Reader Pat L. sent us this nice looking 1973 Corvette to examine. The car is for sale here on Craigslist for an asking price of $15,000. The car is equipped with its numbers matching L-82 engine backed by a 4 speed transmission. This was the performance combination that the car magazines said made the best handling Corvette in 1973. This orange Corvette is located in Claremore, Oklahoma. It was posted 4 days ago.
The interior looks older and the dash is cracked. The seller states that the interior was stripped to the firewall to install a new wiring harness. It appears that the interior was reinstalled with original rather than refurbished or re-manufactured interior parts. The car comes with a lot of spare parts, which is a bonus. It is nice to see the 4 speed shifter sticking through the console. I bet this is a fun car to drive with one exception, the seller states that the car needs the brake gone through.
The 350 cubic inch V8 engine is said to be numbers matching. The only aftermarket parts are the intake manifold, carburetor and air cleaner. The L-82 engine was designed to replace the LT-1 option from 1970-1972. It was rated at 250 horsepower. The base ZQ3 (L-48) engine was rated at 190 horsepower. Besides the L-82 engine, a buyer could opt for the LS4 454 cubic inch V8 engine that was rated at 270 horsepower in 1973.
The seller states that the paint quality on the car is weak. Although he spent a lot of time matching the color for the replacement front nose. There is slight damage to the fiberglass on the rear spoiler and underneath the rear bumper. The car has aftermarket front flares that were added when the car was repainted several years ago. In addition to restoring the brakes, the Corvette needs a new power steering pump. I recently replaced this on my 1979 Corvette and it is a pain to get to and replace. This should be a fun car to have! You can enjoy it as is or do some work and make it a really nice example. Which would it be for you?
Love the color awesome looking car .
Not sold yet?
That’s probably because Oklahoma isn’t the first place they are thinking when they are shopping for an L-82 Corvette.
That’s still pretty cheap for a four speed L-82
Looks great in orange, luggage rack and 4spd 👍
$15,000 + Shipping unless you live in the Greater Claremore, OK area + Calipers, rotors, brake lines. (and don’t forget the E-brake that never works) $2500 ? + body work and paint $8000? + misc. stuff you’re going to find. Add it all up if you are brave enough. Good night and good luck.
Frank Sumatra is correct. I have a 73 coupe. E brakes never work in these cars. I rebuilt mine with all stainless parts. Works now. $14,000 is dirt cheap for an L82 stick with the options I see. Probably the best running smog small block Chevy ever made. These engines will wind to 6,000 rpm and not miss a beat. Good breathing heads, aggressive cam and 4 bolt mains. Best of all, with 9.5:1 CR you can actually drive on today’s garbage they call gasoline. If you own a 70 LT-1 you better have deep pockets for VP gas. Mine is a 4 speed but with an L48. If mine wasn’t in the garage, I would be going Oklahoma to bring this home. Great colors, but luggage rack gotta go. Ugh.
What front fender flares? Those look like the factory fenders to my eyes.
the fenders are factory
I’m the seller; a potential buyer told me my Vette made it onto this website, which is an honor. Thanks to those who posted it! I was told by a reputable vette shop in Tulsa, that the bottom rear portion of the front fenders only, just behind the wheel/tire, were added on, then repainted, many many moons ago. Other than the small spot by the rear driver light/reflector, I’m not aware of any other body work that would need to be done. Brakes work great now; I just had a random caliper lock up on me one time, and I wanted to be transparent. Power steering works great, just leaks. If anyone is interested, I have more pics of the underside, etc. My contact info is listed in Tulsa’s CL ad.
Oh yeah, forgot to say. I dropped the price 1k, to $14,000. Come and see it!
Eric, this is my favorite color for these. Years ago, my own 71 convertible (also this color) also had that caliper-lock-up mess happen to me and at a very inopportune time. Your Vette is much nicer than mine was.
Good luck with the sale.
I had a 73 in the late 70’s and the rear cv joints didn’t hold up at all as I had an automatic and it “ banged” into gear when accelerating . Fun car but not fun replacing the cv joints !