hello ,can anyone give me thier opinion on a 77 l48.i have owned many corvettes c3,c4,c5,c6,and a c4zr1.my only c3 was an 82 crossfire.in my opinion the best looking vette i have owned.still had original tires on it when i sold it last year.the problem i had with the car was the lack of power.this 77 while no show piece like my other c3 is all original 73k miles vg condition and i can get it cheap.it seems to have less power than the 82.i have not driven this car its on the internet for sale.how slow are these cars.im not wanting to race it i would just like to hear some opinions of similar car owners.regards,don

 

I own a 77 L-48. I use to own a 80 L-48 also. I can tell you bone stock 77's are/feel slow. BUT there are a few cheap things you can do to regain some of the lost power. First deleat all emmission equipment.(if you live in a state that does not check for this) Add a true dual exhaust. Add a dual snorkel L-82 air breather. Advance the timing, adjust the valve lash, gap your plugs to 45, and adjust your carb. You will feel a kick in your pants. And it will be quicker then the 82 cross-fire's.

 

i think i will end up with this car.i may just throw a 330 hp crate engine in it and swap it back out if i ever sell it.i found a 330 hp crate motor for $2,000 .lt4 power in a 77.i like the sound of that thats another reason why i want one.i can work on it myself

 

The L-48s are not fast stock & it's common to increase power like better exhaust, heads & cam which can make a day & night difference! There are opt. rear gears, etc. so even stock one L-48 can be faster than another.
Did you find out if it had any mods?

 

You'd be suprise at what kind of power you can get out of a base chevy 350.

 

yes i could work the original and get some power.i think the crate motor is the way to go.i would have as much in the original motr to get 330 hp out of it.then i always have the option to put it back stock.this car is bone stock numbers matching.

 

Yea don't blame the vette, blame the 350 chevy engine.
What do you think a Chevelle guy says when he picks up a Chevelle with a 350 2 barrel engine?

 

The other thing people don't mention is that Chevy built these things to support 300-400 HP easy. The ONLY thing you have to so is put on real heads and a matching cam and you'll break through 300 HP. Chevy didn't poop out the carb or the block or anything else. Just the heads and the cam.

Don't worry about all the emissions stuff. That makes little difference. Well - lose the stock exhaust with the cats... But make sure you have the right amount of back-pressure... And do that last since the 'right' amount of back pressure will change as you change the engine.

The ONLY reason to pull your existing engine rather than re-head it with a new cam is for the resale value. If you have the original heads and cam you can say you still have a numbers matching car, but for whatever reason people never seem to want to give you anything for the heads and cam actually in the car. Drop in a whole new engine though (keeping the original) and suddenly you can claim to have a matching numbers car PLUS a crate engine worth $2,000. People won't give you what the engine cost - but they'll give you something. More than it would be worth with just the stock motor.

Have you ever driven a late-year C3 that gets 330 or so HP with matching torque? Wow.. That's all I'm going to say. Mine is a 78 L48 with a stock engine. I've got true dual exhaust so I get a bit more than the 185 HP it is rated at (and 270 foot-pounds of torque isn't bad anyway - that's the stock number) but I still don't get what I'd like to get. But I drove an 81 once that was built. Wow.. These car's handle like they look - classic sports cars!

 

it is like i said from the start.these cars have the curves and body style that says corvette.i think the 82 i had was the best looking corvette that i have owned.if i buy this car its getting a motor and exhaust and its performance will match the look.

 

i may be the exception to all the above posts. i had a stock L48 in my 78 and even after removing the emissions stuff, adding true dual exhausts and eliminating the mufflers running only resinators at the tips, the car was still not wha a corvette should be in my opinion. i built a 383 stroker, and changed the auto transs to a 4 speed OEM trans, and changed the rear end gearing to lower it a bit at 3.56, it,s amazing what a great car it becomes with some guts. even though the 185 hp rating is understated by a bit, the stock L 48 definitely needs some help.

 

Nice cars. Leave it alone and enjoy it for what it is.

 

It wasn't designed to be what it 'should be'. It was designed to be what the government would allow it to be. If you wanted it to be what it 'should be' you had to change the cam and heads. Or do what you did and drop in a whole new engine.

 

i like to leave cars stock for the most part.then again i have other cars that i have modified a great deal.i love this body style.the power level is just somthing that i will have to address.

 

My first Vette was a red '77 L48....and a real turd...!
Crate 330HP and I was VERY happy with it...
My current Vette is a '74 L48....with a few mods - Carb, Exhaust, Electrinic Ignition...runs pretty strong...

 

I'm going to do exactly what you are talking about. Keep the original engine, and keep it stock, but keep it in the basement! The engine in the car will have some power! But beyond giving it power (and a five or maybe even a six speed to replace my four-on-the-floor) I'll keep it stock. I want a stock-looking 1978 that runs like a banshee.

 

Yeah - I'f you're going stock , leaving the emmission stuff on there is pretty cool to. And when the gov't starts smogging us , you'll be set.

good luck

 

i certainly understand that which is why i opted for the changes. unfortunately back then, GM was having a real problem getting emissions approval and had to do whatever it took to get their products certified. (also the stupid 1 to 4 shift light in later years. gm convinced EPA that drivers would do that to save fuel, lol)

 

i will know tom if i get the car.

 

well i did not get the 77.instead i purchased a 78 and will pick it up tom.got i for 4k.it needs a dash,seats re coveres,repair ac.current owner states it runs well and has very little rust.paint is good except for some fadding on bumper covers.what do you think

 

OK I have a 77 that came with a l48 170hp to the wheels per the dyno sheet...and it was for sure a turd....I crusie with the C5 and C6 groups a lot and just wanted to be able to keep up not beat them... So I went the best way, I pulled my org motor with 63k miles on it. I then got a GM crate ZZ4 with 360hp, 270hp to the wheels for now.. And I will say that the car for sure is fun to drive now with the new motor..... My next mod to improve the car will be an OD trans that I have sitting in the garage and a set of 373 gears.....and one all this is done ill do the zz4 hot cam package to boost the hp to poss 425...... at this point i will be done, and a good 38k into my 77 lololol but well worth it......

Just sayin..... =+)