I know I'll get honest opinions from the corvette Gurus here!

I've got my eyes on a 69 400hp. (factory engine, great body on restoration, a/c, 4speed, ps,pb) . I've been shopping for a big block and came across this one. I'm a little concerned about the tri-power carb set up and that I may be biting off more than i can chew.

My heart has been set on a 390 hp for a while but this 400 tri has really caught my eye. Would the extra 10 h.p really be worth the stress of tuning these carbs? It should be known my skills start and finish at oil changes and brake pad changes.

The car has a whole bunch of documentation and the engine is stock, no add ons. The asking price is $49,900.

So essentially two questions:

is the 400 tri power more hassle than its worth for a newbie mechanic?
Does the price sound fair?

 

i wouldnt let the tri-power scare you. The only carb. that is adjustable is the center for mixture and idle, the other two are vacuum operated on demand sort of like the secondaries on a 4bbl. The price could be right but you would have to confirm the documentation and the condition of the car.

 

From an owner of that exact motor.............all I can say is GO FOR IT & DON'T LOOK BACK though rated at 10hp there is a much bigger difference then that & when the outer carbs open............BAM watch out & hold on !!! Once set up correctly / no real bigger issue then a single carb, you just multiply the guesswork x 3

No mention of coupe or convertible, i'm assuming coupe as there are not many topless ones with a/c
Curious what the docs are that they have, tank sticker ? invoice ? window sticker ? any pics ???? what is the vin ? love to know more !!!
owner history ? color ?

S I X P A C K - The only way to F L Y !!!

 

Same engine...trying to tell us that by supposedly (?) adding some cfm increases the hp and torque...and by a huge amount a that? Give me a break. I can make my Q-Jet outperform those Holleys in a Chevy heartbeat. BTW sixpack, how are you making out with this thread of yours lately?

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...r-misfire.html

I think I'll go take mine for a drive right now and listen to the tremendous howl when my monster secondaries kick in...and feel that 500 lbs-ft of torque at 3125 rpm in the seat of my pants.

To the OP. Buy a nicer L36, then find a tripower setup for $2500 or so and slap it on your engine...along with a triangular air cleaner. While you're at it, slap on a 427/435 sticker to that air cleaner lid...so you can really impress your friends and neighbors. You'll be money ahead and nobody will be the wiser.

 

OPINIONS are like...............uhhhhhh never mind.........

I have drivin both & felt more power & kick hands down with 3x2 then a stock factory single 4bbl

Why should he build an incorrect 3x2 when he has the opportunity to buy a numbers matching correct car ? I can assume that any guy looking at a $50,000 car , is NOT trying to cut corners. I can also assure you that the shock & awe of trips is a blast, nothing like it & thats all I can say. I'm not trying to impress ANYONE......... but it is, what it is ! E X C I T I N G !

My thread has been updated, take a look. After reading all of it, you will see that it was not anything specifically related to a "TRI -POWER" set up..........

So to answer the OP's original question, dont let a 3x2 deter you.
GO FOR IT !

 

The OP obviously wants a real 427 vette to spend his money on. Agreed. Newbies to the hobby are always told on this forum to buy the best car that they can afford, right? $49k can buy a so-so L68. It can buy a damn nice original L36, or he can spend less on a so-so L36 and save the rest for dumping into this money pit in the coming years. He can put the Q-jet and manifold in a box and save it for the next caretaker. Correcting the car prior to resale is a one day project.

Look...if tripower setups were so wonderful, why did ALL the car makers give them up so quickly? Answer: They were not. Nothing more than a sales gimmick. I spent a lot of time driving, working and racing my brother's tripower 442. Got beat all the time.

Sorry to burst your sixpack bubble....

 

Don't be sorry / you did'nt burst a thing !!!

Again I prefer the 400 set up & you prefer the 390

Thats why you drive a 390 & I drive a S I X P A C K !!

Curious ? if you were givin the choice of 2 cars / SAME EXACT MONEY / both all original, correct, documented 100% restored cars, which would you would take.............. ? I know what 99.9% of the readers on here would say.....

So i say, if you want to fall into the .1 % thats your choice it's called PREFERENCE !

ANYWAY:
P.S that should teach ya NOT to drive a 442

 

According to the market, the L68 is worth considerably more than the L36. Therefore I would have to settle for a lesser L68 car for the same money. No thanks.

 

Y E A H - R I G H T

Figured you would make a reply like that



And based on your comment above, then why not buy the 400 sixpack car & if ya don't like it you can always take it off.

On to the next thread.............. C I A O

 

the 390 and 400 are the same motor, the tri power looks cool, but thats it. I think the 390 4 bl is a better set up for day to day use. the 390 does pull like a freight train.

 

Hey wait a minute. I owned 2 Olds 442's. My 71 was a 455 ram air with a Hurst dual gate shifter. Wish I had it back. Hope this takes the tension out of the OP's question.

