The 67 Corvette rides again (hopefully)

[Raceman]

Almost ready, cranked but not tuned and all the ignition shielding and other minor pieces still to go. Hopefully better luck this time.

[Raceman]

From the side, still dusty from a year in this garage uncovered, and side exhaust covers not yet back on.

[Scream And Fly]

Nice work. Now all I need is a ride in it. ;)

[The Big Al]

Very nice, very nice work.

Love that green! That was a hot color in those days.

Al

We need to get a 572 in one of your projects!

Al

[heath brinkley]

God, I love orange.:)

[Fast Fred]

that a 4 speed car?:cool:

[QUICKSILVER]

Clean that black soot out of those carbs, It looks disgusting. That's no way to treat that car, and get those tools, and other things up out of the floor. Are you trying copy my shop?

[Raceman]

that a 4 speed car?:cool:

Yep. All 435 horse cars were 4 speed in 67. They DID offer a high shift point turbo 400 with em in 69. (they may've offered it in 68 too, but I can't remember)


............... and get those tools, and other things up out of the floor. Are you trying copy my shop?

That's a clean area compared to where I have some of the rest of my junk. Look at the surroundings of the El Camino in the other thread.

[Trikki1010]

Nice car Norris,

Love the 3-2 setup, my friends father has the same setup:cool:

My first, was a 68 T-top, pop out rear window

Loved that body style:D

[Fast Fred]

396 or 427? LS6?:cool:

[Raceman]

The Corvette is an L71, which is a 435 horse 427, 11:1 compression, solid lifter camshaft, rectangular port heads, available in Corvette ONLY 67, 68, 69. It's the same as the 425 horse 427 offered in the big cars in 66 through 69 and the Corvette in 66 except for the tri power. The 425's were all alum. high riser with 780 Holley.

The LS6 is an 11:1 454 with all the same pieces as the 425 horse 427 including the camshaft. Only difference is the extra cubic inches and the change to a low rise alum. intake for hood clearance for the intended target, the 70 Corvette, which never happened. They built approx. 5 thousand LS6 Chevelles and a handful of LS6 El Caminos in 1970, but strangely dropped the option in 71 from the Chevelle, yet put it in less than 200 Corvettes. With the compression lowered to the 9's for the 71 engine it was a dog.

[Fast Fred]

so that is an Aluminum 427 tripower with a m22 on the back, what is in the pumpkin for numbers 3.90's -4.11 ?:cool:

[Raceman]

The only thing aluminum is the intake manifold. The L88 in 67 (20 produced) and the L89 in 67 (16 produced) both had alum. cyl heads. Both of those engines were made in larger quantities in 68 and 69. The aluminum block/alum head big block was 69 only and only 2 made it into Corvettes and 69 were put into Camaros (easy to remember 69 in 69).

The transmission in the Corvette is an M21 with a 3.70 rear. The LS6 El Camino has the M22 with 4.10 gears and the Chevelle is M22 with 3.31's.

[baldad45]

Love the mid style vettes ,the car is looking great!I have a 63 FI split window thats going to see the road for the first time in 17 years.I had a 68 L-71 that I let get away 20 years ago wish I still had that one.These engines were grossly underated on advertized HP.I had 3.08 rearend gears with closeratio 4speed so it didn't have a lot of gear on the bottom but it was still hard to keep the rearend from passing the front! Would do 100MPH in 2nd gear just like the Nash Rambler in the song.I drove a supercharged 05 vette last year and thats the only car that i've driven that came close to the L-71 for power.The tri-power setup could be a problem ,if you have issues with the primary carb give me a PM, I may be able to fix it.Great ride Glen

[The Big Al]

God, I love orange.:)

That is Chevrolet Engine Orange, Not just any Orange!

Drop and give Me 20 BOY!!!!!:eek:

[Raceman]

I have a 63 FI split window thats going to see the road for the first time in 17 years.

I've got a couple of those also that I bought as stalled projects for cheap a long time ago. One of em was taken to absolute bare, including the chassis. It's 340 horse. The previous owner had gotten a divorce and moved the body and chassis, but most of the parts and engine/transmission were still at the house, now occupied by an extremely pissed off ex wife. She gave all the stuff to a Korean guy who lived next door to haul off for scrap metal, just out of spite. When I contacted him about the engine, at first he wouldn't sell it to me, then he finally did, but for 500 bucks, which was a lot of money for a 327 rebuildable core in the mid 80's. If it hadn't been THE ORIGINAL high horse motor for this car I'd have told him what he could do with it, but he had me and knew it. The downside to that car is that it's supposed to be tan with tan interior and I just can't get fired up on it. I don't ever change original cars, especially those with the right motor, but I may make an exception on this one and change it to red/red. The second 63 coupe is just a roller and has a fair amount of stuff missing, but the body is very nice and all the glass/moulding and interior is there. It was an old project also that somebody took apart in the 70's, then lost their momentum. I don't know if it'll ever get done. Maybe I'll find somebody with something real interesting to swap it for sooner or later.

