I’ve always been a fan of Corvettes; last summer my dad, brother and I purchased our first Corvette down in Delaware. It’s a 1986 model with the two-tone gray and tan paint with a brown leather interior, and the paint and interior are in great shape. The engine, however, locked up from sitting, so the three of us are trying to see if the engine will break loose or if we have to bite the bullet and swap in a new engine (the engine that’s in the car is a Jasper 350 and we have a few 350 four-bolt main blocks in storage). This particular car is a 1973 model, and not only is it resplendent in Corvette Orange Metallic, it also features a factory 4 speed! Find it here on eBay in Brooklyn, New York with a Buy-It-Now price of $6,499.
For 1973, the Corvette received it’s first major face-lift for its third-generation: its previous chrome front bumper was replaced by was replaced by a 5 mph urethane-covered bumper. Though I personally prefer the chrome front bumper, I do think that the urethane one is not so bad looking itself, especially in the Corvette Metallic Orange hue this car has. On that note, this car’s front bumper will need to be replaced due to age-related dry-rotting (there’s plenty of companies that sell reproduction ones, and there’s even an article on how to install one). Additionally, the car’s rear bumper has also been removed, so I would inquire as to whether or not the seller still has it (if not, Corvette America has everything for it, including the hardware). The paint is faded and gone in a few places, such as the t-top panels, but since the car has been sitting for the past thirty years, that should not come as much of a surprise. On the plus side, the car does come with brand-new Goodyear Eagle GT II tires and what appears to be new Rally wheels (sans hubcaps), and the body appears to be straight and in overall good shape. Once painted and fitted with the necessary parts, this car will be quite a looker.
The seller does point out that the engine is a small-block 350, but makes no mention of what version it is; there were two 350s available for 1973 (RPO ZQ3, rated at 190 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque, and RPO L82, rated at 250 horsepower and 285 lb-ft of torque), though my money is on the former. At any rate, the base engine has plenty of pep in its step (my dad had a 1973 GMC pickup with a similar engine, and he said it was plenty fast), and it should not take too much to tune for optimal performance. Factor in the factory 4 speed (I’m guessing either an M20 or an M21), and this car should make for a lot of spirited drives. The engine does look like it could use a thorough cleaning, and it has been some time that the engine was running (the seller does mention that it did turn over a while back, but does not specifically specify when). Overall, however, I don’t think it should take too much to get the engine running again, but I would inspect everything top to bottom on both the engine and transmission. After everything is situated, I would re-jet the Rochester Quadrajet, swap in some performance bolt-on parts, and take advantage of the car’s 300 lb-ft of torque for some nice, smoky burnouts.
Resplendent in a tan interior, this Corvette’s inside does appear to be a bit dirty, but once given a thorough cleaning and detailing, should present nicely. I definitely dig the black steering wheel contrasting the overall tan color, and the manual windows are a huge bonus for me (I think it has air-conditioning, too; there appears to be a compressor on the motor, but the seller makes no mention on whether or not it’s working). The odometer currently reads at 53,965 miles, and the owner does specify that the mileage is correct and original. Overall, this Corvette has a lot of desirable features (such as the color, the manual transmission, and the interior, among other details) and once cleaned up, mechanically-situated, given a new paint job, and applied the necessary finishing touches, should make for a nice car, especially for its price. Unfortunately, I don’t have $6,500 burning a hole in my pocket, but if I did, I would snap this up in a heartbeat.
Yes, the seller has the rear bumpers. That’s them in the pic, lying on the rear deck… and they’re rotten. If the bumpers look that bad, (so does the front re-bar) I’d have to get a really good look at the underside of this car for frame rot.
In Junior High my older Sister’s dream car was an Orange ’75 Corvette, and I always notice them. The C3 is a great entry-level classic. As Mitchell says, any Corvette of this vintage will have enough torque to be entertaining, especially with stock sized tires.
The true star of “Boogie Nights” was the Flame Orange Corvette
Agree–the first thing I thought of was “RUST–DANGER WILL ROBINSON”!! For me, you’d have to see this one in person to even consider it.
