Crash Dummy

This is going to be a little bit long winded, but it's not every day you get your first 454 vette. This is my 6th C-3 and the only big block out of them all. So... here we go.

Some of you might have read my thread last night hacking up Auto TransExport. My view has not changed although the picture is now clear as to how they got this vette to my door in less than 2 days. It's actually pretty interesting how some of these car hauls come off. Foolish me for thinking Auto TransExport was actually going to do the pick up & deliver themselves. They may very well do their own hauling for enclosed loads, but here's how it all happened. As soon as they got the confirmed order they went straight out on the airwaves(internet included) and put it up for auction. Ends up in this case there was a delivery service based out of Houston(amazing) that was delivering cars to the Detroit area on Saturday and they bid on hauling my car back to Pearland(Houston suburbs). Here's the hauler out front of my house for your information.


Ends up that they also picked up a '75 vert in that area and were also bringing it back to Houston. Again... if you remember I noted in the other thread that when the driver originally called me he said he had a '75 to deliver to me. He came back with only two cars... both vettes heading to his own hometown. The '75 was delivered to Corvettes of Houston early this morning to be completely restored. I found that interesting.

And now we get to my vette. When the driver called he was at my house and was ready to unload it. I work 3 1/2 miles from my home, so I told him to just call me when he got there. By the time I got there it was in my driveway. I had my digital camera with me if you didn't already know. And here's my first pic as I found a new toy.


And here's a second pic.


And just a quick shot of the interior.


I had to go back to work, so I had to put it away until tonight. And yes.... I was looking forward to 5 o'clock so I could get home. My first assessments? The first thing I had to do was start it up again and go take a quick drive around the neighborhood and hopefully the cops were not around. A bit cold-blooded on start-up, but it cleaned right up. A very solid and deep sounding engine without any pinging or sounds I didn't want to hear. Definitely differently sounding than a small block. The manual tranny shifts great and brakes are solid. That was another worry.

The exterior paint & body? From 5 feet it looks great, but definitely needs to be buffed out as it has a haze to it. I have no plans at all of completely restoring this car at this time, so I am looking at it right now as to what will make it great in the meantime. Two vettes are a bit of a cramp to the pocketbook. The passenger side doorlock is missing(as described), but there are some small nicks around the lock that makes me wonder why the lock was missing in the first place. And not really looking the car over too closely yet it appears that there probably has been body work done to the driver's door. Black tells everything... I think you all know that. All in all, a super looking '71 454, so far.

The interior? It needs the most work. Everything is there and no damage, but it has age of a '71. The leather seats have age cracks(no tears)... the center console is cracked(replace for sure) and carpet will need to be done. It's actually better than I would have thought based on the E-bay ad. If I were not thinking about redoing the seats I would not let it bother me. The dash and all the gauge area are in really great shape with little wear.

The engine? Bubba kicks in here. I don't have a clue why anyone would spray an intake with bright chevy orange when the rest of it is not going to fit in. And to make things worse Bubba oversprays things like the return carb gas spring and few other things around the intake and paints over crap & already chipping paint. I haven't pulled the valve covers(will do it Saturday), but here are the numbers I have found so far. Maybe someone can tell me if these numbers match to what is supposed to be in this vette.
VIN: 194371S114493
Block: GM8T 3983512(or maybe 3968512) I really did not clean the area good.
Engine date: C 4 71
Engine Serial #: T0330CPH 011S114493

I get up underneath the car on Saturday and access things. Not sure what I will find. And I will go through all of the normal things to see if this vette is going to be inspectable(lights, wipers, etc). I do know the parking brake is not functional(stretched/broken I do not know).

(Edited part: I misread the engine codes in front of the serial #. Scraping the paint down showed CPH and not 0FH like I originally thought. This makes more sense)
[Modified by bgrice, 8:12 PM 7/24/2003]


[Modified by bgrice, 10:31 PM 7/24/2003]

NHvette

That looks and sounds nice. I think you got a good deal on that after all.
The blue book value was near 17k.

sidepipes sidepipes sidepipes :leaving: :seeya

Crash Dummy

Dave,

I forgot to mention above that I am not dissatisfied at all. The seller was actually very honest as to what I would get. If anyone is looking for a '74 vert that has almost everything done to it and will fly when finished contact me. I might have one I can sell you. :cheers:

bamavettes

Congrats...its a beauty... :hurray: :hurray:

Alwyn678

Good luck.......looks good....Hope you do not have too much work ahead of you....You bought it sight unseen?? I would NEVER EVER do that

My69

Nice looking car. I think you are going to enjoy it. Lots og good luck!!! :cool:

467-Ratman

Welcome to the 71 club! I know you will love the big cubes you have now, just watch for our friendly police..... They just love going after our toys. I just took my Rat for a ride, great for the soul!!! Good luck and keep us posted on how things are going :party:

PatsLs1vette

sharp looking :thumbs: enjoy it.

LFZ

b, nice ride! those are some pretty beefy lookin tires on those ralleys...what size are those if you don't mind me asking? (i'm lookin for a set of goodyear white letters to go on my ralleys really soon)

gq82

I like your choice of year...congrats :cheers: best of luck!!

Crash Dummy

Yes... bought off of E-bay. Definitely scary, when one of these things arrives. There is work to be done, but so far nothing that is a show-stopper from hitting the streets except for the parking brake. I don't think Texas will let me by without it working.

By the way... I ordered door locks from Ecklers and they came in today also. Might I say that I am not amused that they did not include the rubber seal that fits behind the lock on the outside. If that isn't a chit way to do business then nothing is. Being the way I am I ordered those rubber seals separate just because I figured they would package the locks without them when any sane person would like to replace them too.

79VetteMike

Gorgeous car!!

Daniels

Nice car, Contrats on the new one! :steering:
and by the way, nice pics!

1Bad69

:thumbs:

Crash Dummy

The tires are Goodyear Eagle ST's... P225/70R15. About 80% of tire tread left. I'm not sure why you say they look different as I can't tell myself except for looking at my '74 next to it. Amazing how evenly and low the big block vette sits compared to the vert with all of the lightweight components. Granted, the '74 will absolutely kick this car's azz in the 1/4 with the 355/427HP engine, but it's a big block vette that I've always wanted so there is no comparison. What can I say?

QuickVet

looks like a nice unmolested car :yesnod:

Steve Straus

:thumbs: :thumbs:

Looks great. My second fav year behind 69. I hope you don't find anything scary when you do the undercarriage inspection. If you bought it from a truthful buyer, then you've definitely found a rare deal on ebay.

Crash Dummy

Steve,

My thoughts agree with you. What's underneath? When the car came in it was rear end infested with ladybugs as it was the top car and backed on the trailer(I asked the driver why the bugs). The spare tire carrier underneath is the cleanest I have ever seen as I was cleaning those bugs off. And the engine bay is surprisingly semi-clean with the front end parts very well taken care of. That's encouraging. The seller left me a note in the car that the previous owner was Turkish and a car collector and kept this car garaged for all the years he owned it. Yet, I found this vette serial # on "71corvette.com" as being white. From what I have researched across the body and the small pinholes in the paint I have to agree as it is appearing to be white beneath the black.

No telling what I will find as I go through this vette.


[Modified by bgrice, 11:11 PM 7/24/2003]

Corey_68

Nothing like a Big Block, congrats :cheers:

LAvetteman

:iagree:

Congrats on your new purchase!!!! I don't have to tell you to register it, as you mentioned it allready has been. I wonder how the previous owner found out about the registry???