I've had it...  Run out of time and patience.

Finished the mechanical rebuild and reassembly on a '74 automatic coupe.  My dream car from when I was a kid.  There are so many new parts and I've invested so much time and money that selling it will be a heartache.  But the first drives tell me that the rear end is junk.  I'm done, not spending another penny.

The body needs some fiberglass work on the front end, but it's all there.  The interior looks really good, and I've invested a ton of money into it.  New seats, carpet, etc.  The center instrument stack is all AutoMeter arctic white gauges.  The engine is a GM crate, I've put vortec heads and a fairly aggressive cam in.  Edelbrock 650 carb.  New vintage air A/C (installed, but never charged).  The car starts and runs very well.  New mid-America chambered exhausts.  It's LOUD, you may want to tame it down.

Electrics are perfect.  I meticulously rewired the car; no splices or bubba-modifications.

Taurus electric fan modification with A/C compressor turn on relays.  Had the radiator tested and the P/S cooler replaced (it leaked).  Coolant system worked great during break-in.

Tires have very few miles on them, but are about six years old I'd guess.  Cooper white letters and rally wheels with trim rings and caps.

I drove it less than a mile after engine break in.  I think the rear end in the car is gone and sounds like it's full of marbles.  Honestly, I'm too disappointed to disassemble the entire drivetrain to remove it. 

If you have any questions: ask.  There is soooo much work that I can't list it all.
This isn't a scam.  I've just had enough and can't stand to look at it any more, and will probably turn in my man-card and just buy a Prius.  Make a reasonable offer and come get it.  It'll start and move around, but is clunking pretty badly from the rear.

I won't give it away, but I know I won't nearly recover my investment.  At this point, I honestly don't care.

A summary of what I've done, over the past few years.

- minor engine stuff (engine was fairly new and had great compression and oil pressure... didn't rebuild lower end, but changed the timing chain, oil pump, and other bolt ons.)
- new Vortec heads and fairly aggressive Crane cam
- Scorpion self aligning rockers
- trans flush, filter change.  Shifts solid.
- new rubber everything I could change (I did not change the center four body mounts for fear of breaking the body mount bolts, but have the new ones.  changed the other four)
- new u-joints (all 6)
- rebuilt P/S pump
- new shocks
- rebuilt trailing arms w/new bushings and bearings
- new front bearings
- fuel tank (rubber bladder) with top pickup from a '75.
- all new driven accessories (alt, water pump, etc).
- Vintage Air A/C
- All new wiring (from a '75)
- Autometer arctic white gauges in the center stack
- rebuilt brake calipers
- New brake lines
- New slotted rotors
- New master cylinder
- MP3/Digital tuner that looks kinda like a stock radio
- 100 w amp, with 6x9 box in the cargo tray.  Stereo sound great, plays USB sticks.
- New headlight actuator seals, all new vacuum lines.
- Dynamat on every surface I could reach

PM me if you're interested.  If not, I may just take it out and shoot it.




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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

  PLEASE!  DO NOT give up yet. All good things come to them that persist. With all you have accomplished and attained, you deserve to see it finished. When I was a school competator we had a motto on the locker room wall. "Winners never quit, and Quitters never win". Pull the punkin and do what's needed. You'll never regret it.

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Man Darryl, I feel your pain. Two things: 1. I wish you weren't sick of it enough to sell it 2. I wish I had the cash to buy it.

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Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

Say it ain't SO,  Darry!!! After all of the time, blood, sweat, and beers, yer just throwin in the towel? NOOOOooooooo!!! It could be something as simple as bearings in the diff, and that can be fixed fairly easily, and not too much $$$. Granted, getting the dang thing OUT ain't ed zachary my idea of a fun date, but still......daaaaang.....DON'T GIVE UP NOW!!!

