New Project: 1976 Chevy Corvette

[Akodo]

No need to apologize! I was not offended I was just making sure you understood that my statement was not meant to hurt anyone's feelings.

I do not know your goals or budget. But a 350 will be your best options from an ease of assembly standpoint. You can easily order a radiator hose for a 1976 Corvette and it will fit.

I prefer the body styling of the 1980-1982.
Repairing fiberglass is not hard but is not fun.
Just to give you a background, I work at a shop that maintains and restores corvette. If I can help you out let me know.

Yeah, thi was the perfect Vette for me because I like the 80-82 nose and tail, but prefer the flat window to the bubble back. I'll definitely ping you every now and then, thanks for the offer!

[TylerT/AZ28]

4bt swap it.

[Akodo]

Well, the Vette officially has a name. She will be Dawn to go with Dusk, my 79 T/A. Now to get her on the road, I'm optimistically aiming for next spring to complete the build. Or at least have her driveable if not 100% complete.

Started pulling together a list of all of the components I'm going to need to put this thing back on the road. Looks like I'm missing a fair number of interior components, mainly trim pieces, screws, and other odds and ends. Plenty missing under the hood, this guy was gutting it to make a drag car, so plenty of spaces to fill. The local boneyard has one and a half C-3s in it, a 77 and half of an 82. Anybody else know of any I can strip some odds and ends off of? Almost have Dusk's interior back in, hoping to get started on Dawn's engine and tranny as soon as I pull Dusk out of the garage.

[Akodo]

Got a lucky break! A C3 was totaled in my city, I got first dibs on the carcass (OK, so it wasn't good luck for HIM.) Managed to pick up an entire interior, minus the console and dash, for $700. And its in NICE shape, carpet needs a little cleaning, but seats and trim pieces are immaculate. Also pulled the steering wheel, visors, headliner, and sill plates. Sweeeet.

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[birdie2000]

Nice score! Aftermarket C3 interior parts are expensive and most fit like absolute dog poo.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[Atrus]

Nice score! Sounds like fate's favoring you on this build so far. Let's hope it continues

[Akodo]

Got the interior pulled on Saturday, Sunday I needed to get the Vette down off of the trailer, but three of the tires went flat. So I hopped on Craigslist and found a set of C-3 slotted mags with new tires in Lansing for $250. Drove up to pick them up, turns out the guy parts out Vettes as a hobby now that he is retired, and has worked on them for thirty years! He actually bought the car I was going to look at before I bought the one I have now. Cut a deal for a set of doors ($100), and the complete radiator assembly with shroud ($70). Coming together! Just need a starter, valve covers, headers, a shifter, and a few small interior pieces to make it driveable.

[Atrus]

Wow, nice! Seems like the planets are aligning on this one!

[DynoDave]

You're scoring some good deals there. Keep it up!

[Akodo]

OK, at a point in the planning phase where I need some input. The question is: What tranny to put in this thing?

It was originally a 350/ 4 speed Muncie car. I'm dropping a built 355 into it, the block came from an older Caprice I'm told. So what to hook to it? Another Muncie? T-5? T-56? Something else? I'm not a tranny guy, so any input is welcome. Any idea what problems I would see switching from a 4 speed to a T-5? Does it matter what it comes out of or is a T-5 the same no matter the source?

[Akodo]

On a side note, pried the doors up to check on the headlight setup. Its all there, and in surprisingly good shape. Something I don't need to fix!
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This space for rent! Working on gathering the various components to drop in the 355. Still need a few little things, starter, some brackets, and the mounts.

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[Darren]

You'll be better off going with a T5 or a T56.. T56 is money T5 is weak, take your pick. I have a mild built 355 with a T5 and I beat the crap out of it and still going strong so I see no problems with that choice. Cheaper, easy to find and simple.

[bri2203]

Shifter location is very important

For 5 speeds I would recommend.
TKO 500
TKO 600

For a 6 speed I would recommend
a T56 magnum perfect fit

All of the above options will exceed what you paid for the car.
I had a TKO 600 in my 69 corvette and I loved it. I hated driving the car when I put the four speed back in.

[Akodo]

With the TA up and running again, finally have a chance to make more progress on this project. First up, what does every good project need? A parts car! Cut a deal with the local boneyard for the 77 that I pulled the interior out of. $400 later and its mine. It has almost every odds and end part I needed, plus plenty of ones I don't that I can sell to recoup my investment. Already cut a deal for $120 for some trim pieces and parts of the rear hatches/ storage compartments that I won't need from the 76 now. Interesting side note, I am VERY familiar with this parts car, its been driving around my home town for 30 years, painted in Michigan colors. Had a head on with a Fusion, torqued the frame quite a bit.



Plenty of useful parts there, from the luggage rack to the body shell itself. Only real lost causes are the from fenders/nose, and they have plenty of useful bits I can scavenge as well. Like vents, turn signals, headlight actuators, overflow bottle, etc.



Only components I didn't get were the engine, transmission, and rear end. Didn't need the rear, transmission was an auto, and I already have a 358 for the engine, so no big losses there. Stripped the quarters last night, anybody need some battered C3 fenders for an art project or man cave decoration? Free!