FlyViper

After 11 years of ownership and a lot of great memories, time to let her go. I have $32K into this car (including original purchase price), asking $20K. I'm selling because the car isn't used much with our growing family. This is an original SB car (non-matching numbers), all manual (no PS, PB, AC) with 97K miles. The previous owner had just installed new suspension (VBP composite rear), brakes and redone the interior prior to my purchase. The car has since been in OK, AZ, CO, FL, and now VT for the last two years. It has never seen snow, ice, salt, etc. (spends 7 months of the year in storage mode). It runs great and is a blast to drive.

A year after purchase I did some major upgrades with the majority of firewall forward being brand new (e.g. purchased by me and very little mileage on it). Big picture, this isn't a stock 71 coupe with a very tired engine, tranny, etc. It has a lot of great upgrades/new components that make it nearly a "brand new" car in a lot of ways (e.g. excellent performance, safety, longevity of parts, etc.) It has a stock appearance, until you look closely at specific parts…not a “bubba modification” car. This is your chance to get an original looking car with a complete “refresh” on the inside.

All upgrades done below have 1500-1800 miles on them (unless stated otherwise) and were brand new parts at purchase (no salvage, refurbished, etc.)

- Chevy crate ZZ454 (aluminum heads) with 500 HP rating + 4 QT oil pan
- Hedman headers with no emission components (fuel vapor canister disconnected)
- Holley mech fuel pump with braided steel fuel lines and in-line regulator/filter
- GMPP high torque min-starter
- GM aluminum water pump
- Speed Demon 750 carb (3" K&N air cleaner on top)
- Dewitts aluminum radiator with dual spal electric fans, 180* T-Stat (runs like a champ...hottest day in AZ or FL could not make this thing go above 185 even in stand still traffic)
- Billet aluminum serpentine system with aluminum alternator (150A)
- Transmission rebuilt (all new interior parts/seals)
- Centerforce DFX clutch w/ Centerforce throwout bearing, GMPP flywheel, and GMPP pilot bearing
- Rebuilt heater box
- Electric oil sender/gauge (preventative maintenance - didn't want risk of oil spewing all over the interior from a 46 yr old mech gauge/line)
- Ecklers BB scoop added to original SB hood (still only primer...see pics)
- Vented gas cap
- May 2017: Dennys 3.5" aluminum half shafts with new, sealed U-Joints
- Jun 2019: New HEI distributor/coil and spark plugs with MSD wires

Maintenance:

- After break-in period with dino oil, I have only used Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic (and changed it every driving season, regardless of mileage)
- Trans, rear diff, coolant all changed summer 2012, then again in late 2016 (valvoline synthetic with POSI additive in the rear, weights/amount per manual)
- Everything greased appropriately over the years
- Only have used 91 non-ethanol gas (Stabil when stored...long term storage > 1 year = pumped the old gas out and put new gas in prior to running)
- No accidents, off road incidents, etc.

Condition Notes:

- Overall its a very nice car that drives great, is void of problems outside of minor things that pop up with any 47 yr old car, and it is practically "brand new" in a lot of ways as you can see from the list above.

- Paint: A nice 5 footer car in general. The hood is still primer gray and there are a few places with chipped paint (minor amount on front of headlights, one small spot on a T-Top, the gas cap). I put off painting the hood with the idea I'd just repaint the whole car, but that obviously hasn't happened (life priorities) and the majority of the paint is decent, so it just hasn't mattered that much to me

- Mechanically: Very sound. All vacuum works (head lights, wipers, etc.)

- Electrically: Good overall; the dash has been completely taken apart with many wires replaced. Fiber does not work great. High beams work and dash lights work.