 

With either set up, you will be paying a big premium for the "rights" to purchase such a car, if it really has matching numbers (call it what you will...if the engine/frame/VIN/trans are numbered properly and are legitimate!!) There are lots of clones out there, and they should NOT be reaping the premium prices of factory-original cars. Heck, you could buy a 390 hp car, spend 3 grand on a tri-power system and make your own clone for less money.

But, you must decide what you really want, whether it is a 'real' factory-original car or not, whether the price you will be paying is reasonable for that vehicle, and whether you will be able to recover much of that value should you sell it in the future.

That vacuum-operated tri-power system can be a problem to set up properly and get working as intended. But, all the info on getting that done properly is in the Chevrolet Chassis Service Manual for that year. If the carbs are correct and built properly and you have the equipment necessary to set them up, it's not "brain surgery".

Personally, I prefer a solid, progressive linkage for a tri-power...like the one on the Pontiacs...rather than the Chevy design. But, I can tell you that I really LIKE the tri-power system. You can do daily driving and cruising on the center carb ONLY and get decent mileage, considering the engine size. But, step on the throttle, and the tri-power is THERE...right now...no lag from a big 4-bbl carb.

I'm sure you can set up either system for performance and get exactly the same WOT results. But, for an all-around induction system, nothing has the eye-appeal, the responsiveness, better performance, or the cruising economy of the tri-power system....IMHO.

 

I've owned both a 67 400 horse coupe and currently a 68 390 horse coupe. Same motors. I prefer the 390 horse as it's one less carb to mess with. I was always tinkering with the tri power setup. Once you get it squared away it's fine though. I guess it would depend on the car. I wouldn't shy away from the tri power but you will pay more for it.

 

If the tripower setup was truly for power, you would have seen it on the L88. The L88 has a single beastly carb.

GM had tripower setups in production in all the years the L88 was produced.

GM had a tripower in the works for the 454 engine as well for 1970, but it never made it into production.

The 454 LS6 engine also had a single carb.

If the tripower setup was really that much more power and not a marketing gimmick it would been on all of these cars.

Obviously the L71 and L89 had different internal components which make more power, so I didnt want to bring them into this comparison, but the L36 and L68 are basically the same engine.

I love the look of the 3x2. Factory AC was one of the requirements on my list, and it took over 2 years to find a nice car. The 69 3x2 AC convertible was at the top of my list, but they are such a rare bird that they rarely come up for sale.

Gary

 

As mentioned before...if the carb(s) on any engine has adequate capacity, and are mechanically sound, they can be tuned for performance and NO carb or fuel injection system will outperform any other. The single Holley carb placed on the Hi-Perf engines of the late 60's/early 70's was there because of public perception that a Holley carb was a better performer. It was marketing; nothing more.

Oh, BTW...the 3x2 system had Holley carbs.

 

My first "muscle car" was a '57 Olds J-2 sedan coupe. I gotta say that 3 x 2's are great! Mine were set up with Moon linkage (manual rather than vacuum) and worked fantastic. No maintenance required. The end carbs would only open at full throttle and it sounded like the hood was gonna get sucked thru the intake. At cruise, 60-70 mph, it would get 20 mpg. That didn't happen often. It was the 2nd most fun car I've ever owned (current 4sp '74 = 1st). Y'all have a great day, Bill

 

the horsepower and torque curves are similar. so if you are looking for a performance recommendation, then they are the same..

you are also looking at a fairly rare car, if you find something close to your requirements, go for it, or you may be searching for years and spend thousands in travel expenses in your search.

for that price it better have doc and history and you need to do the diligence to have maximum faith that what you are buying is legit. big block tri-power corvettes in great condition with no rust are prime suspects for fraud.

as stated above lots of people add on a tripower later. this may justify adding on 3K to the price to a 390HP car, but not 10K

 

Buy the tri power, you will never be satisfied unless you do....and leave it alone so you can enjoy the car....they can be trouble free and actually are......

 

Getting back to the OP's questions. He should indicate coupe or convertible, what kind of docs., and did he confirm all matching #'s, then we need pics to have some idea of condition; paint, interior, gauges, underside, and does everything vacuum related work.

Then we can give some comment on value IMHO.

 

The car that you are describing is a pretty rare (and desirable) piece of hardware... It was the top horsepower engine available with air conditioning. Documentation for a car like this is important... What does the current owner have?

At the price you are looking at, you should probably find someone knowledgeable on these cars go with you to check it out... Best advice I can give.

1. The three Holleys are more of a tuning hassle than the Quadrajet on the L-36, but outside of that, it is the same engine. The L-68 car is a lot more desirable than a similarly optioned L-36 though...

2. The price sounds fair for a nice driver quality coupe in a decent color. It's an L-68, it's a four speed, and it has a/c... Just make sure that the car is real. The premium that you are paying is based on the assumption that the car has a real driveline and the options that are on the car were installed by the factory when the car was being built. If not, the price being asked is way out of line.

Regards,

Stan Falenski