Topic: Maiden Voyage Tonight!!!!
in Forum: C3 General Discussion
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Came home from work, got the power steering system all sorted out (no leaks - so far) and said "what the heck, might as well take it out." So I did and it felt good! First time on the road in almost two years. No major issues to sort out that I can tell - she's running good! (Steering isn't coming back to center too well, but assuming the alignment will solve that issue). Went and picked up my Vette buddy a few blocks away and we took it on a little spin. Couldn't go too far since it was getting dark and my headlights were still out of commission (more on that in another post), but came home, got 'em working again and then had to take it out again!
One of the things I'm most amazed about is the relative lack of tuning it seems to need. I rebuilt my Edelbrock Q-jet per Cliff Ruggles' book (highly recommended, BTW) and used his rebuild kit. Set the idle screws three turns out and haven't touched 'em since it's been running. Initial timing is somewhere around 12 or 14 and haven't messed with that much, either. It starts easy, idles sweet with just a bit of lumpiness, cruises well, transitions from idle to cruise well, doesn't ping if I lug it, etc. Pretty pleased about all that. I will do some minor tweaking (advance curve and vacuum gauge tuning) but not much. Don't mess with it if it ain't broke!
Thanks again for everyone's help in this LONGGGGG process. It's been fun, but I'm excited to finally have a driver.
1976 Silver/Firethorn. L48, 4spd. Original 2 bolt, vortec heads, 9.4:1 CR, Speed Pro Cam: 224/224@0.050, 112 LSA, Eagle Steel Crank.
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Lifetime MemberTemple City, CA - USA
Joined: 10/3/2010
Posts: 365
Vette(s): 1969 Daytona Yellow. 350 / Automatic.
Yay! Congratulations!
Jim
q
Jim
q
Congratulations Dave! I've enjoyed watching your progress since I joined C3VR. I'm rather partial to the color of your Vette (if you look at my pictures you'll know why!).
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Build Date: May 7, 1975. 383 w/267 RWHP/310 RWTQ
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Way to go, Dave. 
Must be a great feeling to turn the key and head on down the road after all that time and work.
I've enjoyed watching your progress.
Must be a great feeling to turn the key and head on down the road after all that time and work. I've enjoyed watching your progress.
Thanks guys! Yep, it feels pretty good. Looking forward to taking each of the three kids on a little ride this weekend.
Greg: yeah, I saw the pics of your car the other day. It's amazing how similar our cars are - even down to the BFG tires. Your interior sure is nice. Did you do anything to it or is that all original? Funny that in '75 they called red "Oxblood" while in '76 they called it "Firethorn" -- looks pretty much the same to me! I'll post better pics of the exterior/interior of mine soon.
1976 Silver/Firethorn. L48, 4spd. Original 2 bolt, vortec heads, 9.4:1 CR, Speed Pro Cam: 224/224@0.050, 112 LSA, Eagle Steel Crank.
daveo76 said: Thanks guys! Yep, it feels pretty good. Looking forward to taking each of the three kids on a little ride this weekend.
Greg: yeah, I saw the pics of your car the other day. It's amazing how similar our cars are - even down to the BFG tires. Your interior sure is nice. Did you do anything to it or is that all original? Funny that in '75 they called red "Oxblood" while in '76 they called it "Firethorn" -- looks pretty much the same to me! I'll post better pics of the exterior/interior of mine soon.
Thanks for the kind words Dave. The interior is mostly original. Car was garaged all of it's life. 70,000 miles on it when I bought it this spring. I'm the 5th owner. It was repainted about 10-15 years ago in base/clearcoat. The previous owner replaced the door panels and carpet and the trim around the windshield. I've since changed the radio that is in that picture to a reproduction close to the original except it has a digital readout instead of the proper analog dial. I've also replaced the clock with a quartz reproduction. And new air-con vents in the center stack. Oh, and carpeted mats to match the carpets. And a real good cleaning inside and under the hood. The engine has an Edelbrock Performer RPM inatake and Edelbrock 750 CFM carb, Comp Cams Magnum 1.6 ratio roller rockers, Hedman coated long tube headers, 2.5 inch mandrel bent pipes with crossover and Magnaflow mufflers. It's quite a bit quicker now than it was in '75!
Car is one of only 1067 out of 2827 coupes imported to Canada in 1975 equipped with factory air. I have the full build history of the car from GM Canada. Car originally had white wall tires (yuk!) when built. It also has the C50 rear defroster, A31 power windows, C60 air, GU4 3.08 axle, J50 power brakes, L48 engine (still in car), M40 THM 400, N41 power steering, QRM white walls, U05 dual horns, U69 AM/FM. No Tilt and Tele suprisingly. Build date was May 7th 1975.
|UPDATED|8/25/2012 10:02:59 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|
Build Date: May 7, 1975. 383 w/267 RWHP/310 RWTQ
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Great job, Dave! You should be very proud
corvette440hp
in Forum: C3 General Discussion
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