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As many have said, back when these were "new cars", with a warranty, they got "driven like they were stolen", and if the engine expired during the warranty period, it was replaced.
I had a neighbor, back in 1967, who bought a new Firebird 400. For some reason I happened to ask him why he bought a white one, because he usually didn't buy white cars. His answer? He went to the dealer, drove each one they had in stock, HARD, and the white one seemed to run the best. (I can only wonder what the buyers of the remaining cars would have thought, had they known that the "baby" they just bought and brought home, had the living crap run out of it, with just 5-6 miles on it, before they bought it.....)
I had another neighbor, who was a "dyed in the wool" Ford guy. He bought a new Ford every year, for quite some time. Again, this was '67. and he bought a new Mustang GT fastback. It actually looked a lot like the "Bullit Mustang". Anyway, this guy got a little "over zealous" with the OE 390 engine, and something let go, internally. He had some "pull" with the dealer, so it got a 428 Police Interceptor. So much for "numbers matching"......
So after reading all of these response it makes me realize how lucky I am to have the original motor and drive. Nothing real fancy like the big blocks etc. Just a base model car with the original 350 motor.
Thank for making me feel good about my restore which had so many more challenges.
RVZIO
So after reading all of these response it makes me realize how lucky I am to have the original motor and drive. Nothing real fancy like the big blocks etc. Just a base model car with the original 350 motor.
Thank for making me feel good about my restore which had so many more challenges.
RVZIO
I think you summed ut up very well,
If matching engines mean something to a guy he should pursue that and if it doesn't matter any then those cats should persure that end,
...If matching engines mean something to a guy he should pursue that and if it doesn't matter any then those cats should persure that end,
I wish the two camps could show mutual respect
In 1996 I swapped out my 1976's L48 for a GM ZZ4 crate engine. Car was my daily driver back then (even in winter time with snow ), so one of the appealing aspects about swapping engines was I could do it over the weekend. Removed the old worn out L48 Friday night and had the car back running to go to work the following Monday. Plus I've never been worried about originality of my Corvette since I don't plan to ever sell it anyways. Owned it for 22 years now and counting.
The original engine in my 70 L-46 had a small problem with the fuel pump. When the piston came through the side of the block it knocked the fuel pump off.... LMAO...
I thought the warranty back then was 1 year 12k miles or 12 FT
what ever came first,
It was up to 5 years and 50k miles. The 12 month 12k warranty was for anything but the 5-50 covered certain items and motors was one of them.
Here is a picture of a original 12/12 5-50 warranty manual for 1969.
If matching engines mean something to a guy he should pursue that and if it doesn't matter any then those cats should persure that end,
I wish the two camps could show mutual respect
I think most of us do from both "camps". i think most of us enjoy all corvettes. Its just a very vocal few that seem to have a real problem with it thinking that there philosophy is better than the opposing point of view. Like politics.
I like the idea and have appreciation of original. But I also like the idea of being able to beat up on a non original car because if something breaks you can replace it and not feel guilty. And you can build a much better car altogether using superior custom parts made with modern tech. One made for driving and really having a fun time doing so.
It's funny how original engine and numbers matching mean a lot with some vehicles like Corvettes, and very little with others like trucks. In the truck world your vehicle is probably worth more if you have a crate motor in it.
I have both a 68 Corvette and and 85 GMC pickup and I prefer to keep my vehicles original, but to the truck people when I try to do that most look at me like I'm stupid and wonder why.
ed427vette, do you know how long Chevrolet had the 5/50 power train warranty? I think it was only a few years as they were getting killed by motor failure rate. Drag racing probably played a part in that.
I see purists sometimes seem to take it as a deep personal insult when a c3 doesnt have the orginal factory engine, or a guy doesnt care about saving it,
I am trying to understand your post and question as you say you bought two c3s neither with original engines,
Did you beat up the seller and get both for 1/2 their asking price because they have nom,
I doubt it, too many people building c3 restro mods for a seller of a nom car to take much bs about the engine not being orginal,
Dont get me wrong, a 68 69 427 435 car is cool as all hell, but i wouldnt care if the engine came in it, and people do restamp blocks or use another one of that year, but thats not the original engine,
Perhaps i missed your point and question, if you are simply asking why so few c3s have orginal engines, it starts with only a very small group care about such things and those cars are all around pristine looking 100% orginal head to toe, purists dont go after restro mods normally,
If a guy demands orginal then why would he even pester a seller of a nom car?
