visionary

Hi there,
I have been a lucky man to have owned 3 C3's a C4 and 2 C5's. I currently have a great C5 that is bone stock, but well pampered. I am considering buying a 73 C3 with a big block 454 4 speed. I know these are somewhat rare and I think they will continue to rise in value. My question is, can the engine be rebuilt with internals of a higher hp 454 or will that completely demolish it's value. I think they were rated at 275 hp in 73, not so good compared to now. If you had this car what would you do?

Mike

Pounder

is it well optioned ?? Resto Mods bring big money ???? If your going to drive it, build away, if not rebuild it stock !!! My two cents !!!!

visionary

Lot's of options incl. air pw. Thanks for the reply.

MBVette

I would think the C3 forum would be a better spot to ask this

bobs77vet

what are you looking to do with it? power is made in the heads/cam.

you could easliy awaken that engine.....

or take it out and drop in a crate engine already done with EFI....now that would be fun!


i think it would be hard to go from an LS platform back to a carbureated 454 though. we take for granted the EFI and roller lifters.....going backwards is hard

bobs77vet

resto mods may bring big money...but its less then what you put in them.....so its good for the buyer but horrible for the seller. only car i ever lost money on was a resto mod C3 that was really nice.

zachaeous

If I was going to buy the car as a investment I would rebuild the car with stock parts. I had a friend that had a 1974 454 Coupe and as far as I am concerned it had way more power than I would use on the streets.

Good luck getting your C3.

Vetteman Jack

Since this is really C3 related, it’s being moved to the C3 Tech section.

OldCarBum

I bought my 73 454 TH400 a little over a year ago. I'm getting ready to do a frame off resto mod. I've purchased all new upgraded wheels, suspension, brakes, and steering components. I'm stroking the 454 to 496, adding aluminum heads, intake, cam, headers and all the necessary goodies that will get me an "estimated" 550-600 hp or more, plus an auto od trans. I'm sure it will be a blast to drive when I'm finished. Going down the road it will look close to stock except for the wheels and stance. I'll have more invested into it than its worth before I'm done, but it's a hobby. I say go for the 73 and do with it what you want.

drwet

If there is anyone out there who has NOT spent more on his Corvette than it is worth, I want to hear from him. How did you do it?

fishslayer143

Buying a C3 for an investment is foolish unless you buy it in numbers matching condition, and plan to garage it and trailer it to shows.. if you drive it even occasionally, you will continue to "invest" money in it..these cars are old, they require constant maintenance to be street reliable.. I have WAAAAYYYY more in mine than I could sell it for, but I don't car.. its a blast to drive with 525HP and gets lots of attention everywhere it goes..

CheezMoe

If the the car is unmolested and 100% original and all numbers match, making major changes will in theory decrease any presumed collector value. However, you could tweak the motor with a cam and some head work and get some more HP out of it. But if you want a lot of HP, I might consider putting that motor on a stand and dropping in a crate engine.

Priya

Early muscle cars with modified drive trains often do as well or better than all original cars at Barrett-Jackson. Its not a given that you will lower the value of the car by increasing the horsepower.

cv67

Flipping thats about it lol

OP yes you can do internal mods and no it wont lower its value at all. Just do it nice and clean dont make it too gaudy
A freshly gone through engine with internal upgrades imo is a HUGE plus not having to worry if a 50 yr old timing chain is going to snap

Ck out vortecpro.com cant say no to that for the money

Saw a CL ad of a guy with an LT1 (nice car) but "rebuilt" the engine..but reused all the old parts, no bore, no new pistons. If I were in the market unless the guy took off money to do a proper rebuild Id walk;maybe someone else gets a rise out of old junk I dont. Opinions may vary
Worked in a reso shop and saw a LOT of these rebuilts...scary. Some guy saves his whole life for that aluminum headed monster but instead got a time bomb.