The Chevy Corvette is considered “America’s Sports Car” and enjoyed a solid 1973 sales year, up 13% over the prior outing. Emphasis had begun to shift away from raw power as muscle cars were falling out of favor yet the 454 cubic inch V8 was still offered and 15% of buyers went for it, including the original owner of this ’73 ‘Vette. This one is numbers matching and appears to be in great shape, though a previous owner decided to change the paint color some years ago.
Remember when you could buy a new car for around $5-6,000? Sadly, I do, and the 1973 Corvette coupe stickered for around $5,600 back in the day (the convertible was a few bucks cheaper). 4,412 buyers opted for the LS4 454 engine at $250 extra, the only alternative to the standard 350 V8. The biggest visual change for the Corvette that year was the chrome front bumpers were gone in favor of a plastic snoot to adhere to the Feds’ new 5 mph collision requirements (the rear would soon follow). Besides the 454 which was now rated at 275 hp SAE net, the seller’s car also has an M20 4-speed manual transmission.
We don’t know what color this Corvette was before the silver paint was applied by the dealer, but custom pinstriping was added (which was a bit of overkill, IMO). The Saddle interior looks quite nice, and we assume all the materials are original at an estimated 67,300 miles. Rally wheels with new tires are on all four corners and really make the car stand out, though the paint may be a tad faded and the Endura front may have been resprayed (doesn’t match unless it’s supposed to be this way).
This Chevrolet is offered by a dealer from their facility in Brooksville, Florida. The current bid here on eBay is $10,100 and, of course, there’s still a reserve to be met. Given typical attrition rates, we assume there are not many 454 Corvettes left and the 350 would be much more common today. The seller says the competition for this car in 1973 included the AMC Javelin, the Datsun 240Z, and the DeTomaso Pantera, but the Corvette was really in a class all by itself.
I own one of these only a convertible in red on red with an automatic. Even though it’s only 275hp net it has 390lbft of torque, and torque is what you drive. It sounds great thru 69 factory side exhaust and barks the tires on the shift to second. They also offered the L82 at 250hp but more than 100lbft less torque. If you want a reasonably priced C3 big block the 73-74 offers a lot of bang for your buck. This looks like a decent one.
Turbine styled wheels? Does it come with a different set of wheels?
No A/C. Pass.
Yup, the pin-striping is over the top, but can be removed fairly easily. Otherwise, the paint looks nice, maybe the new owner would respray the front bumper cover. The engine compartment, and interior look tidy and well taken care of. This car would be worth a plane ride to Florida in order to assess the under carriage and bird cage for rust. Could be a very good purchase. 454 with a 4 speed? What could go wrong?
I’d want to get a price from the dealer before booking a flight. This Corvette is also listed on their website, without a price. Of all the cars they’ve listed on eBay over the last 90 days only 1 has sold which suggests their prices are high.
I’d also want to know why they are selling the car with different wheels than those used in the listing.
Steve R
I visited their website too and it is, in a word, terrible.
Also disappointed that they do not list a price and want you to call.
All true, I wouldn’t book a flight without getting some commitments up front. I agree that the website is horrible, and the seller has only one previous sale. Yes, could be shady. Not sure about the wheel discrepancy, I saw photos with only Rally Wheels and off brand tires. All that said, if the car is rust free it could be a good find, a detailed inspection would determine that.
I had a 74 350 A/T last year Reg gas T-Tops Orang in color sold it The Big D happened O well fun long as it did.
The ‘73 was always my fave of this gen. Briefly owned one as well as a ‘74 convertible and a ‘75. The saddle interior tells me that the original paint was likely red, white or the green they had that year. Looks like it would be a reasonably priced driver for someone. Nice find.
Last year for that tail, as in ’74 they replaced it with the plastic 5 mph unit which just didn’t look right.
Pinstripes are like tattoos – if they’re done tastefully with some artistry they can be very attractive, like the tramp stamp on this Corvette. Others can get a bit overdone, like someone got bored and high at the same time and found a pack of Sharpies.
That said the pinstripes don’t make this car less desirable. Nor does the lack of A/C. C3s are the ultimate Stylin’ and Profilin’ car and you’re going to drive it with the t-tops stowed in the back. Just make sure your exhaust is tuned for the Big Block rumble.
No A/C no interest, otherwise it’s a nice car with the rite motor, wrong color, so…..
Ok, here we go. Even though it was manufactured during the forced ”pig” era, it was only two years into it, so the government hadn’t succeeded in killing the high performance car completely yet. That being said, this is a cool car ( if the bidding doesn’t get nutso) Put a set of factory side pipes on it, spiff it up, and have a blast cruising around like it’s still the seventies. One quick note; this thing would absolutely gobble a 240 Z up, and it wouldn’t have a lot of fun with a basically unrestricted Pantera.. (no comment on the Javelin) If this little bundle of joy wasn’t 2000 miles from me, I would definitely take a peek at it.
Just out of high-school I worked for a guy that had one, his was white with original paint, 4 speed, with the saddle interior, with about 70k original miles. Was in really good shape, the paint did have some chips here an there. He let me drive it by myself once an boy I was scared to death I was gonna mess something up.