Question about '71 ownership
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 118
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Question about '71 ownership
I am looking at a '71 350/270 coupe. It has been restored and appears to be in excellent condition. 21,000 miles(leather seats look like this may be correct), new gas tank some suspension parts and paint, new molding and exhaust.
I am driving a C6 coupe and owned a new '69 C3. I also have a '69 Camaro SS with a new 502 crate engine and Tremec 5 speed. The camaro has proved to be a very reliable sunny day driver. Can this C3 setup be a reliable sunny day driver?
thanks
I am driving a C6 coupe and owned a new '69 C3. I also have a '69 Camaro SS with a new 502 crate engine and Tremec 5 speed. The camaro has proved to be a very reliable sunny day driver. Can this C3 setup be a reliable sunny day driver?
thanks
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,640
Likes: 287
From: Ann Arbor Michigan
Hello,
I have a 71' 350/270 4 speed vert and never had a problem with reliability but it's not a daily driver. The vacuum system (wiper door, headlights etc) can be probamatic at times but that's what makes it interesting.
Gary
I have a 71' 350/270 4 speed vert and never had a problem with reliability but it's not a daily driver. The vacuum system (wiper door, headlights etc) can be probamatic at times but that's what makes it interesting.
Gary
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 23,419
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From: In limbo
St. Jude Donor '13-'15, '17 thru '22
I am looking at a '71 350/270 coupe. It has been restored and appears to be in excellent condition. 21,000 miles(leather seats look like this may be correct), new gas tank some suspension parts and paint, new molding and exhaust.
Can this C3 setup be a reliable sunny day driver?
thanks
Can this C3 setup be a reliable sunny day driver?
thanks
As far as "set-up", you are talking about a '71 base engine, right? Small block, hydraulic lifters, stock-ish cam etc? If so, the car is already "set-up" to be a solid street driver. Have tons of fun with it!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 118
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Absolutely. My first 'vette was a '69 small block soft-top vert. It took me a while to get it into good mechanical condition, but once I did, it was very reliable. I'm not saying that it was the ideal car to have when it was 30 degrees and freezing rain, but it was just as reliable as any other car from that era. I daily drove it for months at a time when I found myself without an alternate ride on more than one occasion, and was never sorry about it.
As far as "set-up", you are talking about a '71 base engine, right? Small block, hydraulic lifters, stock-ish cam etc? If so, the car is already "set-up" to be a solid street driver. Have tons of fun with it!
As far as "set-up", you are talking about a '71 base engine, right? Small block, hydraulic lifters, stock-ish cam etc? If so, the car is already "set-up" to be a solid street driver. Have tons of fun with it!
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 23,419
Likes: 22
From: In limbo
St. Jude Donor '13-'15, '17 thru '22
In a word: yes.
1971 Corvettes came from the factory with a compression ratio of 8.5:1. This was lower than in 1970, for the reason that the government mandated lower compressions to prepare for the use of unleaded fuels that were going to be required when the gumment required the use of catalytic converters in 1975. The engine that came in your car was designed to run on unleaded fuel and its lower anti-knock properties. So, if your engine is original, or rebuilt to original specifications, it should run fine on 91-93 octane pump gas.
To go a little further, gasoline today is quite unlike the gasoline that came out of the pumps in the late '60s and early '70s. Not only is it lacking tetra-ethyl lead (the "lead" in leaded gasoline), but it also has numerous additives that were unheard of in 1970 (example: MTBE = methyl tert-butyl ether) that are designed to make today's gasoline a much cleaner-burning fuel. In the process of making the fuel burn cleaner, it is also effectively "lighter", which makes it less susceptible to pre-ignition. To end an already too-long post: My engine is 10.25:1 compression and I run 93 octane pump gas. I have never heard my engine ping.
1971 Corvettes came from the factory with a compression ratio of 8.5:1. This was lower than in 1970, for the reason that the government mandated lower compressions to prepare for the use of unleaded fuels that were going to be required when the gumment required the use of catalytic converters in 1975. The engine that came in your car was designed to run on unleaded fuel and its lower anti-knock properties. So, if your engine is original, or rebuilt to original specifications, it should run fine on 91-93 octane pump gas.
To go a little further, gasoline today is quite unlike the gasoline that came out of the pumps in the late '60s and early '70s. Not only is it lacking tetra-ethyl lead (the "lead" in leaded gasoline), but it also has numerous additives that were unheard of in 1970 (example: MTBE = methyl tert-butyl ether) that are designed to make today's gasoline a much cleaner-burning fuel. In the process of making the fuel burn cleaner, it is also effectively "lighter", which makes it less susceptible to pre-ignition. To end an already too-long post: My engine is 10.25:1 compression and I run 93 octane pump gas. I have never heard my engine ping.
CF JASOC Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,040
Likes: 34
From: Downtown Annapolis, MD. The Future is where we all have to live. Let's not screw it up.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11
My '71 L48 runs great on unleaded regular.
During the summer months I put a couple hundred miles a month on it with no mechanical problems.
Broke the gear on the distributor that turns the tach cable last month.
Little things are bound to crop up in any car this old.
During the summer months I put a couple hundred miles a month on it with no mechanical problems.
Broke the gear on the distributor that turns the tach cable last month.
Little things are bound to crop up in any car this old.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,485
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From: Peekskill NY
Was the engine rebuilt? If so than most likely it has hardened valve guides and pump gas should not present any problems. Compression ratios dropped in 71 also. Plenty of guys have 70 & earlier vettes with higher compression and run fine & others add a lead additive.
Glenn
Glenn
