Me and my father fixed up a 1973 stingray when I was in highscool about 12 years ago but never got it working mechanically good enough that either of us drive it much. I have been searching the web for info but I cant decide on what i should be doing with this car to fix it up for my pops in retirement. First issue is the car has manual brakes, no brake booster. I read that the brakes should be decent but mine are NOT. If i slam on the brakes they feel tight to push down but the car barely wants to stop. I thought it was because the car is old and thats how things were back in the day but it just cannot be. Could pads really be the culprit? Should i replace the master cylinder? Maybe bleed the brakes? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also the steering is loose as all he**. Again i thought the car was just old but I am reading on this forum that people have tight steering. It is power steering, what should be replaced or upgraded to fix this? Last issue is suspension. I installed bilstein hds all 4 corners, thing drives like a boat. I will be swapping front springs for 550lb springs and I am not sure what to do with the rear. Any ideas? Also thinking about adding sway bars front and rear, any good brands? What else can be dont to fix this? I probably need ball joints in the front suspension and bushings but the car doesnt make noise like they are bad. Not sure if the previous owner already replaced that stuff but if anyone has any help please let me know!!

 

Did you check all 4 brake calipers for leaks?
If master is full and no leaks, start by bleeding the brakes.
with the front wheels straight, and the flat on the upper part of the steering column shaft pointing straight up. loosen the lock nut on the steering box and turn the center screw clockwise till you feel resistance, do not force the screw,, once tight hold the screw and tighten the lock nut.
Install a single leaf composite spring in the back.
Ball joints have to be checked by jacking under the control arm to relieve spring pressure and then levering up on the tire to see play in the ball joint, they dont make noise when worn.
Bushings have to be visually inspected for cracking.
Sway bars should be a matched set, look at the Corvette vendors on this site.

 

That brake fluid should run clear. If its been a number of years, you should flush and replace all the brake fluid. Check the lines while you're at it.

 

Welcome to the forum!

In addition to the above, yes pads can make a big difference, especially if they are glazed or contaminated with oil or brake fluid. If you pedal is firm and doesn’t go nearly to the floor when depressed, the pads should be replaced. You should bleed the brakes too.

 

Welcome aboard! Good luck and kudos for helping your pops in his retirement. Might you have any pictures of your Stingray to share?

 

You have a ton of work to do, The car is 46 years old. Probably all the rubber suspension parts are shot. The brake fluid is probably rusty. The brake system probably needs to be rebuilt completely. The steering linkage all needs to be checked. Here is the good news. This can be a fun project if you take your time. Your heart is in the right place. Each of these is not difficult. Get a couple books on rebuilding C3 Corvettes. There are several available.

 

I also have a '73, and I feel your frustration with the lousy manual brakes. I'm still in the process of adding a hydroboost and master cylinder, so I don't have any results to tell you about yet. One thing I can say is that it doesn't matter if you want to install a vacuum or a hydro brake booster, you have to modify the firewall. You can PM me if you want to know about all the little details.

Like yours, my steering had lots of free play. So much play that it was dangerous to drive. I tried adjusting the steering box screw, and adjusting the wheel bearings, but it didn't really help much. I ended up installing a Steeroids Rack & Pinion. Steering is now tight and responsive.

As for suspension, give Van Steel a call and they can help you out with the proper springs and sway bars. They also have an extensive rebuilding service for suspension and drivetrain components.

John

 

No need to start throwing money at this until you know what is wrong. 550lb springs may just make the car harsh over bumps but still be a boat.

first is the brakes, always. I got good advice here when I first bought my car. Make it go, make it stop, then make it go fast. So back to the brakes.

1. bleed them first,
2. if the fluid is slow to flow replace all 4 of the rubber brake lines going to the calipers, if one is bad the rest are right behind it.
3. make sure the discs arent glazed, if they are, scuff them with 100 grit paper wrapped around a piece of wood cross hatching them by sanding in one direction, then the other ( clock wise vs counter clockwise and replace the pads
4. check the pedal to master push rod and make sure its in the correct hole at the pedal. Upper for manual brakes, lower for power brakes.
5. look for a part number on the master cylinder and make sure its for manual brakes and not power brakes
6. If you do decide to do the power brake conversion you can just use factory parts and its not to dramatic. You can search this forum, Alot of people have done it including my self. We have some pretty detailed writeups. heres a quick write up from corvette magazine......http://www.corvettemagazine.com/tech...ke-conversion/
7. As for suspension, definitley get sway bars. You should have atleast a front sway bar for a small block car.
8. the shocks will help sway in quick turning environments but not that much in general driving conditions,
9. if you have a boat like feel, check the bushings for cracking and dry rot.
10. And as stated you need to check tie rod ends and ball joints by jacking up the front end grabbing the top and bottom of the tire and rocking it back and forth. If its tight the ball joints are good. Then grab the tire at 3 and 9 oclock and rock it. it should be a quick rock looking for a clunking short movement. if its clunking, the tie rods are shot and yo can see them moving.
11. while you have it on jackstands you can have someone quickly rock the steering wheel back and forth and look for any slop in the steering linkage. There is a damper/ idler hanging on the passenger side that should be tight with no slop as well as all the tie rod ends.
12. look up steering box adjustment, its easy to do and all you need is a box end wrench and a flat blade screw driver. Only adjust a it a 1/2 turn at a time as it shouldnt need much adjustment.
13. Look at the rag joint for any looseness or fraying and crumbling
14. As for new springs I had a touring suspension with 450LB front and 330 composite back and it was smooth

 

Thank you all for the replies, there seems to be tons of knowledge on this board and i appeciate everyone helping out. I am going to start with bleeding the brakes and changing the pads as that seems to be the top recommendation here. As for suspension, i may end up buying a complete rebuild kit that i have seen online with all the end links ball joints and bushing and replace everything. Then i will try add some sway bars and see where i am at. Brakes are my first priority

 

If you change the brake pads, you might want to have the rotors turned, otherwise they might "chatter" when you try to stop. I think places like Autozone can still have them turned for you, or maybe just new rotors are in order? it is always nice to go, but you HAVE to stop, I wouldn't skimp on brakes EVER. BTW, my 76 will stop on a dime. If your brakes won't slow that light car down quick then, yes, you have some work to do. A rebuild kit would be ok, but then again I've done it so many times I look to see what i need as i disassemble.
Also, my car steers and rides like a new car - but that also took some doing. Heck, even on my 03 truck the rubber was hard as a rock on some of my front suspension, so you can guess if you don't know the state of the suspension parts, it'll probably take a bit to get it back to stopping/riding/steering nice. There are kits for the entire front suspension and steering availble too. Some good suggestions in this thread!

 

As suggested above, contact Van Steel, they have a Moog rubber complete suspension bushing kit for your 73.
Don't buy the cheaper kits you might find on line as the rubber won't last.
Buy the good Moog rubber kits and the bushing will last another 40 + years.
Ask Van Steel for their Forum discount.