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So I finally pulled the trigger last week and purchased my first corvette. A 76 L48 auto , and man boys am I in love ! Had been searching locally since last year and found nothing but over priced rust buckets and heartache. I finally took a 300 mile drive out and found what I believed was a good deal. 3 days later i take my truck and haul the beauty back. Everything seems pretty sound no rust issues, drives strong and is a looker! The only issue I have encountered has been the passenger window only rolling went it wants, ordered replacement switch and tried to remove the e brake cover to replace , no luck. Two days later after a search on the forum i located the famous back bolt under the back compartment lol... it's now rolling up and down smoothly. .. got rid of the ORIGINAL switch and now I'm on my way to a restomod
looking for any tips, experience or stories you have came across that will aid me on my new journey !
next up sidepipes , still searching on what brand I'm going with, but I'm leaning towards dougs ceramic coated headers with the glasspack inserts. . .
Nice find! Makes my '77 look pathetic. LOL
Console where my window switches were was basically ripped out to get at them, heater/blower non-functional and all that.
I only searched for anything within 100 miles of me and only about a year and a half, off and on (mostly off). Obviously that's not the best way.
Hopefully you find out yours is a great deal as time goes by with it. I want so bad to ask what you paid but don't feel obligated to tell!
Last edited by LongRoadHome; Mar 16, 2016 at 12:49 AM.
Congratulations and Super nice looking Corvette!!!
My first C3 was a 76, welcome to the madness, no other great feeling quite like bringing a "new" Corvette home!
All the best!
(BTW, I would get an AIM (factory "assembly instruction manual") and 76 Service Manual, no wait, you have to get a 74 service manual and the 76 supplement service manual, think that is right, as there was no 76 Service Manual, plus a 76 electrical diagram. Check ebay or the Corvette vendors. It will help locate that mystery bolt and more)
Last edited by 20mercury; Mar 16, 2016 at 12:51 AM.
Nice find! Makes my '77 look pathetic. LOL
Console where my window switches were was basically ripped out to get at them, heater/blower non-functional and all that.
I only searched for anything within 100 miles of me and only about a year and a half, off and on (mostly off). Obviously that's not the best way.
Hopefully you find out yours is a great deal as time goes by with it. I want so bad to ask what you paid but don't feel obligated to tell!
just saw your thread " count me in, 1977 " , you got a project buddy ! what are u planning to tackle first? yeah I know what u mean by on and off... kinda crazy to think I actually pulled the trigger ...
I got it for a GREAT deal lol that's all I'll say... it really was worth the drive ..
Congratulations and Super nice looking Corvette!!!
My first C3 was a 76, welcome to the madness, no other great feeling quite like bringing a "new" Corvette home!
All the best!
(BTW, I would get an AIM (factory "assembly instruction manual") and 76 Service Manual, no wait, you have to get a 74 service manual and the 76 supplement service manual, think that is right, as there was no 76 Service Manual, plus a 76 electrical diagram. Check ebay or the Corvette vendors. It will help locate that mystery bolt and more)
yeah I have been ecstatic as of late, do you still own your 76 ? pics ? Thanks for the heads up i will definitely need that in the route I'm going
Unfortunately I sold it about 4 C3's ago, have a 72 and 68 on jackstands at the moment, LOL's!
Enjoy your new ride!!!
LUCKKKKKY Lol.. wish I could say the same! I guess your doing it right now, with the chrome bumpers and all. .. u trader.. jk good luck . wish I had the luck of finding a decent 72 ! I'll settle for pics of those!
just saw your thread " count me in, 1977 " , you got a project buddy ! what are u planning to tackle first?
In order of importance-- or the best my idea of what that is anyway-- goes like this:
Insurance done.
Tires! Old ones are very old... 14 years as date of manufacture shows.
Wheels. Current ones are rusty, rim edges somewhat jagged. I messed up by not ordering new wheels yet, not driving the car until brakes got fixed today (yesterday now) so I didn't worry about it. So those new tires will get moved to new wheels. Still must get car registered tomorrow (today), ran out of time due to long time brake fix.
Differential oil change, because clutch packs (I had no idea what that was until getting this car!) make popping noises sometimes right now. At least that's my guess of what does it.
Air cleaner and valve covers are due to be replaced soon as they arrive.
Power steering. Right now it's like tough sloppy unpowered steering. And like the brakes I'm going to let a repair shop take care of that for me (bye-bye money!). Steering stuff scares me same as brakes do.
Center console+auto shifter+vent air blower (no AC, yet, much later if ever).
Headlights, or rather the vacuum (or electric aftermarket way...?) fixed so they'll go up and down.
Wipers/washer. Got the blades replaced already before I've checked why wiper motor doesn't do anything. Priorities. I'm all mixed up. heh-heh
Seats or just seat recovering.
Carpeting.
Door panel replacement.
Upper dash replacement.
Steering wheel replacement. Order of these last things might change around.
That's all I'm thinking of ATM, might have missed something.
Heck it's a long short list when I think of the time and money involved, even worse is that I have no idea what else there might be to do!
Hi Silverback and welcome to the forum. We all love pictures so you got off on the right foot. I had a silver 76 and once I settled in with it I had to do the crate motor, steering wheel and GM side pipes. A great cruise car. Congrats!
RVZIO
Sold it a few years back and am now knee deep in a 69 restore.
Welcome to the 76 club! You have a great looking ride. I picked mine up last year and it's been a solid car for me. I actually got to drive it yesterday! Stupid Indiana/winter/salt... ruins all my fun.
Last edited by SinfulC3; Mar 16, 2016 at 09:43 AM.
Welcome to the forum. Great to see another '76 joining the ranks.
I also had a heck of a time locating that little bolt that holds the back of the ebrake console in place. Did NOT put it back in. lol
Mine was originally silver but was repainted a darker shade of red many moons ago by the 2nd owner, but since I love that color, it's staying that way.
I've modified mine a bit and am always tinkering with it. Just got rid of the "Vega" steering wheel and glad I did that. Am also rebuilding a '78 steering column that I plan to install in the near future, which I think will make my car more comfortable to drive.
Hi Silverback and welcome to the forum. We all love pictures so you got off on the right foot. I had a silver 76 and once I settled in with it I had to do the crate motor, steering wheel and GM side pipes. A great cruise car. Congrats!
RVZIO
Sold it a few years back and am now knee deep in a 69 restore.
MAN OH MAN was this clean... I have to get mine up to par, thanks for the pics and Goal
I aswell want to change out the steering wheel, do you have a link to a build thread ?
Good luck with the 69 restore, I'll be lurking through your 76 threads!
Welcome to the 76 club! You have a great looking ride. I picked mine up last year and it's been a solid car for me. I actually got to drive it yesterday! Stupid Indiana/winter/salt... ruins all my fun.
I like your stance are those 17s? , aftermarket wheels are probably last on my list only because my thread is still decent .. but I do perfer the look of 17s vs 18s seems like you have the 17in thicker tire look vs 18s w/low pros.. specs?.. either way it looooks sweet!!
No Longer Original....
