Light84vette

I would Like to buy a C3 corvette next or in 2004 and I want to know which year would be best for the things I will do to it. I would like to be able to fit in a big block, I need a one that has electric seats, windows, doors and look good. I want to have a 74 or pre 74 front bumber and a later model like 80+ model rear bumber on it. ALso I would like to know which year would be the lightest and which year came with a stick?

Guru_4_hire

http://www.idavette.net

Ganey

All need FE-7 sus. If you prefer 68-77 body style, then 74 is last yr. for factory BB. The el. equip. you want may need to be added. BB fits in all yrs. so I would use 77 FE-7. 73-79 has a med. rise hood.
The 80+ rear bumper can be aded to 74-79. The rear spoiler is not needed & the front one rec.!
If you prefer the 78-82 body style then 80 is good for light wt., needing ft. bumper (for you) & hood. 78-79 has the heavy rear end w/ dual ex. crossmember so it's a good choice.

:cool:

Paul L

FWIW, electric seats did not appear until 1981. But they can be retrofitted to earlier models.

Light84vette

Thanks for the info guys but When I surf around trying to look for a C3 The only thing I find are autos, I cant find any manual C3;s. Do they even exist? :confused:

MotorHead

4 speed cars are harder to find, but they are out there. One word of advice if you want a 4 speed then wait for a 4 speed or you will be never be satisfied :D

Twin_Turbo

or get an auto, pull the tranny and slap in a 5 or 6 speed.

Light84vette

What about the clutch pedals and the hydrualics and all the other stuff that goes with it. That will be a lot of work :yesnod:

Twin_Turbo

clutch is on the brake pedal assy, it's a bolt on swap w/ the brake pedal only assy from the auto.

IT's really easy, just some work.

Twin_Turbo

Why is the 80 a good choice (and therefore 81 & 82 not) ?

If you are gonna rup out the engien & trans any way it really doesn't make a difference and the 82's all had the BB 1/2 shafts w/ larger y-joints so that might be a thing to consider.

Dual exh crossmember isn't a difficult thing to add, and if you're gonna do a thorough job on the car you'll dutch that emmber anyway, it's way too heavy, the holes for the exhaust are too close to the tranny for a nice straight back setup, it's not as stiff as it could be.. bowtie overdrives style crossmember is a much better choice.

Ryan77

Buy a '74 :yesnod: . It will have the front bumper you want, and you can add you '80+ bumper. The big block will fit, but you will have to retro-fit the car with the power ammentities that you want, but you can get the power windows on the car already and the others won't be too hard to add on.


[Modified by Ryan77, 8:36 PM 12/25/2002]

NHvette

Gotta go with 74 or earlier, for a no hassles emmisions and exhaust.
Anything after that will be subject to scrutiny by the local officials.
:seeya

Twin_Turbo

IMO if there's one thing that is just plain ugly, it's those retrofit 80-82 style bumpers. It looks like a pair of giant lips on front of the car.. .

Marck :U

Light84vette

Do the C3's have any difference in wheelbase throughout the years? Is their a slite body style change during all the years of the C3?

Also I plan on adding a solid axel with some really wide tires being spun with some monster power.