jrheyerly

I am going to look at a used 1971 corvette coupe. The owner claims that the engine is Numbers matching, but states that it is a 350 hp 350.
I'm quite sure that in 1971 the base 350 was a 270 hp L48, with the only upgrade in the 350 for 1971 being the LT1 - 330 hp.
The 350 350 hp(L46) was an engine made for the 1970, so either the car is a 1970 or the engine is NOM.
What are some other differences to note in a 1970 vs. a 1971 coupe?(Exterior, interior, frame, suspension.)
I am going to look at the car this week and verify the VIN number, which I can use to determine the year of the car and see if the last six are posted on the engine block. The block code should give me the engine specs also. Is it possible that the car is a carryover from 1970, due to the short production year?
The asking price on this car is low, so the deciding factors will be how many things there are to fix. The checklist includes air system on the wipers, headlights, fiber optics, rust in birdcage, rust in frame, etc...
by the way the asking price is $9900.00. any input would be helpful.

rcread

According to the Corvette Black Book, there were zero 350/350 Corvettes produced in 1971. There's a good possibility that it's the original engine and the owner doesn't know that it's the 270 hp 350. Maybe someone replaced the air cleaner lid sticker and the center console plate and now it reads 350 hp. There aren't a lot of visual differences between a 1970 and 1971. '71s have amber parking lenses, though some of the earlier '71s still have clear. Your best bet will be just checking the numbers.

gbvette62

There was no 350/350 in 71, and if there had been, it wouldn't have been rated at 350 HP. Chevrolet reduced the compression ratio in all their engines for 71, in preparation for the coming unleaded fuel. This resulted in approximate horsepower drop of about 10%, for all engines.

Because of the 70's late introduction date (Jan. 70) and the short model run, the 70 and 71 are pretty much identical. 70 grills have studs on the back side to attach them to the lower valance, while 71's have screws that go through the grill casting, to attach it. Chevrolet discountinued the 70 casting in the early 70's, so if the car was ever hit, or the grills replaced for some other reason, it will likely have the 71-72 type grills. Most interior colors were carry overs, and some of the exterior ones.

71 350's carry the following engine suffix codes; CJL = 270hp L-48 4 speed, CGT or CJK= 270 hp L-48 w/auto, CGZ=LT-1 and CGY LT-1 w/ZR1.

Danish Shark

No, 72's have amber lenses, all 71's had clear lenses.

Easy Mike

He is mistaken.

Or possibly neither.

No.

This helps:


Good luck.

Solid LT1

Someone bought a reproduation 1970 data tag for the center console and stuck it on. Usually it is a "LT-1" tag I'm surprised this one isn't too

rcread

Ah, I knew there was something about amber and clear lenses. I just went out and looked at my '71 and it does, indeed, have clear lenses.

DustersVette

Mine is a numbers matching, correct 71 with amber lenses, very late in the production run however. Serial number is 121339.

71 Green 454

I've heard that some late '71's have amber lenses. My '71 is number 115026 with clear lenses/amber bulbs.

wheatpj

The 1971 production year includes Vehicle Identication Numbers 194371S100001 thru 194371S121801. A six (6) is substituted for the 3 if the vehicle is a convertible. Any way 71S denote 1971 model year...the 1970 model year will have a 70S in the VIN.

bobbarry

Mine is a late '71 (July) as well, serial number 121254, and has clear lenses.

Not being the original owner, I don't know if those are the lenses she was born with, but that's what she has now.

Easy Mike

1 Chevrolet Division of General Motors
9 model code for Corvette
4 half the displacement of the base engine; since all Corvettes after 55 have V-8s, this number is always a 4 for Corvettes.
37 body style code for a coupe; 67 for convertibles
1 code for model year (1971)
S plant code for St. Louis, Missouri
1 car line series code (could change from year to year.
00001 consecutive unit number

joewill

if the owner is making incorrect statements like this, then he either does not know what he has or is fibbing.

look at the engine stamp and tell us what it is. the next stage would be to look at casting dates of the engine components to see if they line up with the car's birthdate.

also, you need to know what your requirements are. do you require a numbers matching engine and the resulting price increase of the car that goes with it?

if this car is rusty and needs paint and another 10K to put on the road, you need to decide if that is what you want. if original engine will sway your decision, then you need to confirm that it is.

early shark

Probably the easiest tell tale sign in the interior for identifying a '70 model from a '71 model is the center floor console; a design difference occurs where the front portion of the console meets the lower center portion of the dash (around the radio housing sides). Otherwise the interiors are virtually the same, with minor variations.

hunt4cleanair