My 3rd 63 is a roadster, a fuelie, and one of my favorite cars. The story is that a guy about 80 miles south of here ordered it new with the intent of doing some top end racing. It was ordered hardtop ONLY (no convertible top under hatch and hatch not drilled for it) and 3.08 gears. The local dealer in the small town never could get the fuel unit to run right and the guy traded it in here with 800 miles on it. A local hotrodder, about 20 yrs old at the time, who'd been in and out of jail told his mother that if she didn't buy it for him he'd just steal it, so she hocked the small house they shared and bought it. He got in trouble with the car several times for speeding, street racing, illuding, etc, and she was going to sell the car. He took it completely apart including the chassis out so it couldn't be sold. By now the car had 4066 miles on the clock (four thousand, not forty) The body hung from a swing set by a rope through the hardtop for several years in front of their little house. For years he told people that the chassis and drivetrain had been sold for scrap by a stepfather. Finally, drunk one night he told a friend of mine that the chassis and drivetrain was in a barn in a neighboring county. A deal was struck and my friend bought the car. It changed hands several times, always disassembled. About 5 or 6 years after all this I had the opportunity to buy it. I thought the price was high and declined. The owner at that time hauled it to Atlanta and sold it to a dealer there. I had a 396/375 Camaro that was very original that I'd recently aquired, and was able to triangle a trade between it and the Corvette with a 3rd party and bought it home the next day. It was still original paint, but unfortunately the years in the sun under the swingset had taken their toll and it was down to factory primer in places and even bare glass in others. The car has been painted now for almost 15 years in the correct black laquer, but never sanded and buffed. It was originally black with red interior, and of course that's the way it'll be. It's back on the chassis with the drivetrain done, the fuel unit done, and basically ready to be sanded and buffed and have the interior put in. The body never had so much as a door ding, although the hotrodder did whack it on the hood some with a hammer when he was frustrated, so I had to find a hood from another car to keep from having filler anywhere on this one. It's number 4 in line now to get back started on, and since it's the only one of my old cars that my son likes, may get done this year also if he has his way.

[baldad45]

My 63 is a long story,it burnt completely during a motor pull in the winter.Had a electric heater in my garage ,disconected the gas line so had a gas spill ,2 steps to the bench for a bolt to block it off turned go back to block it off and it ignited.Fiberglass and gas once started are next to impossible to extingish.Salvaged the frame and drivetrain ,found a body in Houston TX. without front clip.Got a front clip and hood from Ecklers and proceded to do a ground up restore.Lucky for me my best friend was the accountant at the local Chev dealership so I got parts at dealercost.A couple years later visiting a friend in Calgary I found a FI unit for a 63 my engine was a 340HP so it was basicly a intake swap.By the way my friend in Calgary has a 66 coupe with the same hood and paint except his is maroon,your pic really caught my eye because of that!The FI unit has been very little problem as long as you don't let it sit idle too long. Glen

[Fast Fred]

ya about 25years ago worked in the big city at the big body shop, doin glass work on vetts.musta done at least one of every year made. any who the boss had a 66, it was mint, red on black. it looked like a red plastic thing, all the stock seams were done, it was killer . got to drive it, it was a 327 with 3.08's
when i sidesteped 3rd at about 7200 the car moved over a lane, them, them was the days, i was 15:cool:

[Raceman]

The hood is 67 ONLY, so if it's on a 66 it's been switched.

As far as the fuel unit, I've got 2 fuel cars, but have never cranked either one of em, so I'm a little concerned. I keep hearing horror stories of bent rods because a cyl filled with fuel and hydraulic'd. My unit was done by Jack Podell about 12 or 14 yrs ago, but has never been cranked, so I'm told the pump may need some attention or it may pop a cable. We'll probably see in the next several months.

Bad luck on the fire. Is the body all done now? Did you get a press moulded original type front end from Ecklers or a hand laid one piece?

I had a 3rd 63 coupe that I bought in 1975, but it had a lot of surprises when I took it apart. It was my first Corvette and my education at Corvette University and I got a master's degree from foolin' with it but my checkin' account almost didn't $urvive the education. It had the front half of an Eckler's hand laid front end spliced on from the center of the fenderwells foward that I hadn't detected when I bought it. It was 300 horse red on red 4 sp with electric windows and no other options. The guy I sold it to finished it and shows it usually at Super Chevy. It's really attractive, but he didn't go the total originality route with it. I wish I had it back.

