71stingray454

Hi,

I haven't seen the 1976 Vette yet, but a friend of a friend is selling one. I know quite a bit about 68-72's because of our restoration but I'm new to the rubber bumpers. I have the Corvette black book so I can check for matching numbers and all that. Are there any unique things to look out for on a '76? We're not looking to do a restoration like we did on our '71...this one will be a more drivable vette. :D Actually it's because we just want another vette :D . You can never get enough!
The owner is asking about $8000 Canadian (which is $5300 US)...anyone have any ballpark figures for "average condition" '76s?
Oh yeah, the '76s have a unique hood...anyone have any pictures of it? Also, there are 2 types of rear bumpers...if anyone has pictures of these I'd really appreciate it! Thanks in advance for any advice/tips!

Mike

BTW: I want to thank all those who replied to my post about A/C and hood woes. I printed out the responses but haven't had the chance to implement them on the '71!

tnt76vette

"CORVETTE" letters are smaller on early 76's bumpers like mine,...only diff btw the 2 rear bumps......hood is unique to 76's but dont know why, they all look the same to me......Further only 5,720 had L-82 option out of 46,558 total prod.....Steering wheel is also unique to '76 Vette & 76 Vega's (seriously!)....PIA for replacement.....Price sure sounds reasonable, but with your Vette knowledge you will know for sure.....Hope this helps, and Go Red Wings :jester :flag :seeya

woodworkr

I have always owned C3's, 2 68's to be exact and I bought my 76 because they are virtually the same car. I have never heard about the hood being unique to the 76 that is a new one but doesn't surprise me in the least. Also the sunvisors vary from early to late. Early ones have a 2 opint mount to the windshield frame, later ones used the same single, pivot mount as in the 77's. I have quite a few pictures in my photo album in my signature if you are interested, feel free to open any album you please. Good luck with the new Corvette :)
JoeB

1LE

If the car is an original L-82, I think 5300 is a steal. Go for it.

BeachinVette

There some pics on my link. I have put a 1980 front clip, rear bumper cover on mine. This is the original hood though. I will start painting mine Monday.

Bob

Ganey

More power. The Camaro & Vega guys (w/ a SB) say they have a Vette :eek: wheel. A favorite subject for 76 owners. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=216691

Paul 75 L82

Other than the rear bumper cover my 75 is about the same as your 76 that you're loking at. The hood is the same. I DON'T FOLLOW FORUM RULES, I DARE YOU TO DOCK ME % out my web site. Good Luck.

daily_driver

76 had metal floorboards//// make sure to check it out for rust....

also had the @#@#@ vega steering wheel :U :U :U :U

its a great year for a daily driver.///

it aint worth much.. it is the dog year of all corvettes (perhaps 84 is taking over that title now?? :lol: :lol: :blueangel: )

curly

Picked mine up for $4900. I've always been able to drive it, but always many thing left to do.
A good point was made about floor boards, mine has a hole.
Overall please with my car.
See sig. I have 80-82 bumpers

Tominator

Problems with mine 76 when purchased;
radiator support was rusted
fan shroud was cracked
pin holes in radiator
all brakes leaked
altenator braket broke

I like the 76 the best :yesnod:

Allan71

Make sure it's got an "X" as the VIN 5th letter, and not an "L".

All the 73-79 hoods basically look the same from the outside, but there are some differences underneath. The 73-75 hoods used the cowl induction system and a vent grille on the outside. The 1976 hood eliminated the cowl induction setup and went to a flex tube setup drawing air from over the radiator, and the outside vent grille reamained. The 77-79 hoods kept the same cool air setup, but eliminated the outside vent grille. A new latching system was also introduced for 1977, and the 77-79 hoods will not work on a 73-76 car without modifications, and the optional underhood light (part of RPO ZX2) first appeared in 77.

tnt76vette

Allan 71: Thanx for info on hood issue...all my parts catalogs show '76 hood is unique and now we all know why...none of us are ever too old to learn... :D :D :D :seeya

71stingray454

Hi,

Wow thanks a lot for all the information and pics! I think I'll be able to tell the owner a thing or two now about a '76 vette! Hopefully I'll be seeing the car this weekend or early next week! I'll definitely let y'all know what happens! I'm so excited hehe :D . This '76 won't be a daily driver though, the winters here in Montreal, Canada are nasty. The vette would be stored for the winter. The lack of power in the later 70's doesn't really bother me...our '71 BB will take care of our power needs. Anyway, I think I should check out the car before making all these plans! Thanks again for the info!

Mike
:chevy

Carl in LA

I say look for a supercharged Lingenfelter 427 when looking for a 76 vette.

ZD75blue

There is not much different mechanics wise in the 71 you worked on, Functionally its about the same car, skin wise, you have a few differences...

Also you have to deal with emmissions.... PITA to get to pass

R. Bruno

Yep- emissions is the big difference, but I look at it this way, when the car hits 30 (at least in CA) it is exempt. So buy it, drive it 4 years and you can modify it any way you want in 2006. Who knows, may even be worth more once that time comes. :D

tnt76vette

NO emissions testing in MI after 25 yrs, so now my "doggy" '76 (as some say) is now open to all kinds of mods.....some of which I have already done legally...Respectfully suggest that some Forum members update their thinking process, so as we dont lead the newer members astray.....My .02 :D :D :D

vettedan

Sounds like a fair price. Very similar to a '71 vette. Before I installed a ‘95 LT1 into my '76, I put a mild dual pattern cam in the L48 and I ran a 15.3 sec ¼ mile. Not bad for factory specs of 16 sec ¼ mile.
Dan

RMS73

Alot of things changed in the mid year. AC compressor, Back compartment ledge, rear view mirror mounting method, radiator, interior light, & more. It will be necessary to know whether it is an early or late design when it comes to get parts. The Original Corvette Fact Manual has alot of good information.
Roger

71stingray454

Hi,

I checked the car out! Since it's supposed to be similar to our '71, I'm guessing the 2 pieces of wood used to stretch the front end to align with the hood is not normal :( . The car is white, although it looks like it was painted with a roller. The VIN number has an X (i.e. it's an L82) but the engine block is not (it's number was for a 1980+ 350ci). The condition of the interior made me want to :U . The door panels were hand painted (lots of black spots were the previous owner missed and totally didn't care about) and held with about 20 tie-wraps each. The seats were wrecked (need new foam, covers, frame etc). The dash pad has the typical crack in the middle (meaning it was removed). The doors, hood and headllights did not align properly at all. The nose of the car and the rear definitely needed to be replaced as they severely warped. The front end was partially held by tie-wraps also! :eek: After looking at the hood, we concluded that the previous engine must have caught fire...there was still some melted remains of the "fire extinguishing mat" under the hood (I can't remember what it's called!). Anyway, I left frustrated that someone would ask so much (it was $9000 CDN not $8000...I heard wrong!) and present that to me. :cuss
The engine bay looked clean, and it supposedly drives good. Unfortunately the battery was dead so we couldn't hear it. All in all he was asking for way too much. We didn't check the bottom of the car on a lift but it looked surprisingly clean...why would the whole car be neglected except for the mechanical aspects? Grrr.

Mike


[Modified by 71stingray454, 6:53 PM 1/22/2002]


[Modified by 71stingray454, 7:37 PM 1/22/2002]