- Minor things: Driver’s door interior handle is broken off (the part you grab with your hand). I have a new handle from Zip on hand, just not installed. Door mirror set screw is slightly loose…it stays in place with no issues, but if you move it with your hand it will wiggle a little more than desired at the base. I never tried to fix it because it was minor and it sounded like a real PITA job for little pay off. Bottom line, there are very minor things that I certainly notice as a perfectionist and will not hide from anybody, but they are vastly overshadowed by the great positives of this car.

maroon88iroc

I purchased this 71 from FlyViper and had it shipped to me from Vermont where he lives to me in Georgia, about 20 hours away, I have to say I am disappointed in the car and the way the seller handled the transaction. I realize this thread is old but he has since completed deleted the current for sale thread for this car and locked it so I cannot comment. I reached out and spoke on the phone with the seller (Michael Cady aka FlyViper) and he seemed good on the phone told me he was selling bc he has a family and no longer uses the car. I made an offer and we agreed on price after going over the car for about 30-45 minutes. The seller is military and I also work on an air force military base in Georgia so I will admit I put a little more trust in the seller as being truthful. Fastforward through all the other irrelevant items I arranged shipping and the transport driver picks the car up, then delivers it to me the next day. Upon his arrival he pre-warns me how “terrible” the car is running. He told me “It wanted to keep running and then backfired sounding like a shot gun when the seller showed up and turned it off so I ended up using my winch to pull it onto the trailer instead of driving” So immediately, I am already upset bc I bought mechanically sound car… or so I was told. The driver cranks the car up on the trailer to back it off and the idle is extremely high and it shuts off twice before he moves an inch which I have about a minute worth of video of. Once the car is off the trailer he shuts it off and it tries to run (dieseling) then BOOM large backfire out the back… again. I sign the paperwork and the delivery driver leaves. So I am now stuck with a car that needs immediate and extensive mechanical attention after buying my dream car which I was told, and I will use quotes from the seller… “- Mechanically: Very sound. All vacuum works (head lights, wipers, etc.)” and “ Overall its a very nice car that drives great, is void of problems outside of minor things that pop up with any 47 yr old car, and it is practically "brand new" in a lot of ways as you can see from the list above.”

I have spent about 6-8 hours working on the car, plus a 3 hour round trip to summit racing to get parts. So far the spark plug boots were burned extensively, the timing was way off, and the vacuum source used for the vacuum advance was incorrect. I have ordered a new distributor and hoping that cures these problems but I cannot be sure, it seems to only have misfiring issues above 2500 rpm which is when the advance starts adding timing. I am very frustrated to have to put this much work into a car that was clearly advertised as mechanically sound. To add onto the issues, the headlight motors do not function correctly as stated as well. Overall I am happy with the condition of the car but it is running so bad I cannot drive it until I get the issues fixed. Luckily I am mechanically capable but if this car ended up in another persons hands the repair bill would be extensive. I reached out to the seller and told him I could provide receipts for the parts I have purchased that were bad on this car and asked for compensation, trying to give him the option to make things right. The seller even admitted the car was running bad before it was picked up but is not receptive to helping me by covering the cost of the parts (not even considering my time and effort or labor) and is not willing to do the right thing and make things right. I was already uneasy about buying a car sight unseen but looks like it bit me this time and I am stuck to fix someone elses issues they could not figure out I am however more aggravated with the way the seller handled everything and hopefully others will see this and consider these issues before doing business with this seller in the future.

cv67

It had a heck of a misfire in the vid, sorry to hear your experience was less than happy. (check your cam gear on the dist, have the same deal)
Figure out the ignition/vaccum issue make sure your valvesprings are good (easy to do) bet she runs just fine. Its no 500hp engine but should pull welll enough to get smoke when you want it!

BigBirdXX

I hate to hear of transactions like this especially from a Forum member. He pretty much dumped this car and was not honest about it. I’m sure you can fix it and make it your 100%, just stay positive and you have a Vette at the end of the day. I hope he stays in Vermont and off this Forum

zrc3john

I'm guessing the good thing is these old school cars are pretty straight forward when it comes to fixing....No computers no sensors or all that other crap....

Hopefully you got a good price...Heard good things about that 454 ZZ motor..A few parts here and there and you should be on your way......Good luck