I’d worry about rot in the frame and birdcage. To me the biggest would be the birdcage. There are some good 3d party frames available but figure about $8K to $10K for them but that would provide for C4 or better suspension, possibility of up to a LS engine and something like a Tremec tranny. Get that and the bumpers taken care of and a good paint job and it could be a fun unit. Don’t expect to ever get your $$ back out of it though if you did this, so it would have to be a keeper for someone (assuming there’s rust involved in the frame). I don’t know for sure but I think the floorpans in the C3’s were metal, so that also would need some careful examination. If the birdcage is rusted out, that turns it into a parts car IMO and that’s just too much for a parts car.
My thoughts.
The floor pans are fiberglass, but yeah, replacing major sections of the birdcage is not fun.
I agree, 76-82 Corvettes have metal floors, 75 and earlier ones have fiberglass ones. The steel floors were added to help insulate the interior from the of the catalytic converter, added in 75.
This would not be a bad start for a drivers level C3 IF the birdcage isn’t Swiss cheese . An inspection behind the interior kick panels will reveal what the forward body mounts look like . Myself ? I am awaiting a good deal on a 72 .
Hey Guys, I’m new to the Corvette game. I have seen multiple references to the “birdcage” and it’s problems when rusted. Where exactly is the “birdcage”? and what parts make it up?
Thanks for the info.
It’s the metal framework where you sit basically. The windshield posts are part of it .
The birdcage is basically all the metal that surrounds the passenger compartment. It’s hidden by the kick panels in the front and you can judge the condition of the rear portion by removing the access panel in the front of the rear wheel wells and checking when the body mounts to the frame. Before you bother to do that in a car that show the amount of rust evident in this car, check the frame behind the rear wheels where it “kicks up” and where the trailing arms for the rear wheels mount into the frame. It’s the first place that frames get weak, particularly on the drivers’ side. You may find that such a look will eliminate the need to look any further!
I’d say that there is a pretty good chance that the birdcage is good.
Looking closely at the picture of the inspection sticker, the VIN tag can be seen to the right of it on the a-pillar. The base of the a-pillars are usually the first thing to go, and a quick look through the windshield, in the area of the VIN tag, will reveal any rust issues. The VIN tag on that car looks very clean!
never a fan of the vette. Always considered them too extreme bad boy for me.
Too lawless. I pefer something more restrained like a mustang GT
In ny we had a major hurricane that flooded many different parts of the city a few years ago . After looking at engine compartment and rear bumper my fear would be a flood car .
Looks like the door jams are yellow. not sure its a true orange.
I saw that, but it must be the lighting, because the trim tag shows paint code 980, which is Corvette Orange in 1973.
Pretty sure it’s an L48 if this is the stock motor. I believe the L82 had the finned aluminum valve covers and an aluminum intake. This has the standard valve covers and what looks to be a cast iron intake. FWIW, the L82 also had 2.02 heads, a hotter cam and 4-bolt main block.
I,M looking for something like this,just don’t have the funds,or willing to sell off current projects. These are bargains wating to explode in price.
I sold my 68 4spd in 2015 and miss it so this is on my radar. Its a 4spd rear chrome bumper and build a peppy small block and have fun. Forget the low hp of that year,build it to what you want!!!
Just don’t forget that they can get out of control. When I frist got the 68 it had a 454 with a small b/m blower 4spd with 4-11 in the back. I went sideways in a corner and saw a t-pole in the way,missed it but scaried the hell out of me. lesson learned—-lucky.
Funny you should comment on the 68 getting squirrely on you. Just had this basic discussion last Saturday with a Z06 owner. Personally I think 250 or so HP is plenty for the street. I’ve spent time reworking the suspension on my C4 so it handles curves exceedingly well. No I can’t out accelerate the Z06 but he has a hard time keeping up with me on those windy roads, and that’s what I like: a car that handles well on all road surfaces. Even my T-Bird with it’s independent suspension handles curves much better than some of the Vettes. It’s finding that right balance between power and handling, too much or too little of either restricts a vehicles usage IMO. I love a vehicle that handles.
PS I think C3’s have already bottomed out price wise, they’ll only go up in the future if I’m right. C4’s right now are the best bang for the buck IMO.