[Fast Fred]

wow thay diked the nose over the middle of the fenders, thats criminal:eek:

[baldad45]

If the Fi was done by someone like Jack P. I wouldn't worry .After it's run then you should fire it up at least twice a year.As on outboards if they sit they gum up.In particular the the screens in the injector noozles and its metering disc .If I don't drive this for a long period I disassemble the injectors and usually find some of the screens have gumed up.These units are actually easier to tune than a carb as you can adjust the A/F ratio without changing jets or power valves.A friend used to do propane converions so I took my car there to check out the A/F ratios his mech said my Fi ran cleaner than the propane conversions.Is your fi high pressure pump a wooble plate and piston style or a gear style like a oil pump ?The gear style are simple and in my experiance trouble free,the wooble plate style looks like it could cause prolems if left idle for long periods.I would be more concerned about the center carb on your L-71 especially if you're having some leaking problems.I got my 68 L-71 because the previous owner leaned out the center carb and colapsed the center 3 pistons and he couldn't afford to rebuild it.Paid $3200 CAN for that car early 70s ,pistons were $27, times have changed.Glen

[Binger]

im in the middle of helping a buddy redo his 66 427 ill try and post some pics been a first for the both of us.

[Raceman]

I haven't had leakage problems with any of my carbs, but I am curious about what problems you've seen and what you've done to em.

[baldad45]

I drove this setup for quit afew years also a friend of mine had a AAR 340CUDA with similar tripower setup.The problem I saw on both cars was the metering body on the center carb would leak into the powervalve vacuum camber .So gas gets drawn into the intake and the idle gets rough ,1st reaction is to adjust the idle needles ,this works at 1st but afterawhile it can't cover it up.So when I figured out what was really the problem ,I could tigthen the bowel screws to compress the metering block gasket more and stop the leak.This may seem simple ,but when the carbs are all installed these screws are not easy to access.The problem comes then you overtighen or tighten uneven ,eventually the carb body is warped.I think the gaskets today are better than then,but the key is to torque those srcews to exactly the same torque.I'll try to find this torque figure, can't remember it exactly, just that it's around 10 inch lbs maybe less.The guy who had the car before me took it to some shop and they lowered the float level to compensate the idle, so when he drove it hard the cylinders feed by the center carb leaned out,result 3 bad pistons.Another irritating problem was if you drove it hard enough to bring in the secondary carbs they tended to hang open just alittle when you got off the gas.It doesn't take very much opening with 6 ventures instead of 2 to give you a 2500 idle at a light with the clutch in.But when everything is right they are a blast! Glen

[Chummy]

Looking good Norris!!

[triple dude]

Glad to see it almost "there." I always enjoy hearing the history of a particular car. One advantage you have is there's more barns down your way.;) If you're interested, one of my antique furniture rags has an announcement for an upcoming old car auction in the Atlanta area. It's small--about 35 cars. The same outfit (Red Baron) is also having an old gun auction. One item is an old remington 44 revolver allegedly owned by Wild Bill Hickok. If you're interested in either, I can dig out the ad for their website.

[Chummy]

Glad to see it almost "there." I always enjoy hearing the history of a particular car. One advantage you have is there's more barns down your way.;) If you're interested, one of my antique furniture rags has an announcement for an upcoming old car auction in the Atlanta area. It's small--about 35 cars. The same outfit (Red Baron) is also having an old gun auction. One item is an old remington 44 revolver allegedly owned by Wild Bill Hickok. If you're interested in either, I can dig out the ad for their website.

oh oh, let me know about that also Thanks

[triple dude]

I'll go on tonight and post the info. The car auction didn't show much in the ad but the gun pictures were awesome. HEAVY engraving on the rifles/shotguns will probably lead to heavy $$$$$.

[AnthonySS]

That's just SWEET :)

[Raceman]

Glad to see it almost "there." I always enjoy hearing the history of a particular car.

The green 67 that's the focus of this thread has an interesting history also: I was ridin' down a major thoroughfare here about 15 years ago and saw a Vega wagon with paddle tires sittin' on a used truck lot with "for sale" on the window. The thing that caught my eye was, on the front fenders it said "powered by 427". I whipped in and flipped the flip front end (this was a mud bogger with paddle tires and actually had a blazer 4WD chassis) It was a big block Chevy and I could tell from the area above the oil filter that it was a 4 bolt block, but because of the way it was mounted, couldn't read any numbers. The guy wanted 1800 and I paid 1500 and called a rollback. When I got it to my shop, I unbolted a fuel filter that somebody had mounted in front of the right cyl head, and there was a vin number still stamped there and the assembly code ended in JE, a suffix which I recognized off the top of my head, VERY EXCITEDELY I'll add. The JE means 427/435 horse from a 67 Corvette ONLY, and even then this was a valuable engine, even though the tri power was gone. It was noticeable that the 67 heads were gone. All Corvettes in that era have the last half of the vin number of the car stamped on the engine pad when new, but the first half designates whether the car is a coupe or a roadster. Not knowing which this engine came from, I generated a complete serial number sequence for both and gave it to a friend in law enforcement to see if the car still existed somewhere. He called several days later and said the car was in a town about 120 miles from here, but hadn't been registered for the current year. He gave me the lady owner's name.

