I'm rapidly coming to a point of having to make a decision. Money is always an issue with me, but I want to set money aside temporairly.

Would you:

A: Rebuild a matching number engine and retro-fit a TPI injection set-up to it, changing some things like heads and cam to inhance performance OR:

B: Pull the matching numbers engine, carefully mothball it on an engine stand, and install a newer TPI performance engine?

Being new to Corvettes, I've never delt with a car where matching numbers ment so much to the cars intrinsic value. When you pop your hood, how important is it that your numbers match?
Thanks for any responces! John

 

Pull the numbers matching motor, pack it away somewhere where the next owner can build it back up if they so please, and install whatever motor will make you happy.

Here's what I put in my car:





It says Corvette on the fuel rail cover, so it must be original, right?

 

If the car doesn't have chrome bumpers or a 454, I wouldn't be concerned about matching numbers.

 

Depends on what you want to do. You'll get a million responses here on what others would do but you have to decide.

I don't see a '76 as a high dollar car in the near future. A great driver but not in the class of the early cars. Of course a numbers car will retain more value if you don't plan on keeping forever.

I have a numbers 75 L-82 that we are going to rebuild the original engine for. A very good street car can have the original engine built any way you want.

Now if you're going to race it and the chance of wrecking the engine is more then that of a street car a NOM may be better.

Either way enjoy the car.

Gary

 

I agree with what everybody has already said!! ie, do whatever you want to, whatever makes you happy. I don't think "matching numbers" will ever be a huge component of value for a 76, but I am supersticious - whatever mods you make to your original engine I still wouldn't deck the block or otherwise remove the original vin derivative stamping. You would still have a numbers matching engine, just not the original configuration.

 

Folks, I feel like I'm home! I took a ton of grief for modifing my '56 nomad and my '67 camaro. I'd already had a couple of 'purists' tell me I needed to restore the vette. I didn't give all that much for it, I'm planning on extensive steering and brake mods, and basically I just wanna hotrod it! I'm just not going to tub the rear wheel wells and stick a narrowed Dana 60 or Ford 9" in this time. (Well, at least I don't THINK I am.) Thanks for your input. (Scooter70, I'm drooling)
John

 

Have fun with it whatever you decide. I too have a '76 and collectabtle it is not. In alot of ways I'm glad it's not because it is so much more fun to make it "your" car and have it do the things you want it to do. Keep the motor, swap the motor or mod the motor but whatever you do have fun.

ltlevil

 

ltlevil, I like your front end mods! I don't like the two 'bumper lumps' on each side of the license plate the stock front end on a 76 has. The first thing I did after buying mine was pull the urethane front off, buy a fiberglass front end, and saw those offending lumps off. I 'glassed the holes up, did some smoothing, and now have something closer to a '73/'74s front end. John

 

If you've already replaced the front end and chopped off the bumpers then why are you concerned about matching numbers anyway? You've already completely changed the way it looks and it's not original anymore anyway. My 76 is fun to drive and I plan on leaving it a 76. I like the way it looks and so do the people who see it that say "Hey I like your car".

 

>>If you've already replaced the front end and chopped off the bumpers then why are you concerned about matching numbers anyway? You've already completely changed the way it looks and it's not original anymore anyway. My 76 is fun to drive and I plan on leaving it a 76. I like the way it looks and so do the people who see it that say "Hey I like your car".<< Howler

Because anything I've done up to this point is easily changed back to straight stock. A new or used urethane front end has the front end returned to its former stock glory. When I do the steering and brakes, none of the changes will be irreversible. I didn't want to take the stock engine to a level of modification that would prove to be 'irreversible', or remove it if there were gasps of horror and outrage from the good people here who are far more into vettes than I. A stock vette is nice, but I've never been the type to place "well, it's bone stock" high up on my list of things to strive for. I like custom paint, aftermarket wheels, and high performance. I don't like the bumper lumps. John

 

This is my response to that I just put in another post:

"I've said it a thousand times before-When people look at my car and say, "I would have done this or that..." I tell them it sounds good to me now go do it to your car- I like how mine how it is."

