Good morning Corvetteforum,

After owning my 1976 for three and a half years I’ve done many things to it, going through the entire interior, putting some go fast parts on the numbers matching L48, and putting the car on coilovers front and rear. There’s still more to be done to it, but at this point I’m very satisfied with how it drives, and could do so every day if I wanted to.





Browsing Facebook marketplace I came across another C3. Same exact year, except an L82. Apparently has 7,600 original miles.




At that price it’s nearly a no brainer. C3s are fairly uncommon up here in the north. I took a look at it in person this last weekend and the birdcage is solid, the engine is fairly original, and the interior (sans the carpet) is in pretty good condition. I offered them $4,500 for it. They told me they had other people coming to look at the car, but in true Marketplace fashion they never showed up. Wednesday this week I should be picking it up.

The reason I wanted it despite already having a ‘76 is because most of the things this car is missing or needs are things that I already have. Trim rings and center caps off the wheels I took off my car. An AC compressor I took of my car. And springs I can cut a coil off of and put in the other car for a quick turnaround lowering it.

Besides that there’s a few more things I want to do.

2101 intake with the heat riser blocked off

Electric fans or a new fan shroud for the aftermarket radiator

Corvette Central true dual exhaust and maybe headers

Quadrajet rebuild and ignition system tune up.

New carpet, obviously

Buff and polish the paint

Paint the engine and clean up the entire bay

Any other small maintenance items that would make the car better to drive or look better

I don’t plan on owning this car forever. I’d like to do everything I want to it and get rid of it by the end of the summer next year. I live in an apartment currently that doesn’t allow me to work on vehicles in the parking garage. I might be able to get away with some interior work and other small things, but any major powertrain modifications will have to be done elsewhere.

With the purchase price and the lack of new parts I need to buy to take the car to the level I want I may or may not be coming out ahead when I sell it. I know I picked the wrong hobby/kind of car if I want to make money off of it, but if I can at least come out even I would be satisfied. Given that though I will be tracking the costs of everything, and putting an emphasis on reconditioning as many original parts as possible rather than just buying new.

 

Looks like a fun winter project. Hope you get it for the price you're wanting.

 

You Wasskelly Wabbit...sharp Whie Vette and great new find!

 

I went to go buy the car yesterday​​​​​​. about 28 degrees out and snowing. Didn’t take my vette for obvious reasons. Tried to get it started again, but it had a dead battery. Newer battery, but the map light was left on.

After jumping it we tried cranking it with a timing light hooked up, no flash. We were getting power at the pink battery wire to the HEI, but no spark. The ignition coil and module were replaced a few months ago, and I made sure the module was installed with plenty of heat sink compound. Tried a coil and cap that was known to be good off my car. Still nothing.

So we’re dead in the water currently. I’d really like to get the car inside to a heated garage rather than out on the street, especially because the salt came out on the roads in Minnesota last night. I’ll be going back tomorrow with the entire distributor out of my car to see if that will solve the issue. My guess is the ignition module went bad, despite only being a few months old. That or the pickup coil.

Another thing to note is those tires. Goodyear Eagle STs. The date code is on the inner sidewall, so I’m not exactly sure when they’re from, but from what I’ve seen online they were discontinued in the 90’s. Scary.



First thing I’m doing is slapping these on. They came off of my car.



On a positive note though, I do believe the car actually has 7,600 original miles rather than being rolled over. The interior except for the carpet is in great condition, just a little bit dirty. It should clean up really well. Can’t wait to get started on it.

 

Woke up early on my day off to get back to this car.

I pulled the good distributor out of my car, bought a new grade 8 hold down bolt +75¢, and went to put it in the car. Even with my offset wrench it was difficult to get to. I eventually had to remove the vacuum advance and modulator line to get it, but it came undone.

The car probably has a parasitic drain somewhere. Even after charging the battery it required jumping again, but after that I was able to get it started.



Putting a timing light on it with the vacuum advance unplugged I wasn’t able to get a reading until 63 degrees of advance. Clearly the balancer is slipped or was changed out to one with a different marker. No biggie, I turned the distributor until I got the highest idle, made it slightly retarded, then plugged the vacuum advance back in. Should be good enough for now.

I also noticed the choke pulloff was bad, luckily I had brought one of my 17059216 Quadrajets in case we had issues with this one. Two screws later and the car now has one that holds vacuum and takes two seconds to fully extend.