So when c3s blew their engine or just wore them out or guys wanted more hp than stock they slapped in a whole new engine, and tossed the old orginal one or sold it or whatever, sometimes they rebuilt it,
saving the old orginal engine for some possible rainy day the car is for sale and some purist wont buy it because of the nom isnt a concern to most c3 owners, especially with restro mods being the thing,
They wanna go play with their cars driving them,
PS
When i say "restro mod" i dont mean all out radical custom i mean the c3s like the majority of guys on this forum have,
A non orginal up to par driver,
I love the corvette and always wanted a 73 coupe. So I spent half my working career saving to buy one finally I had enough money so I found my 73 and bought it sight unseen from eBay had it shipped to me lucky for me it was in very good shape. So at that time I did not care if the engine matched I just wanted a 73 coupe still don't care to this day because I love my car and it will be with me until the end. But since then I have bought two 75 coupes 77 coupe 99 coupe 03 convertable sold all but the 75 coupe. At each sale the person wanting to buy my cars always asked if they were number matching and when I said no they seemed disinterested in the car. So that's why the question on original engine. I get it now on why they don't now. But now it seems to be an issue when buying one today. Thanks for all the valuable information.
I'm a little confused, as usual. If the OP is bothered by non original engines in cars, why did he buy two with NOM's??
Im confused too,
The op said he just wanted a c3 and the nom didnt matter to him when he was buying but when he went to sell c3s people lost interest in them when he said nom,
I would have thought the overall condition and asking price would have played a far bigger role in buyer interest for base 74 to 82s and even some 68 to 73s,
I know zero about the ops cars but if i was looking at say a 7k 75 i know what to expect and nom i would likely expect,
If i was looking at a 15k 75 then i would expect a very pristine c3 and likely the original engine and low miles,
At each sale the person wanting to buy my cars always asked if they were number matching and when I said no they seemed disinterested in the car.
I assume you were able to sell at a price you felt was fair?
NOMs have a bit of a stigma to some people, sometimes described as "pieced together", implying they are somehow inferior quality. I once had a 67 convertible with a big block, NOM LS6, a driver. Buyers approached me periodically asking if I'd sell. Many just walked away upon hearing it was a NOM. One bought it on the spot, wanted it immediately. There are buyers for both originals and NOMs. Buyers looking for originals will generally pay more for the originality, hence the price difference.
I personally look at the overall condition of the car first. If it's a NOM, expect a bit of a break on the price compared to a pure original.
Much depends on what the buyer wishes to do with the car. Show? Daily driver?
So after reading all of these response it makes me realize how lucky I am to have the original motor and drive. Nothing real fancy like the big blocks etc. Just a base model car with the original 350 motor.
Thank for making me feel good about my restore which had so many more challenges.
RVZIO
That really is beautiful, and so clean you could eat off of it. Nice work!
I assume you were able to sell at a price you felt was fair?
NOMs have a bit of a stigma to some people, sometimes described as "pieced together", implying they are somehow inferior quality. I once had a 67 convertible with a big block, NOM LS6, a driver. Buyers approached me periodically asking if I'd sell. Many just walked away upon hearing it was a NOM. One bought it on the spot, wanted it immediately. There are buyers for both originals and NOMs. Buyers looking for originals will generally pay more for the originality, hence the price difference.
I personally look at the overall condition of the car first. If it's a NOM, expect a bit of a break on the price compared to a pure original.
Much depends on what the buyer wishes to do with the car. Show? Daily driver?
Me personally I don't mind them not being nom's and yes I sold them fairly even took a loss on one. Looking at a 2004 base vert but the guy is asking 25,000 for it. Way to much. My main question at first was why just about every C3 I looked at was not nom. So I just wanted to know why. In fact I want to put a tremic 5 speed Trans in my 75 so I can drive it more. And lord knows that not supposed to happen to some people.
ed427vette, do you know how long Chevrolet had the 5/50 power train warranty? I think it was only a few years as they were getting killed by motor failure rate. Drag racing probably played a part in that.
John
Hello John,
I believe the 5/50 went from 1967 to 1970. The 66 warranty shows 24/24 only and I'm not sure about 1971.
If they caught you drag racing that would void the warranty. That is stated on the protecto plate envelope along with other things that would void the warranty. However, I'm sure that's exactly what happened. What did they expect? Those were considered some of the best performance engines available at the time. How could you not want to stomp the peddle?
Now that the usual comments in the original vs non original beef have been made, and everyone has reported everyone else, be advised the first one to derail the thread or make a personal remark will be the winner in today’s winter vacation sweepstakes.
now that the usual comments in the original vs non original beef have been made, and everyone has reported everyone else, be advised the first one to derail the thread or make a personal remark will be the winner in today’s winter vacation sweepstakes.
), so one of the appealing aspects about swapping engines was I could do it over the weekend. Removed the old worn out L48 Friday night and had the car back running to go to work the following Monday. Plus I've never been worried about originality of my Corvette since I don't plan to ever sell it anyways. Owned it for 22 years now and counting. 
