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Do you wish you would have ordered power steering and tilt wheel?
Tilt wheel not so much, I can still get in and out of easily. Power steering, definately wish I had it. When I was younger it wasn't bad. Now however it is two handfuls and then some. But who knew back then. P/S was over $100 and I had all I could do to afford the car as it was. I could have foregone the LS-5 and gotten P/S but at the time my only thought was the more cubic inches the better.
MY two cents worth I have one of each and the power steering is nice in close quarters the manual steering on the highway kicks the power steerings butt. much better feel for the road
MY two cents worth I have one of each and the power steering is nice in close quarters the manual steering on the highway kicks the power steerings butt. much better feel for the road
I would definately agree with you about the highway. In town and manuvering it around in my garage is where the muscle building begins.
Fantastic story and amazing that you have kept this car since new. I have to ask, as another 1972 Corvette owner (whose 50th birthday isn't until July 7th - the car not me) - how do you like the bias ply tire ride? I have a mostly original '72 LT-1 that I am trying to restore to as close to original as possible and as such, do not have power steering or brakes - which is fine by me, but I wonder how much better or worse the car might ride/steer with tires that the suspension was originally designed to work with.
I mean BFG's or Cooper Cobras are great, but I wonder how that steering would feel with original style tires.
Fantastic story and amazing that you have kept this car since new. I have to ask, as another 1972 Corvette owner (whose 50th birthday isn't until July 7th - the car not me) - how do you like the bias ply tire ride? I have a mostly original '72 LT-1 that I am trying to restore to as close to original as possible and as such, do not have power steering or brakes - which is fine by me, but I wonder how much better or worse the car might ride/steer with tires that the suspension was originally designed to work with.
I mean BFG's or Cooper Cobras are great, but I wonder how that steering would feel with original style tires.
Thank you and happy birthday a few months early. As far as the bias ply tires they are fine by me, I'm on my fourth reproduction set, but I know virtually everyone would say radials are far superior. Around town and at lower speeds no problems at all. On the highway they can have a tendency to wander and follow the grooves in the road, especially if the road is not in great shape. I will say that if you are restoring your car make sure you don't forget to do the steering box, that will help a lot. I had mine rebuilt several years ago and that made the car steer 100% better. As to the ride, I did have radials on it for several years after the original tires wore out but that was so long ago I can't remember if the ride was better with them or not. But for me originality wins versus slightly better handling. You're best bet might be to find someone with bias plys on their car and see if you can do a test drive to see what you prefer. The reproductions are not cheap.
First thing I did after I drove my 72 home 25 years ago was replace the polyglass repros with radials. I'm not an NCRS guy so I'd rather have the better performing tire.
My 72 is also an LT-1.
Thank you and happy birthday a few months early. As far as the bias ply tires they are fine by me, I'm on my fourth reproduction set, but I know virtually everyone would say radials are far superior. Around town and at lower speeds no problems at all. On the highway they can have a tendency to wander and follow the grooves in the road, especially if the road is not in great shape. I will say that if you are restoring your car make sure you don't forget to do the steering box, that will help a lot. I had mine rebuilt several years ago and that made the car steer 100% better. As to the ride, I did have radials on it for several years after the original tires wore out but that was so long ago I can't remember if the ride was better with them or not. But for me originality wins versus slightly better handling. You're best bet might be to find someone with bias plys on their car and see if you can do a test drive to see what you prefer. The reproductions are not cheap.
Is the steering box rebuild a DIY type deal for Average Joe or do most people send them off somewhere. My '73 wanders a little bit.
Yeah, $360 apiece as I write this. Can't do that for an antiquated tire design. I am sure reliability and puncture resistance are inferior too. I occasionally take my LT-1 on road trips of a couple hundred miles. Last thing I want to do is change a flat on the side of the interstate.
Still, it would be interesting to see how it actually drove in 1972. I guess I'll just have to live vicariously through you on that experience, buckeybadger45. Thanks for the comments.
Oh yeah, regarding the steering box - that's one of the first things I did when I bought my '72. I sent mine off to GaryR for his awesome rebuild service. Money well invested.
Is the steering box rebuild a DIY type deal for Average Joe or do most people send them off somewhere. My '73 wanders a little bit.
I had mine done by the guy that does all of the work on my car. He took me through the whole process and it sounded like it was fairly involved but then I'm not the most mechanical guy. He did have to do a small amount of machining. The main symptom I had was a lot of play in the steering wheel but after the rebuild that pretty much disappeared. I've only done 3,000 miles since, I don't know it will last. Cost was around $500 all in.
Yeah, $360 apiece as I write this. Can't do that for an antiquated tire design. I am sure reliability and puncture resistance are inferior too. I occasionally take my LT-1 on road trips of a couple hundred miles. Last thing I want to do is change a flat on the side of the interstate.
Still, it would be interesting to see how it actually drove in 1972. I guess I'll just have to live vicariously through you on that experience, buckeybadger45. Thanks for the comments.
Oh yeah, regarding the steering box - that's one of the first things I did when I bought my '72. I sent mine off to GaryR for his awesome rebuild service. Money well invested.
You're spot on on the cost. I replace them every 7 or 8 years, I don't think I've ever put 6,000 miles on a set and they show virtually no wear. I do have three road trips I make each year to out of town car shows, each round trip is 120 miles. Tires have never let me down, no flats or anything like that but I could just be lucky. Whatever you do enjoy that LT-1, it's a great engine in a great car.
What a great post. I really like to see where owners have kept their cars for so long and have maintained them so well. I have a similar story in that I have a 69 that I bought when it was 8 months old and I have now owned it for over 51 years. It is 100 % original and still runs great. It has not seen as much activity the past few years but will still make it to an occasional car show. I am thankful that I was able to hang onto the car through 46 years of marriage and the raising of 2 kids and was never pressured to sell it.
