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Purchased my dream Vette (a C3 4 speed) and really hit the jackpot. 77, good looking inside/out and under hood, clean/solid 70,000 mile amazingly maintained and documented survivor. The vehicle has been kept to original specs w/all correct replacement parts and she runs and drives so well that the 1st time I put her in gear I drove 500 miles from St Pete Florida to Mobile Alabama on a 103 degree day in August of this yr. It’s definitely a time capsule of what it feels like to drive a like new 77 L48 4 speed. My only complaints were she slowly crawls to over heat on the Hwy (original twice flushed radiator) and the lack of power makes her kinda work to drive around town shifting gears.
Since getting her home I applied Lars (and others of course) advice on timing and getting the original cooling system properly buttoned up.
As well maintained as mine was the air dam had a large gap and the foam inserts were compromised after 45 yrs so a lot of air was escaping. I corrected that (better than factory) and installed 180 degree thermo and she runs steady 180-190 around town on 95 degree summer days and 200 to 210 at 3000+ rpm (70+ mph) on Hwy. Now that temps are falling on Gulf Coast (70’s and 80’s) temp stays solid 180 to 200 around town and Hwy. Cooling issue solved!
As far as advancing timing…..WOW. Car still has no real hammer (I’ve had muscle cars, SS 396 Chevelle and currently own a Cutlass w/a well built 455 so I know what monster tire smoking torque feels like) but the drive ability is like night and day. It went from being a fun car to take on short jaunts to a vehicle that could be a daily driver. Running thru the gears as well as skip shifting is a mindless activity now and car lugs out in every gear w/no shake or valve rattle and she’ll easily bark 3rd now. If you own a smog chocked C3 and haven’t adjusted the timing please do so immediately if you enjoy driving and improved fuel economy. After I finish paying for her I have a killer motor to put in but in the mean time I’m driving her more and more every day (including 50 mile round trip work commute) since shoring up cooling and timing.
A heart felt Thank You to Lars and all who have contributed to these two game changing improvements.
As an added note the last owner installed new correct carpet w/correct insulation (w/pics of the project!) and there’s no interior heat to speak of even w/catalytic converter. We had a beat up 75 Vette years ago (catalytic converter removed) and she’d bake you out on a 45 degree winter day even w/tops off and windows down. Every Monday I drive a 140 mile round trip (the bulk of it hwy at 80+mph)) to Gulf Shores and back on 90+ degree days w/no interior heat to speak of. My opinion is that (at least on mine) the properly maintained factory interior and cooling systems work. Factory timing really restricts performance but can easily be dramatically improved.
It's nice to hear someone taking advantage of others knowledge. I constantly hear myself saying "stop reinventing the wheel". I wish you many years of pleasure with your new ride. She's a looker.
Did very early 77’s come with a 76 steering wheel? Or has that one been swapped out? Or is it a 76?
get rid of the two into one back into two exhaust and you’ll see more improvements. Or at least lose the catalytic converter if you can.
my late 77 was a complete overtemping dog in stock form.
It's original steering wheel. Same wheel that's in my wife's 79 Z-28 although it seems a lot cooler in the her Camaro. Will be swapping it out with one that looks like the the 3 pronged one that's on tilt/telescopic. I understand those don't fit on the non tilt/telescopic columns so I'm taking my time trying to find the right one or finding someone who has figured out how to put the stock wheel on my column.
1st week I had her I took it to a (trusted) exhaust shop and my buddy told me they've cracked down on them removing catalytic converters even on much older cars. I asked if I accidentally hit a truck retread on the hwy and ripped part of the exhaust off could I get that repaired and he said yes we fix exhaust leaks $70. So I will be losing the cat soon. Hopefully I can afford the true duals sooner rather than later.
Same here brother
That White on Saddle (or Buckskin) has always been a real Southern California look/combination. It was very popular here all through the '70's. Every time I see a White on Saddle Corvette it takes me right back to the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. If you lived in the baking sun of Los Angeles, San Diego or Palm Springs and liked to drive around 24 hours with the T-tops off, you'd understand pretty quickly why Saddle was so popular and why Black interior convertibles just didn't work. Ouch!
Congrats on the new car Mike, it's a beauty.
I put headers, true duals, and Magnaflow mufflers on my old 75 4 spd when it was like only 3 years old.
Gained so much HP it drove like a different car!
Also, the early 77s still had the alarm key in the fender, & switched to the door sometime mid year. Mine is a may production & is in the door. Curious to know, what color is the engine? I have heard also that early 77s were still orange. Mine is blue.
Nice car BTW!
Also, the early 77s still had the alarm key in the fender, & switched to the door sometime mid year. Mine is a may production & is in the door. Curious to know, what color is the engine? I have heard also that early 77s were still orange. Mine is blue.
Nice car BTW!
Blue engine. Alarm key in the fender and she works!
I put headers, true duals, and Magnaflow mufflers on my old 75 4 spd when it was like only 3 years old.
Gained so much HP it drove like a different car!
Listen to Lars!
$70. So I will be losing the cat soon. Hopefully I can afford the true duals sooner rather than later.