Took it for a short test drive. Ran good, the brakes are GREAT (I should probably rebleed the ones on the white car.) The 1-2 shift was a little firm, but the 2-3 was softer. The car was sitting for a while, but that might also be a Turbo 400 thing I’ve never experienced before.

The owner gets home at 5 today, after that I’ll be buying it and parking it inside where it belongs. The roads are clear of snow now, but I know the salt is still there.

First order of business will be fixing the distributor. My guess is that the new ignition module failed, but I’ll be checking the pickup coil too.

 

Got her home.



Sitting next to the other one I can really tell how high these cars sit in the front, but I already have plans to change that.



Talked to the (now previous) owner a little more. They told me they had a chrome dress up kit and some different tires they would throw in too. I took it for the sake of selling it later to increase my budget, but I was a little apprehensive about the tires. They told me they had “blue spray paint” on them. After realizing that was just how new RWL tires come I gladly accepted.

I was also told the car needed new spark plugs, which makes me believe that they’re probably original to the car. But instead of diving into it I’ll be busy all weekend. Can’t wait!

 

Congratulations getting it inside your garage for the winter.
Looking forward to following your progress

 

Be sure to check the dates on those tires. I bought a set of YJ8 wheels that came with 20 y.o. tires that still looked new. Cost me $60- to dispose of them.

Two C3s are better than one!

 

Great score. That should be a ezepeezee refresh for you this winter. Don’t make it too good you’ll want to keep it…

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

I probably won’t be doing too much work on it this winter though. I’ll be collecting as many parts as possible before the spring where I can get access to a lift (and the ability to work on the car.) Plus working on it when the weather is good outside is just so much nicer.

I’ve made my mind up about the exhaust. 2 1/2” rams horns manifolds, Speedway has one without the alternator mount casted into it (PN:9300329.) after that the Corvette Central exhaust (PN:323738.) This kit is 2” to 2 1/2”, but I will see if they can exchange the intermediate pipe to their full 2 1/2” ones (PN:323520.) This should eliminate the heat riser valve too.

I’m torn between changing to electric fans or staying with the standard one. As it stands now it has no issues staying cool, but the fan stays spinning after the engine turns off. If I want to stick with the stock system all I would need is a new fan clutch and a shroud. I do like the cleanliness of an electric fan setup, but it might be hard to beat budget wise. It is an early ‘76 though, unlike the white one which is a late one with a different shroud, if they were the same I would consider getting electric fans for the white one and giving myself the shroud for free. That doesn’t count, right?

I’d like to get some opinions on some aesthetic things. As the car sits now it has a tiny black air cleaner that says Edelbrock across it. I’m not a big fan of how it looks, nor having advertisements in my engine bay. I’ll be getting a 14” air cleaner and painting the block and heads orange to make them look better, but do I keep the valve covers and intake their natural aluminum color? Or paint the intake black, steal the black finned valve covers off the other car, and get a black air cleaner lid. On one hand I like the classic 70’s look of the raw aluminum and chrome, but on the other hand I think the black would look really good with the mahogany of the car and the orange of the engine.


In the interior I’m just as torn. It needs new carpet, I’m thinking of changing out the NK4 wheel because the texture is mostly gone, and the upper dash pad needs some repairs by the speaker holes. Basically everything that makes it have a two tone interior. I already plan on getting some interior dye for some touch up on the column, but I could dye the whole dash pad and compartment doors to make it all the lighter buckskin color. It wouldn’t match the trim tag, but I think it looks better than the two tone.



Any thoughts appreciated!

Update: If I were going to be keeping this car I would probably go with the black trim and two tone interior, but for the sake of marketability I’ll be going with the chrome and lighter buckskin.

 

See how quickly it happened?
You are now thinking how you want the new 76 to look instead of just cleaning it up and flipping it.
Maybe your wife wants her own 76 and she is encouraging you to keep it.
You could both go to shows and compete for the trophies.
I just got mine back from the painter so excuse the dust on the engine, but here is what mostly black looks like in the engine bay.
I like it with very little bling.

 

Your car was one of the ones I was looking at when I was considering the black air cleaner. I love the way the engine looks and the paint turned out great.

