Hi--
I'm curious as to what modifications you've made to your C3s and why. Were you aiming for looks or performance or something else? Thanks!

 

Ok. I'll go first. Performance and appearance for a '79. Performance needs some enhancement. Need to up the CR. If mileage is a problem then we drop in at T5 or 2004R tranny. Many, many upgrades are available for the engine. As far as the appearance, NOTHING as far as the original the body lines !. However, I do need some new paint.

 

looks/cruising/gas/sounds........ custom........

i have alot of body mods that you will miss at first glance....idea was for a sleek look........


interior will be redone soon....

b

 

Most of the mods I've done to my '79 have been performance modifications.

About 2 years ago I purchased a new VW Passat station wagon and I swear that my station wagon was faster than my '79 Corvette. There was no way in hell I was going to let my family grocery getter be faster than any Corvette I own. So I pulled the L-48 and replaced it with a 465 hp 450 tq 383. While I had the engine out I rebuilt the automatic transmission and installed a shiftkit and 2000 rpm stall converter. I also ditched the stock exhaust and exhaust manifolds and intalled Hooker Headers and sidepipes.

In the 6 years I've own my Corvette I never once turned on the AC or used the cruise control so I pulled all of that out of the engine compartment. I also pulled out all of the rotten vacuum lines for the headlights (since it only takes 3 seconds to walk in front of the car and lift the lights up manually). All together, this has done wonders in making the engine compartment look a lot better and a lot less cluttered.

As far as the appearance of the exterior or interior, I haven't done anything to either except for installing sidepipes. In fact, I'm planning on getting rid of the CD player that the previous owner installed and put back in the 8-track player. If I listen to music I use my iPod, but most of the time I just like listening to the sound of the exhaust.

 

Performance.

My main mods/repairs so far have been suspension and engine related. Vortec heads, summit 1103 cam, decent aluminum intake manifold, edelbrock 1904 q-jet and Procomp 50k volt HEI. Exhaust is summit long tube headers and basically custom sidepipes that use the Patriot glasspacks and chrome tips. It's really quiet for as open of a system as it is. Engine was rebuilt about a year and a half ago with slightly higher compression pistons and bored .030 over. Basically the only original part of the engine is the block, now. Front suspension was rebuilt with polyurethane bushings and all of the shocks have been replaced with gas charged ones. (KYB in front and Gabriel in the back) Alignment is set to VB&P's autocross baseline. So overall all of my mods are improvements to give it more power and handle better. I plan on doing a tranverse leaf spring in the front and a composite spring in the back with a 1 1/8" front sway bar and a 5/8" rear sway bar. I'll probably eventually go with bilstein shocks all around because they have some sort of office or headquarters right next door to where my mom works. I'll also probably go to 17" rims at some point or just get a set of Hoosier DOT slicks for autocross days.

Non-performance mods that I've done are sort of few and far. I replaced the stereo system with pioneer speakers in front and kenwood speakers in the back and have a dynex MP3 CD player. Basically a cheap but effective system.

 

The only real mod I have done was to install a radiator from a '87 camaro, and electric fan & shroud from a Crown Vic. The reasons were to improve cooling system efficiency over the worn out factory components.

I also installed a custom scoop I made under the front valance.

This allows for the ingestion of small furry creatures.

 

Still got mina apart, but here is some of the list:
Urethane bushings all around, it takes out the inherent slop in rubber bushings and forces all the moving suspension components to only operate in the plane that it is supposed to, will make the car corner like its on rails.
KYB Gas shocks, vastly better sgok than stock and less expensive than Bilsteins
Smart Struts to take out the camber changes in the rear end during deflecton
Rust encapsuating paint on all bare surfaces for rust protection
2004R tranny swapep out for TH350 to get a better gear ratio and Overdrive and 2500 stall converter
Aluminum radiator for a more effecient cooling system
140 amp alternator for extra electric power
Halogen headlights
Relay conversion for lights to get full voltage at the lights 30% improvement
Electric fans for cooling
C4 blower motor and fan for more air flow in the dash
R134a conversion because I am a tree hugger
AFR180 heads for better comp ratio and flow
Roller cam conversion
Edlebrock air gap intake
Ceramic coated headers and wrapped dual exhaust
Nuprene insulation thruout cabin
Circuit breakers to replace the fuse links and rationalize the electrical harnes a bit
Very Shiny black paint with very light ghost flames
L88 Hood

 

All performance mods.I think the car itself needs nothing to enhance the looks.C3's rock in that department.The weaner engineers that put 190 hp mills under the hood need to be lined up and shot,so that is the area I've concentrated on.

Cresting 500hp now,I may have gone a bit overboard,but overall the mods I made were made by me,for my desire to increase the performance.Check out my website.

 

http://www.corvetteforum.net/c3/themoneypit/

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/the...t/index9.shtml

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/the...t/index3.shtml

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/197...y/index4.shtml

Why? None of my cars are left stock, don't like stock.

 

Mods:Complete resto-mod which includes EFI, modern O/D transmission, replaced most cast iron components with aluminum pieces.

The whys of it are to make the car lighter, to make the engine more efficient and use modern technology and materials wherever possible.

In short, to build it in the manner that GM might have if they were building them (C3's) today.

It would be really neat if GM built a brand new chrome bumper C3 using todays technology, a retro-vette so to speak. I'd be one of the first in line for that.

 

Well, let's see.

Took out the anemic 190hp 2 bolt block and replaced with a 300hp 4 bolt sans computer.

