Greetings to all. I have been following a few threads for the past year. I want to get some feedback from people who own these lovely beasts.
I have a 1976 L-82 4 speed. She runs but she has been abused by previous owners. I am at a croosroad as to whether i should restore her to her original specifications or turn her into a BMW basher.
The previous owner had the build sheets from GM. Here is the dilemma! Is she or is she not a "specialty build" - the interior is firethron red, with white door panels and white seats, an M21 4 speed transmission, gymkahna suspension, no AC, no power windows, as per the build
sheets only 1400 corvettes were built this way. As i previously mentioned she was abused, the electrical system works, but what a mess, the floor pans are rusted out, a bit of rust on the frame. i have a budget of about $10000, do i restore her to original condition or go nuts and turn her into a mustang killing rocket. (she has put quite a few mustangs in their place, way behind)

Regards.
George

George:
If you truly have the build sheets on the vehicle, and the options match up to what you are seeing in front of you then you should assume that it is probably a "specialty build".

If she already puts Mustangs where they belong, why assume that putting her back to original condition will diminish her ability? Has she been modified in some way you haven't implied? Is the motor still original?

Is she a passion or a fiscal responsibility for you? ROI is a consideration if you plan on reselling in the future (God Forbid!)because we all know originality is going to bring a higher price from the officianados than any hot rod you might build.

Ultimately you're going to get some extremely varied opinions from everyone who responds to your thread, but the final decision is yours. Research the project, keeping within your (strict)budget, and see which is right for you.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do, then take lots of photos and write down your experiences so we can all share in your successes and frustrations.

thanks for the feedback.
The modifications are as follows, headers, holley 750 double pumper, the engine and transmission have not been altered. In reply to your question, she's going to be a keeper....I want to get more performance, but as i mentioned, she might be a special build car, if she is unique, i can easily undo the damage, if she's a "regular" build car, i am going to turn her into a BIGGER, BADDER, BEAST!!!!
I forgot to mention she's running 3.70 gears, (factory original)

George

Sounds like you have a special Vette. I agree if it is still like the build sheets you have, then restore it as is to the original build sheets body wise. If the engine mods are on the build sheets then you have a quite a performance build up already. I'd stick with that because you have great performance over original Vettes it sounds.

|UPDATED|12/31/2003 10:05:05 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

My guess is it's already special, and has some extra kick built in. I would keep it that way. But that's just me. You need to do what is most important to you. You plan on keeping it, so resale is not an issue, but you may find out that a special build is worth a lot more than the average. But as you say, you could do some mods the you could reverse later without hurting anything. You are dealing with the same difficult choice we all do. Not much help huh? Let us know

Ken Styer

you could always restore it to orgional but pull the matching # engine and drop a 383 in it. That way you could run it hard without the worry of hurting the special engine it came with.

My experience is that $10k is not going to be enough to truely restore the car and given the description, I am not sure its worth it to be honest. Just plow the money kicking the machine up to where you are really happy with it and look for, and eventually purchase a vehicle already restored at some other owners expense - Believe me the expense (both in dollars and frustration) of restoring a vette can never be recovered in its sale price unless the car is something like a '67 Big Block or L-89.

thanks for all the input, i think engine swapping is the easiest way to go, we are pretty lucky up here in quebec, the scrapyards are full of engines, bodies are all rotted out. i definetly don't want to create a trailer queen, i just want to have a bit of fun and not worry about a fly landing on the paint.

there is always alot of talk about using 383 motors, why?

383 is a stroked 350 extra hp and lots of torque.

I DON'T THINK THAT THE M-21 STANDS FOR A MUNCIE TRANNY. I HAVE A CLOSE RATIO 4-SPEED AND THE GM CODING FOR IT IS M-21, BUT IT IS A BORG-WARNER. MINE IS A '77, BUT I THINK IT IS THE SAME FOR A '76. EITHER WAY - STRONG TRANNY, RARE AND LOTS OF FUN!!