I called the number and she answered. I told her my name and asked if she owned a 67 Corvette, serial # XXX and she said yes. I asked if it was for sale, and she said no. I told her that I had the original engine from it, and would like to buy the car if she ever changed her mind. She said that she probably wouldn't, but wrote down my name and number. A few minutes later my phone rings and some guy asks if I'm the one that has the Corvette motor. I said yep. He asked if I'd sell it. I told him no. He was a little argumentative, but I finally got him off the phone. Several months later he called again, identifying himself as a friend of this woman and asked if I'd sell the engine. I said no, but I'd still like to buy the car. He said not for sale and argued more. Several months past and he called again. He asked the same question and got the same response. He then asked if I wanted to buy the damn car. I told him that'd always been my intent. He gave me the name of a broker in one of the Carolinas who owned it now. A phone call to him revealed that he'd had the car since BEFORE I made the original phone call to the owner, and she and her buddy were just trying to make a quick buck. This friend of hers had apparently told the broker he could get him the motor for a fee, but had given up. Anyhow, the broker threw me a price that I figured was all the car was worth AND THEN SOME, even if it still had the original motor. I thanked him and pretty well wrote it off as a lost cause. I even thought at that point about selling the engine.

About 6 months went by and I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about that car for some reason. I called my partner about 5 AM and woke him up and told hime we were ridin' to Charlotte. (he doesn't give a rat's ass about old cars, but likes to ride) I called the broker to make sure he was gonna be there and off we went. When we got there, the car was really a good bit nicer than I'd envisioned, based on a previous phone description from the broker. We came to an agreement on the price and he took it to Atlanta on a rollback for me where an employee was waiting with my trailer.

I've never understood what woke me up early that morning and caused the sudden obsession to go and see the car RIGHT THEN, but within several days Hurricane Hugo blew through and wiped out his building. Over 20 of his cars, basically everything inside were total losses. There was a hemi cuda and a Thunderbolt and I can't recall what else. One more week and this car would've been gone forever.

[triple dude]

That's quite a tale. You're probably mad at yourself for not buying the Vega.;)

[AnthonySS]

Cool Story with happy ending :)

I'll be stoppin at the side of the road next time I see a lifted car :)

[Raceman]

That's quite a tale. You're probably mad at yourself for not buying the Vega.;)

Now if I'm gonna tell all y'all alla' these here bedtime stories you gotta pay attention and not get sleepy on me.:p I DID buy the Vega.............. that's where the motor came from. Matter of fact, a couple of days later some kid came along and paid me what I had in the Vega plus the wrecker for the hull with the motor removed, so basically the motor was free.:D

I forgot to add that when I got the Corvette home it still had the original cyl heads, manifolds, etc. The engine in it was a replament 427 block assy. put in under warranty in 1968. So what could you do with a correct, complete 68 model 427/435 shortblock assembly you ask?????(same as the 68 427/425's in the rest of the Chevy's that year) Only one thing to do................. buy a 68 Biscayne and clone a 427/425 4 speed Biscayne with a M21 and 4.56 gears, just like somebody could've ordered as a Super Stocker from any Chevy dealer. (pictures to follow)

[triple dude]

I just assumed you grabbed the motor and left the Vega on the side of the road. So besides everything else, you've been the proud owner of a Vega mudder.;) The email address for the car/gun auction is www.rbantiques.com. The three cars shown in the ad are 57 Tbird with factory supercharger, 77 TransAm with original tires (but no mention of miles) and late 50's Vette. On the gun side, the one to see is the 1873 Winchester sold by Abbercrombie and Fitch back in the days when they catered to wealthy sportsmen. It's awesome.With it's octagon barrel, one of the best looking (IMO) rifles ever made. Well, maybe a tie with the Henry. I probably won't see any auction results and would be interested to hear what some go for.

[Raceman]

The Red Baron is known for preposterously high (in my opinion) nick nack and interior stuff, including room size bars and even complete recessed panel rooms, supposedly disassembled from English castles and shipped here. When they've had cars in the past they've been fairly mediocre (again, only my opinion) and seriously expen$ive. They're really a rich boys playhouse located in North Atlanta. It is an interesting place to walk through though.

[triple dude]

I'm just the messenger. Figured they were pretty highend when running two full page color ads. I went to an antique auction (furniture, glassware, paintings, etc.) yesterday about an hour south of Chicago at an auction house. They seldom have auctions and I went a couple years ago. Thought I'd give it another shot. Most of the buyers must have been Chicago northshore dealers (big $$$). Prices on everything was crazy PLUS a 15% buyers premium. That's unheard of even in Chicago auctions.