philbegas

I was just watching this video, and this is the sort of look I am digging,


http://www.superchevy.com/features/1...ette-stingray/

So jealous.

BTW - I was looking at power information for engines, and I keep seeing gross vs net. Is that the same as BHP vs WHP?

Revi

Here's a quick dirty example, a 1970 L-46 makes,

350 Gross hp, measured at flywheel (open headers, no air filter, venturi stack, no accessories installed (alternator, fan, fan clutch, A/C, etc.))
300 SAE NET hp, measured at flywheel (oem exhaust system, air fliter and all accessories installed.) This is what has been used since 1971/72 and is still in use today.
250 RWHP, measured at rear wheels on a chassis dyno.

All of these numbers can be fudged or manipulated based on numerous variables., type of dyno used, number of accessories installed, manual vs. automatic transmission, etc..

ddawson

Danny's car is bad a$$

He has made power changes but the suspension is still Vansteel.

Denpo

What's your looking for is a restomod C3, may or may not be an early year.
Flared and lowered, that's also how I like them.
No C3 left the factory in such shape. It's either you make it or you buy it from someone who made it.
In that case, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what is considered as Custom by previous owner may not match at all your personal taste.

Tbone4432

Its awesome your girl like muscle cars. You better think twice about letting her put money towards the car.
Sincerely,
Single Guy

Lyndwood

do yourself a favor and buy one that is DONE, completely DONE, with paper work and pictures to prove it. dont think buying a half way done vette will be a fun project unless your young and full of vigor & spit and have LOTS of money to spend! Dont talk yourself into a project thinking everything is easy or cheap to do, nothing good is cheap and nothing cheap is good! vettes aren't cheap especially old ones with multi-owner who previously thought the same thing (I'll have it done in 6 months?) Spend a big outlay up front , drive & enjoy the car daily or weekly and save yourself a lot of grief, depression, heart ache & financial guilt & depression from a "Project car".
Just my $0.02

jim2527

Go chrome or go home!!!

'68-'72'

philbegas

Well I wanted to buy one that was in perfectly normal running condition, but I didn't mind if the exterior / interior was a little bit rough, because I wanted to do things to it as Denpo observed.

When talking about the 3 speed auto vs the 4 speed manual - is the manual more fun to drive? Or does its age take away from it? I know that's the sort of thing you can modify - I've read some stories of people dropping 5 speed and 6 speed transmissions into their C2/C3 stingrays.

Lol@ Tbone4432 I totally get what you're saying. Maybe she'll just have to get her own muscle car so it's clear who owns what :P

C3Todd

I have owned many project cars and "mostly completed" cars of varying makes and brands over the years. Everything from a Porsche 911, Alfa GTV, a 66 Mustang....MG's, Triumphs, and an Olds Cutlass ragtop among them. My lessons were all hard learned even with friends and knowledgeable club member's help along the way.

When I decided on my current car (1970 Corvette), I bought it DONE. This is a completely perfect car in every way that was built by a meticulous, knowledgeable (fastidious), Corvette guy. Everything is documented...absolutely everything. From the strip-down-to-the-glass mega-buck paint work, interior...suspsension, 350 rebuild...the works...and yet in the 10 months I've owned it...I have spent another $2500 (peanuts for some people but I am a public school teacher so every dime matters). Keep in mind that the car is parked 8 months a year due to weather.

Buy the car you dream of...but the wisest move a young man can make is to not jump too soon. Save, and save, and save your money until you can not only have the car you wish for, but have a slush fund to cover any unforeseens.

Of course this is just my opinion....

raydog9379

This

cv67

coming from your G35 the big blocks will feel slow
look in your regional section see if someone will take you for a ride
you def want a 75 or older resto mod. These look cool but were turds as far as power goes.

philbegas

C3Todd Did that Alfa cost you more than the others combined? :P

Haha I'll keep that in mind cuisinartvette. I often lament over the decision to buy a G35 vs a C5 corvette but I think that the amount of gas I'd spend would be hilarious.

Priya

I see no one answered your question about which is faster, a big block or a small block. Generally in any given year a big block is faster than a small block but won't handle as well as a small block due to the extra weight on the front end. The exception may be (and I'm not sure of this) that the highest horsepower small block (an LT1 370 hp) may be faster than the lowest horsepower big block (390 hp) due to the weight difference. Some of the earlier small blocks may be faster than some of the later big blocks as horsepower dropped through the years.

philbegas

So when people do the crazy upgraded builds (like 700/800HP), are they swapping in new engines for that?

Also, when talking about lighter smaller engine vs heavier bigger engine it also brings up the question of weight distribution. For example, was the weight distribution messed up in the big block vettes because of the heavy engine up front

Priya

I would think usually they are swapping in new engines for that although I suppose there's no reason why you couldn't build up the factory original big block to put out that much horsepower.

I suppose it depends on what your defnition of "messed up" is. The weight distribution in a big block Corvette is not as good as the distribution in a small block Corvette, so the small block Corvette will corner better.

philbegas

To build the original engine up from like 200-300 WHP all the way up to 700/800 must take some miracles. (And a supercharger I'm sure lol).

When I say messed up I guess I mean generally something like >50% of the weight is towards the front of the car.

cv67

www.vortecpro.com

can only get so much to the ground, think ajorthym has a mild motor by Mark runs 10s drives it everywhere. Hard to beat for the $!