tuxnharley

Bought my '67 in '71. The L79 in it was trashed. Put in a 1970 LT1 engine and threw away the original engine - who knew.................. Have now had the car for 41+ years. It currently has a built ZZ4 and a Tremec 5 spd, both of which make it a far better driver than it was originally. Original engine - couldn't care less. I will keep the car until I'm not around anymore, and then leave it to my grandson. Doubt he'll be too disappointed by the engine.

PS - I did keep the original Muncie this time around 'tho!

ifitgoesfast

Interesting discussion

nostalgia versus coolness; neither is the other, the other is better than the neither

I was watching a show on the Science Channel last night called Through the Wormhole: Did We Invent God? It explored the human mind, our experiences and value we place on things, ideas, and experience from the point of view of perception. An interesting study was done in which a group of kids brought their favorite toy. The scientist showed the kids a special machine which reproduces their favorite toy exactly as the one they had in every detail, it was identical. When the kids were asked to choose only one, all chose the original and ignored the reproduced one. Would the kids have enjoyed the identical reproduced toy if there was no difference, or is there some value to something original? That was the episode, an interesting look at the intangible.

Otherwise, why not just replace old friends, significant others, and even family (legal fiction) with new ones like the maintenance of an oil change. Would a duplicate or reproduced thing or experience not be identical to the first time? Why can't we have a second first love, a second first anything incredibly new?

Why enjoy an original juke box, vinyl record, or old speakers when you could just put on a brand new iPod? Immediate gratification is the new black dress of today. I want this, I want that, gimme now. The things we have available at our fingertips and enter key on the PC are astounding. I can hit a few keys and buy myself a Grand Sport replica that outperforms my original '64 L76. But will I ever get rid of it?

I want both; an original, and a toy.

65 vette dude

I would not trade my original L79 for a brand new 383 crate motor, plus a 5K check. Then again, I have bias ply tires on my 65, so that pretty much tells you where my heart is in this hobby. I have restored my car as close as I can get it to exactly the way the General made it.

toms silver 60

My 60 base engine 3 speed was a DAWG when I bought it in 1965, with reportedly 29k miles, but it looked good with the Corvette staggered valve covers and shiney ignition shielding. It immediately needed a valve job. AFB, then Duntov cam, then 4 speed Muncie, then fire #1, then bye bye ignition shielding, then in 1970 a replacement balanced 283 with 2.02 heads and tri power or AFB for the next 33 years and a whole bunch of commuting miles and repairs/replacements. Originality-who cared? Healthy 350 was installed in 2003.
Found out last year that the "original" staggered bolt heads had been changed out before I bought the car in 1965. 1959 was the transition date, not 1960. So who knows what else was swapped out before I got the car? Not me...It could have been base 265 for all I knew...
If the car hadn't been tweaked over the years, it would have been traded in for something with better performance.

If it had been a solid lifter engine to start with, I might have been more inclined to keep it. But a base engine car? Nope.

62Jeff

Unfortunately there are many on this forum that have no concept of an experience or opinion that may differ from their own. "If you aren't with me, you are against me" it seems.

Chase numbers - you must be an idiot because "I don't believe in numbers chasing"

Restore a car and show it instead of driving it - you must be an idiot because "I don't understand how anyone derives pleasure from their car in any ways that differ from mine".

The forum is a microcosm of society and should be allowed to operate with independent thought and actions without retribution and ridicule from people who think differently. But like a society, myopia is sometimes rampant. Even this thread title has a tone of condemnation for those who want an original engine. A pot-stirrer it appears.

I restored my 62 and chased the numbers because I wanted to see if I could achieve that goal I had set for myself. I had a LOT of input from people who told me how I should build it and what I should do with it - but none of them were writing the checks, so I built a car that make a lot of people angry, but it made ME happy.

SpartyGW

For me my 61 is a time machine and I want to keep it that way. Yes I could make it faster and make it corner better and probably make it more reliable and safer but I like it as close as I can get it to the way it was 50 years ago.

But then again, I sold a 9 second drag car to buy this car so I've had my share of speed. I get enjoyment out of the old technology and am finding myself drawn evermore to even older hardware now. I toyed around with picking up a Model A recently until I realized they can only go about 40mph.