Replaced the TH350 with a BTO 700r4. Overdrive makes those road trips SO much nicer.

Replaced stock cooling system with a DeWitts aluminum radiator and dual spal fans. No more cooling issues.

 

Body: Base-clear paint in factory Corvette Bronze
later-style mirrors
1980 wheels
Astro-top

Suspention: VBP Grand Touring package

Engine/Drivetrain: 383 roller, 200R4

Interior: Alpine/Kenwood stereo(still needs some tweaking)

Driver: Broke

While doing the resto, I maintained one rule: Whenever possible only do mods that can be unbolted and retuned to stock

 

Surely I have said b-4 through the years, my '72 vert here was an old show car doing the mid atlantic circuit, owned by two women, in succession....painted some 20+ years ago to look like it is in the site...in the rear, that is, minus my FI sign and '72 sharkey....

the later shark flares are now stock looking for say a 78 up, but they were much wider in it's show car daze....

so I modded hell out of the car in the dozen years I have had it.....it's anything but stock from frame up....

hydro brakes, rack/pinion steering, headlights, wiper door is electric operated now...front grill, side gills, interior controll panel...L98 type injection, 355 sb roller engine, now going for a 200 4r in place of the old 700r4, 336 rear, O ring brake calipers....serp drive, electric fan...
late Camaro radiator....adding cross brace to front upper arms...
2.5 inch exhaust/headers/H pipe...

see site...

 

I started with a 3-legged roller car that had been hit in the front, right lower a-frame mount torn off, no front clip, no engine/trans, '80 tail bubba'd on, tree growing through the frame, some interior. I wanted the experience of building a Corvette from the ground up. I started to go with BB and a TH400, 4:11 gears, sidepipes, just fast and loud. Somewhere in a 10 year rebuild I decided to make it the '69 that GM would have built in the mid-80s if that makes any sense. I have stock L98 Tuned-Port, 700R4, late C3 seats, late C3 orfice-tube A/C, 16" wheels, late GM vacuumless cruise control, C4 electric fans, aluminum radiator, cloth top. I could pretty easily go back to stock if I wanted to and could find parts. Car was just a base 350/TH400 steering and brakes 'Vert. It is arguably faster and more reliable now than it was new. I wanted a cruiser, not a race car. With the exception of paint and body, I did it all myself.

If I started over today, I would probably go LS engine, Coupe, C4 suspension. I may do engine and suspension someday anyway and put my frame under another '69.

 

1980 L48 corvette undergoing rest-mods. Originally a 1 year project has turned into a 2.5 year project. Hope to be finished spring 2007.

Frame off resto-mod.
frame blasted and painted w/por-15
new suspension and steering by VanSteel Performance Plus system w/semi-coilover
engine bored 30 over, reworked heads and intake.
trans rebuilt w/2200 converter
rearend rebuilt w/bearings, seals. all u-joints, and mounts
all new brakes w/o-rings and lines.
new radiator, wiring front ,engine, and rear
all new fuel and trans lines ss.
new interior and paint
astro top
tires
and gobs of money I won't tell anyone about.

 

I bought my car as an all matching numbers base motor, no option bone stock 4 speed coupe in 1989.
I'm doing to mine, what I would have done in the 70's had I been able to afford it.....Makin' it an in your face, loud, fast, obnoxious street toy.
Why? Because it's never too late to have a happy childhood

 

All of the mods that I have added/plan to add during my frame-off are for performance/drivability/reliability. To date these include a Keisler TKO 600 5 spd, Steeroids kit, Super Struts, Koni Classics, new stainless fuel/brake lines, HEI (w/ tach drive), Hooker side mounts, and more to come.

 

None.
My two are stock. No mods.

 

Hello doods
I traded a honda 400EX for an '81 basket case that was lucky enuff to have new urethane suspension, built TH350 trans, and a new and never started 355 crate motor (300hp claimed ), brand new accel distributer and electronics, and with a Demon carb, still in it's box
I painted it electric blue pearl and cleaned up all the factory body seams....umm lessee what else... I hooked up the 'bubble light" tail lenses so that when the brakes were applied all 4 lit up, and when the right or left signals were used, both on that side blinked....used white LED license plate bolts from the rice section of pepzoneautoboys for the reverse lights.....17 inch SLP 5-spokes.....red calipers....all new brake lines....dual chambered exhaust...shut-off valves for the heater core (that look like they came from the Titanic boiler room).....brand new interior...cd/mp3 player that you can't hear anyway over the exhaust....someone tinted the rear window black, and did a good job of it at least...all new weatherstripping...
Future planz include a 700R4, because, well, you all know why....fix slop in steering box...gonna sell the stock seats and replace with something that fits my dumb butt a little better and 'maaaybe' change the interior to black, or at least the dash and console? I dunno about that one yet....chuck that old garbage-can-lid steering wheel as far as I can into a lake and put on something smaller....somehow get some speakers and an amp in there tastefully so I can hear SOMETHING while driving to work, on the occasion I feel like it... I really like what some of you industrious-types have done to your interiors, and that is what's spurring me to update that cobby look of mine.
All my work so far has been out of necessity, and I had to use what was at hand as best as I could and was fortunate enuff to have it all available, and in pretty good shape. The car was pretty hacked up, and it's a lot of work to fix some bozos' blunders, so originality is out of the question. Reliability, comfort, clean looks and speed are my goals, I hope to get it all sorted out sometime before next spring.
And win a lottery too LOL

 

Mods? you name it we did it just because we could and made the car better. The older vette's can be upgraded w/mods not like the newer models.