I do figure that the modifications I’m making will make the car more desirable when I’m selling it. While the factory snorkel air cleaner definitely provides better performance, there’s a certain appeal about having the open element. A ‘76 doesn’t have much going for it as far as collectibility or performance, so I’m hoping my “tasteful” modifications will make it stand out.

No wife, the girlfriend seems indifferent to the corvettes, although a ring is another money pit project I’m working on.

 

Piersonpie deleted comment.... my suggestion about using 2.5" 64-65 downpipes with 2.5" speedway smoothies is for a MANUAL car.

 

“RING”
Now there is a money pit that requires lots of bling.

 

Looking at the ‘64-‘65 downpipes they look very similar to the Corvette Central piece, about the same price too.



I do plan on getting rid of this car, but I still want to treat the manifolds. I’ve heard good things about Seymour’s “Cast Blast” paint that holds up really well over time.

Thank you for the tip about the spacer, I’ll give the thread a read too.

I see you edited your post. They should bring back the ability to delete them, I’m not sure why that changed.

 

Here’s my current list of things the car needs, parts wise. These are all parts that will have to be ordered and delivered unlike more generic items like oil or spark plugs. Let me know if I’ve missed anything as far as general maintenance items or tasteful upgrades.

I’ve done some cross comparisons as far as prices, but I am waiting until black Friday or cyber Monday to actually order anything to see what each individual vendors deals are. Some have “save x percent if you spend x amount” so I’ll see if spending more in certain places saves more.


Already have

2101 intake manifold-$100

Headlight bulbs

Vacuum advance

Front springs with 1 coil cut

Front shocks

Trim rings and center caps

New tires

AC compressor

Throttle return springs

GM posi additive



Speedway

9300329 2 1/2” rams horns-$160

91017001 valve cover gaskets-$19

UP190273 1 1/8” front sway bar-$130



Topflight

41361 Fan shroud -$270

C2285 Brake pedal trim-$8

29468 68-72 gas pedal-$10

29469 Gas pedal trim-$10

26810 Carpet insulation-$149

465357P Floor mats-$92

20340 Steering wheel conversion-$180

37507 8” spring bolts w/ bushings-$49

33380 9 leaf spring liners-$35

211412 Rear shocks-$88

431957 Interior dye-$25

50666 Wheel bearing seal-$8 (2)

34060 Splash shield gasket-$3.50 (2)

Fan clutch-$35



Corvette Central

323738 2 1/2” dual exhaust system-$590

323520 2 1/2” intermediate pipes-$142 (might be able to combine with exhaust)

322113 2 1/2” heat riser spacer-$45



EBay

1204 Intake manifold gaskets-$25

434-2101 ARP intake bolts-$45

66801 Drop base 14x3 air cleaner-$37

16-2668 Seymour’s cast blast-$16

10045 85-140 Lucas gear oil-$20 for 1/2



Cliff’s High Performance

Quadrajet basic rebuild kit-$35



Ecklers

25-294403-1 Spreader bar-$154

I’m not including any suspension bushings until I get underneath and get a better look at everything, but I do already have control arm and a snubber bushing.

I like the look of the ‘69-‘75 steering wheel with its thinner diameter, but at $300 for a new one I’m looking at other options or a better deal.

Since I’m changing the interior to one color I want to go with Light Buckskin because it matches the lighter parts of the interior. Hard to find on any vendor site though.

 

Look at Al Knoch Interiors.
He offers interiors in the oem colors for most C3’s.
I’ve only heard of Saddle or Dark Saddle interiors, but maybe 76 offered the interior in a Light Saddle option.

 

I covet your new car, great find.

 

Thanks, I’ll give him a look.

This car is interior code 642, which is the code for “Buckskin,” doesn’t say anything about light or dark, but I’ve decided I’m going to make it all the same lighter color. Which is different from the darker color than it is now.




Update: I found the light buckskin on his website, ordering from there.

 

Good choice!
Al is known for the best quality interior products in the industry.
I’ve purchased all my new interior from him and could not be happier with what I’ve received.
Their customer service is also top notch.
Al doesn’t produce the plastic panels like the lower kick panels, or the rear interior quarter panels.
I found that Corvette America still manufactures them and sells them though Top Flight Automotive.
The original owner of my corvette changed the interior color from Saddle to Black about 30 years ago and all the panels were from Corvette America.
They were still in perfect condition and the fit was perfect.
I replaced the 30 year old panels and the new panels are the same top quality.