, twin-fan aluminum radiator upgrade. Further restoration included new Viper Red paint, electric headlight conversion, new window motors, weatherstripping, sound-deadening mats, new AC compressor (which is coming), and brand new interior (work in progress). Nothing crazy, just making it a blast to drive! She brings a smile to my face every time I turn the key.
Although "nothing crazy", that sounds like a 15K upgrade. Probably the best $ you'll ever spend.
@@northerniltree yes, this has been and will continue to be a labor of love. It's what brings each of us a little joy in this crazy world we are all trying to survive. Thank you for your kind words!
@@ralphmeder7842 I have the same 1973 as yours before your build. I have other older higher HP Vettes, but you have inspired me to rethink selling my '73.
Him saying 200hp is bad
Me with my 55hp corsa 🤩🤩🤩🤩😍😍😍😍
I have a 1973 Ls-4 275 horsepower more powerful than 1972 for 15 years n never had a problem with it! 95,000 miles on it..I also raced it at Englishtown N.J. over 300 1/4 mile passes best is 13 seconds at 107 mph with dragslicks..I also took the A/C and air pump belt off..love this car and don't care about the value, I'm not allowed to sell it my daughter has been wanting it for years now !
Thanks for sharing these videos, always educational and entertaining. Wish you were closer, I need some work done on my 73 454 convertible. Any west coast Southern California shops you recommend?
I have a 73 with a rebuilt 1969 corvette motor putting out 350 horsepower with upgrades to the motor pushing 400 horsepower, 4 speed auto transmission out of a 80s corvette, car is painted black with flared fenders.
I have a '75 with 4 speed. But now it has a custom 700R4 from Monster Transmissions, 4.10 rear gears, a L98 350 from an '87 Firebird, bored 30 over, domed pistons, ported heads, 10:1 compression, Edelbrock intake and carb, Hooker Headers and side pipes... the way they should have been built in 1975... you know, with 400hp!
Lyle, you and Larry Shinoda (C3 designer) both agree that the 73 with its sleek front end and original Kammback tail was the best looking Vette ever. Please be aware that a stock 73 with the L82 small block option put out almost hp as the big block and they were very close to the 1970 hi-po 350 in output. 1975 was when they downgraded the engines, transmissions, etc. to accept less power.
Nice...
Isn't 1976 the first year for sheet metal floorboard compared to the fiberglass boards which made the cockpit much hotter? Love your videos
You never lied about those 77 parts prices.
Lyle I am trying to determine my engine size of my 1977.
Thanks for the letting me know the info on battery!
5th digit in the VIN is either L for the L48 or X for the L82. Lyle
Need to make 74 frame repairs. What gauge steel is the frame?
So it took GM from 68 to 77 to sort out all the C-3 problems, maybe it is a good thing I did not get a 2020 or a 2021, don't know if I can wait until 2029
Which one is the most reliable and easy to work on?
Greed dominated Chevy in the C3 Corvette. They knew they all would be sold so why try. Still The C3 in my view, the best looking American Car ever. They lost their soul after 82.
Do you guys in the States have trouble getting car insurance?
Great info. Would have been even better with illustrations of the cars you are talking about - bumper, no bumper etc
No pictures of the cars as you go.
Didn't they go to a steel floor in 1976?
Looking at a75 coup with 350 motor and 350 trans. I’m not a mechanic but am interested in corvettes, my question is if that engine is standard for model and year it’s automatic also? Thanks
Yes, that is what they would have come with. :)
74 last year for true dual exhausts
👍
1976 Vega steering wheel.
Hi guys! Iam looking at buying a fairly restored 74 c3. Rebuilt L82 engine and other. Now the guy says 35k on the dash. Now what does that mean? I know what on the body means but I cannot find anything about “on the dash”
Thank you! Keep putting out these great videos!
That means that the mileage isn't believed to be actual. Those speedometers tended to break after about 10 years, and while they still tell you your speed they do not turn the odometer to count miles. This is very, very common on the C3. Lyle
A family member has a '73 big block automatic. It is claimed the car was only one of 209 with that particular package, I'm guessing. It is also claimed it came with the aluminum/Mag? wheels which were not offered until later year models. Is this ringing a bell? The car is gray and I believe has the removable split top. I wish I had the vin number. It is claimed to be stock original numbers and never damaged. What would be so special about this car other than it is 50 years old and a corvette in one piece?
Well, 1973 was the only year of the rubber front bumper and the chrome rear bumpers, it is a big block and in inoffensive color. There were only 4 cars in 1973 that actually came with the aluminum wheels, and they had a particular part # and suffered from porosity problems. I highly doubt that the car was born with those wheels. Other than that, big block Corvettes are always interesting (even low horsepower ones). I'm not sure how they come to the "1 of 209" figure, but there were 4476 big blocks made that year and over 17,000 automatics. Lyle
Is part 3 out yet?
Comes out Friday. :) Lyle
Great videos but you missed out on safety stuff like seat belts, steel bars in door and weight.
I know I did, Johan. I was focused on keeping these videos brief, so some information had to be left out. I may very well do an in-depth series on each model year in the future where I can delve into the minute details of each year of production, but for this one I just wanted to keep it light and hit the main points. Thank you! Lyle
@@cscorvetteify Yeah, I understand that. To me it's crazy that people have old Vettes with 500+ HP without seat belts or side impact protection bars 😮
Add some pictures please.
73 last year for the kammback?
Yes
C3 go further then 77,they go 82
That's why there is a part 3 to this series and it comes out today. Lyle
Right. But, ‘77 was the last year of the flat back window. Which imho, is better looking than the big sloped back window.
Says who? This guy? such bs, get what you like
This guy has 25 years experience working on these cars every day. This guy is trying to steer new people coming into the hobby away from problematic years of production. This guy is not selling cars, either. Get what you like, of course, but maybe also listen to the professionals who are putting this info out there for free? Lyle