Don't get me wrong...I been in the same state of mind meself....MANY times. In every case, all it takes is to take a break for a while, get away from it, and recuperate. Might take a few days/weeks/months, but I bet if you sell it now, you will certainly regret it. It took many years(and plenty of $$$) to get my '74 to where it is now. I thought about just giving up on it several times, but I wanted it. A little time off from it every now and then to catch a break, build up the $$ reserves, and gather parts, and then right back to it.

If, however, you are dead set in letting it go, then I wish you the best of luck finding a buyer that will give it the care and respect you have given it.


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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Can you post some pictures and a price?\

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1973 BB 4-Speed Coupe Project Car

Man this is like a death in the family............It's hard to take.

Take a vacation.......get your mind off of it if you can..........hopefully better days are coming.........

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You're right, dude.  OK, I've had my little nervous breakdown and am back in, I think I needed a week without thinking about it.  Took it back out today and set the timing properly and rough-tuned the carb.  Man, it's a beast.  The lope at idle sounds spectacular.

Drove it again today for about two miles around the neighborhood.  The yuppies here are gonna hate me.    The noise isn't noticeable until I get above 30 mph and decelerate.  So I'm not sure whether it's the transmission or the rear end.  I'm going to be somewhat suicidal next weekend and run the car on jackstands to see if I can find the source. 

The good news is that I've found a machine shop that will do the rear end, including new gears, for about $700 if I bring it to him out of the car.  He comes highly recommended and will double the warranty of a new unit from Corvette Central or Mid America.  I also have a spare TH400 that I'm going to get flushed and checked out.  If I can't absolutely determine the source, I'll do them both.

Question for Dave: Do you know if the 3.55 housing will take a 3.08 ring gear?  If I'm getting the gears done, I might as well move to a ratio that will allow for highway cruising.

Thanks for tolerating my mild episode of mental illness...  At least it's a Corvette and not an MG, like I used to work on!


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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

No need to explain...... I did not comment cause I knew you'd be back! Your to close to the end of the tunnel now...... the hard stuff is done.

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LIFETIME MEMBER 151

Good move. Don't give up on it now. I've felt the same way about my '81 at times. But I know I would never get the money I've put into it out of it.  No matter how mad or disgusted I become with my car, I take a moment and regroup my thoughts and next move. Once you finally get it finished and on the road, all those frustrations and regrets will go away. Stick with it man, it'll be worth it. 

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GEN III 5.7L "LS6" Engine swap
TKO500 5 spd.

Darryl, you have a three series .............so YES you can go to the 3.08 ring and pinion.

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Glad to hear you're hangin' in there.....those 1974's are sort of the last of what I call "the old fashioned cars".....you can run old points/condenser distributor, you can run any old carburetor you want, and you can run the exhaust in any way, form, or route you want - NO CATALYTIC !!!  The newer slogan..."K.I.S.S."...Keep It Simple Sam, really hits home for me cause I like to be able to work on as much of the car as I can with my limited tools and knowledge.  I bought my '74 just because it was one of those right time..right place..right price type of deals, but now that I've had it a few years (and gone through the same fix-fix-fix headaches as we all do), I realize the '74 with it's smooth clean styling and simple mechanicals makes it a great "hobby car."  The old Vette rear end can take a lot of punishment once it's set up right....and that Turbo 400 tranny, probably one of the best automatics ever made (so good that other car companies bought them from GM to use in their own cars!!!).  Hope everything starts looking up for the better and a few things fall together for you, cause it just ain't livin' without a good old car in the garage!!

hi   go get em    never give up  you never be happy   take some off    you well see    its like a gooding looking woman  you just got back  good luck   show us  when you are done   don't watch the money it will make you carzy   dwa175

Don't quit. I didn't and I'm so glad that I didn't. I worked on my 78 for six years before I drove a mile. I'm now down to eight things to fix. I'm getting myself seat covers for Christmas. Now I have a buddy with a 77. We fix stuff together. Take a break and recharge the batteries. It sounds like a worthy car.