That's how I feel about what others think. I respect opinions from this forum, but in the end it's your car and you need to make sure your happy with it.

ltlevil

 

engines are cheap enough, if you are concerned about numbers matching stuff then pull the engine and mothball it.....for the record i'm running a 69/70 4 bolt main with a 700r4 and steeroids and i couldn't give a rats *** about originality.... its your car do what ever turns you on.....there is however only one original engine for your car....although its hard to imagine why anybody would want it.

 

Yes, but I think I'll put it on a stand and store it. If I'd ever get offered enough money to sell this project, and it mattered at all to the new owner, I'd be able to produce the original engine. And right now It's not smoking or knocking, and it's runnin' as good as it ever did.

Steeroids... I'm going to search the back posts for this. I've read an old article in a Corvette mag about this steering swap. Supposed to really improve responce and effort. Before learning about steeroids, I was going to try a power steering box swap.

 

hard to argue with that line of thought.

 

To all who think your non chrome bumper cars are not collectable, let me take you back in time.....the time of C2's and NCRS judging, the time when people said the 68-72 are junk and won't EVER become collectable.....so what has come of the 68-72? Why have the 68-72 and even the 73 jumped in the price range between 30K-60K? Because the C1-C2 have become financialy unatainable except to those of the filthy rich. And the price of the 68-73 are going up and up and up and up...and what will happen when the chrome C3's reach the upper dollar eschelon? Yup, the demand for the 74-76 will escalate, and so will the price....maybe not today, but bet your house it will tomorrow.

 

I agree too! Pull & save, and install "dream" replacement. Should work for any year, and that's my plan but I have a lot to learn here first.

 

 

Mothball the original and keep it for resale time. Install whatever floats your boat during the interim.

 

I want to thank you all again for your input. Like I said, I wasn't that into Corvettes all that much before owning one. They seemed more sports car than hot rod. WRONG (kinda contagious, aren't they?) I've never worried too much about resale value on any project of mine. But when I look back on a few of the cars I've owned, I've wondered about the potential resale value I ruined by my extensive mods. When I watch a: '56 nomad, 57 chev hardtop, '63 chev SS, '67 camaro, '67 mustang fastback......etc go across the Barret-Jackson auction block today I get sick to my stomach. Who'd have known 'back in the day'? I didn't give that much for any one of them, either. And all the rodders back then agreeded none of them would be worth much in the future. I have two teenage sons who want to linch me everytime they look in my old photo album. I just didn't want 15 yrs from now a guy to walk up and say "gee, too bad you ruined the originality by (doing whatever, fill in the blank), it'd be worth 10 times as much stock. I can do extensive mods, but I'm putting everything removed into storage. That way, when it's worth $100,000 (heh, heh) I can produce a show room stock '76. Thanks again...John

 

George,
I may be conservative so I wouldn't put my house up against any corvette.

I too remember when C3's were thought of as junk by the first generation of vette owners(late 50's-late 1960's drivers) Hard hit in the group were 68 & 69's for all the new body problems they had. We would buy 68 & 69's to drive daily - rain, snow, shopping malls! I enjoyed them the most, drove them hard and really didn't care what happened to them! They were a hit at college keg parties. Of course the days of $2,000, 7- year vettes are gone. I was surprised at the higher values of the C2 plain cars then the C3 chrome cars. Maybe because I grew up with them and they didn't seem all the collectible at the time?

It would be interesting to see where the rubber bumper cars are going end up. As our generation dies out, the gas prices continue up, will the next generation value them as much? Maybe,maybe not. There were a lot of rubber bumper cars made and they really haven't gone very high in price yet.

I still would build the car the way you want and drive it. I see low mileage mid 70's cars in very good shape sitting for $10-12,000 all the time. The $3-7,000 cars sell much faster even though many- a LOT- need more work then the 10-12,000 cars.

I like the rubber cars and would buy another. Have your sons involved in your project and that will be the best return on inestment you'll make.

Gary