Tossin

Well reasoned and logical arguments are not allowed here. Clearly someone missed that particular memo...

biggd

If you really want to drive the car any distance without the headaches of breaking down or tinkering with a tempermental carburator, there's nothing like a newer fuel injected motor. Just turn the key and go.

bb62

Good post. I would argue that both side are the coin are actually necessary for the hobby. The original cars (including restored) will always bring back that moment of discovery, like the first time one sees a Da Vinci. But originals of anything over time become very rare - often so rare that people can forget about them. That is why the cars piling up the miles with their non-original components becomes a continual reminder of the excitement of these cars.

bb62

And herein lies the reason why the "older" restored cars lost favor with the youth (not just that their ownership diies out) - from a practical standpoint, they don't work on modern roads with modern traffic patterns. Who wants to be a rolling roadblock? But even older Corvettes are still very capable of hanging with traffic of any sort - and looking cool while doing so.

ifitgoesfast

hobby - enjoying something

job - what you do to pay for a hobby

tyranny - forcing someone to do it your way because you think it's good for them

Why I wouldn't want an original engine - see my vision/resto-mod become a reality and drive it hard, replace with better, drive it harder

Why I would want an original everything - after chasing parts, I imagine the production line workers reaching in the same bin and the part I just found was possibly in the same bin

Revfan

I too, dislike threads that try to Rend the Corvette community asunder. We are united in that we all are passionate about Corvettes, lets not look for ways to divide ourselves.

We still "wave" to guys in NCRS cars, and we still "wave" to guys who have Rest/modded... right?

Jackfit

I just turn the key and go. 46,000 plus miles on last rebuild to bring the car and engine up to 300,000 miles.

But, I enjoy the marvel of keeping an engine going and going, I have done nothing extra ordinary , if anything I am a bit abusive on maintenance.

Many of the problems with these old engines and systems is lack of use. Use them all the time and they run almost all the time.

You enjoy the lack of fear about reliability.

I enjoy not thinking about it. We both get what we need

Jack

SpartyGW

Yes, but I'm about to give up on waving to C6 cars. After awhile you start to feel a little goofy waving and not getting a wave back.

I get more waves from old guys in trucks. I drove my 61 yesterday and had a gray haired dude in a Ford pickup smiling and giving me a big "OK" sign. That was cool.

ifitgoesfast

Same thing happens with me on my sports bike when I wave to Harley types. Although all Corvettes are awesome, some drivers aren't. Also, some might even think you're driving a Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, or... "Hey, what's that Spitfire guy doing waving to me, go back home you Brit!"

Pilot Dan

The original numbers matching ect ect.....comands the $$ at resale, that is IF it is truly an original and not a restamp which plenty of new people are fooled by.....one side of the coin. The other side is, take some of the C1 and C2 restomods. Whether you like them or you don't they are commanding much higher prices than numbers matching originals these days.

All of this means, it's about perception and I believe the perception of the market going forward with younger folks buying in will be in favor of the "old nice styling that drives like a newer car". Not my personal thing I like King Pins and worm gear steering. I want my 59 to feel like a 59 when I drive it (mostly), it's part of the nostalgia to me. I have new cars to drive if I want all the latest bells and whistles. But, I don't think the market agrees (not that I care), since like most of you, I drive what makes me happy. Pilot Dan

mspry

It's your car, do what makes you happy and enjoy it.

mrg

Sitting at a stop light (1974) one day, engine idling, there was this CLUNK sound. Engine frozen. Turns out a connecting rod had snapped in half. The stubby piece of rod still attached to the crank punched a hole in the block. Much as I hated losing that original block, what to do but hit the wrecking yard and retrieve another 327 block. 'Numbers' weren't so important at the time. While another '870', the replacement block was one year newer than the thrashed original block.

I've always loved the 327. My driver car won't be judged so I'm certainly fine with my NOM 327 engine. 'Original' matters now because market forces make it so. It's a big deal only in terms of value retained. Lots of original motors sitting in the corner of many garages bears this out. Original motor gets stored while 'fun motor' takes it's place.

Rev it up, wind it out, schmooze, cruise - it's all about having fun with these cars. Turn the ignition key and it's right back to the 1950's and 60's. Old guys understand (I think) .. .
Original or NOM...after all said and done the one thing they will always be is a CORVETTE.

capevettes

I love them both. 3 of my 4 Corvettes have original motors in them, the 61 does not. I put a 383 stroker in that and don't enjoy it any less than the others. It does have an impact on value and the extent to which you need to care is when buying or selling.

Hey Jack, I've driven my 65 over 200,000 miles in 41 years. 3 rebuilds on the original L79. The last one was 1987. My car hasn't been to Europe though

vettebuyer6369

I've had both. I prefer the original these days, but I totally understand why some couldn't care less about an original- cheaper to buy, no hassle or worry and drive it to death. Win-win.

The only issue I'd have is ignoring the relative value of original, just because someone don't want or have one. That never makes sense to not understand the market.

But I really don't understand the arguing over it. And people get equally mad on both sides of the fence.