1973 corvette questions.
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
1973 corvette questions.
It is a 1973 350 auto with factory air. The guy wants me to replace his fule pump and spark plugs. anyone know about how long this is supposed to take? The fuel pump looks kinda like a PITA but do-able. Also the engine is stock but he wants me to use a hotter spark plug, but i really see no reason too. Any thoughts from a C3 owner would be helpful. Thanks in advance. - Nate
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 219
Likes: 0
From: AL
You should be able to get both done in an hour if you've changed out a fuel pump before. If you haven't changed a fuel pump before, it's not a difficult job, just a little bit of a pain to reach the bolts comfortably. Just remember to be extra vigilant in looking for leaks after installing the new one.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
It is a 1973 350 auto with factory air. The guy wants me to replace his fule pump and spark plugs. anyone know about how long this is supposed to take? The fuel pump looks kinda like a PITA but do-able. Also the engine is stock but he wants me to use a hotter spark plug, but i really see no reason too. Any thoughts from a C3 owner would be helpful. Thanks in advance. - Nate
The guy thinks a hotter plug with give him better performance. I would get him a set of NGKs, tell him a lot of race car driver's prefer them and he'll go right along with it.
The fuel pump can be tricky with the A/C pump in the way, but going at it from under the car may speed things up a bit. make sure you check all hoses for cracking or rot.
Overall, a few hours work. I could do both in an hour...maybe two depending on hoses...and it could take up to four hours for a novice.
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Well i got the FP and plugs in without much hassle. However i went to drive it and after about 10 mins of running like a champ it completely lost all spark. car will not re-start, but cranks over fine. All i did was spark plugs, fuel pump, and a new battery. The owner did new cap rotor and wires not too long ago. the distributor has an Accel points eliminator in it. I don't know much about the points eliminator, but is that an atempt to make it more like an HEI setup? no spark at distributor or coil. coil "looks" very clean and new. wiring to the distributor and coil iis clean and looks new as well. any ideas would be appreciated. I think this car sits a lot and this guy just bought it like 2 weeks ago, so i don't have much history on it. very very clean maintained vette though.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Well i got the FP and plugs in without much hassle. However i went to drive it and after about 10 mins of running like a champ it completely lost all spark. car will not re-start, but cranks over fine. All i did was spark plugs, fuel pump, and a new battery. The owner did new cap rotor and wires not too long ago. the distributor has an Accel points eliminator in it. I don't know much about the points eliminator, but is that an atempt to make it more like an HEI setup? no spark at distributor or coil. coil "looks" very clean and new. wiring to the distributor and coil iis clean and looks new as well. any ideas would be appreciated. I think this car sits a lot and this guy just bought it like 2 weeks ago, so i don't have much history on it. very very clean maintained vette though.
Check the fuses. You may have blown a fuse. Or rather, he may have blown or weakened a fuse when he did his pointless upgrade.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,135
Likes: 1
its dam hot because its probably a oil filled coil mounted on the stock manifold mounting bracket which puts the coil at a angle,exposing the windings to air(a air bubble foats to the top) when the windings get exposed to the air bubble they fry, if you use that coil mount you need to use a dry type coil, if he had a msd box that too would of fried, i know cuz i did it, what coil did you replace it with? if its a oil filled you must mount it level,,dry type can go in that angle bracket on the intake
