The first drive!!!!

I'll have to head north in a few weeks. My '82 is about ready for reassembly. Everything is repaired, cleaned up, and better than new. It has been a two year frame up restoration.

I look forward to seeing your pictures. I've kept a full log of everything of mine and about ready to start on a web site for it.

Here's waving at you,

David

What engine do you have under the hood... ? Just curious, as I run a

68 327 350 in my 72 and like the engine... Congrads on getting it out of the garage BTW... I know the feeling ! and I have to hand it to you ..none of mine went on a 400 mile shake down crusie... more like 20 miles..!

Bob G.

64 72 & 98 Rag Tops 76 & 79 Coupes

Mine is also a 68 327 V0302ME is stamped on the deck Comes up in Mortec as a

68 327 for a Camaro Ive got the 200-4R trans and I HATE IT!! Look>

On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:21:12 -0400, Bob G. puked:

I have a 68 327 in my El Camino and love the way it winds...

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

Why hate the 200R4? It has a lower first and it has an overdrive. The lower first (2.78:1 vs. 2.52:1) gets you away from the stoplight faster and the overdrive (0.67:1) gets you better gas mileage and lower RPM highway cruising.

The lower torque, higher winding 327 should appreciate the lower first gear, but the OD may give it problems depending on just how low your RPMs are when cruising.

You probably have a 3.08 rear (originally an L48 auto car?) so a swap to a

3.36 or 3.55 might make your life a bit happier.

Check your fan shroud and the fan clutch to be sure all is intact and running right to end the heat problems.Bleed the brakes, be sure the pads are clean (no fluid on them), and enjoy. An old trick if the pads have fluid is to take them out and wash in hot soapy water. Then rinse thoroughly in water to get the soap off.

Or simply buy some cheap organic pads at your nearest parts store. You want the cheap organic, not the metallic, and the organic stop cold, don't squeal, do not wear out the rotors, and will actually do all you want unless you are doing track events or canyon racing.

My 64 is a 365 Hp 327 (original motor)... My 72 is running a 68 327 350 (out of a Corvette)..

I am still kicking myself for selling a Complete CE Block 327 I got out of a 67 Vette a few years ago... I had planned to drop that in the

76 ..BUT a friend of my son opened his wallet and offered me more then I could refuse for the engine.. IT now is under the hood of a 55 Chevy...

I am in my 60's and really cut my mechanical teeth on 327 SB's so fond of them if you look at my e-mail address it is Rg327 at yada yada ...

Not a thing wrong with a 350..or a 427 or 454 or .BUT this old guy just likes the 327's...

Bob G.

64 72 & 98 Converts 76 & 79 Coupes

On Wed, 11 Oct 2006 11:43:27 -0400, Bob G. puked:

I agree. Mine has camel hump heads and is mated to a 3 speed. Lot's of gear-bangin' fun...

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

On Wed, 11 Oct 2006 18:45:11 -0500, RicSeyler puked:

Hmm, I don't seem to have that problem. Could a shorter duration cam have something to do with that? I didn't do the work, I bought it the way it is, so I have no idea what kind of bumpstick is in there, but I seem to get pretty good power all through the band. Never had it dyno'd...

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

Oh yes, with big heads you lose velocity and then if you have the overlap on the cam for high RPM you will lose even more velocity, bleed off cylinder pressure like crazy and make it a complete dog. I had a giant cam in it. Sounded really great but wouldn't do crap til you spun the hell out of it. But to my defense I just used parts that were laying around.

Back when the 76 models came out, I drove a friend's coupe and was quite disappointed when comparing it with my 71 454. And that model was detuned from the previous years. A 327? Did you change engines to a 68 model or earlier? If so, it would perform better than the mid 70s Vettes.

Don't know what the original poster had done... But I do own a 76 with an stock L48 ...Honestly the car is no drag racer...BUT it will lay rubber in 1st and 2nd...and chirp the tires in BOTH 3nd and 4th and thats all I ask of it... it knocks 40 years off my age LOL

My 72 is running a 68 327 350... I blew the original engine many years ago and since it was just another car and I as not financially well off at the time I dropped the 68 327 in to it (which I pulled from a wrecked 68 Corvette at my local junk.. eh.. salvage yard...)

The 327 in the 72 I still consider to this day as an upgrade...just more engine then in the original..PERIOD.. Never had an intention of selling the car...and while I do not think it did the resale value any good I honestly dso not think it did it any harm ... NCRS boys may think otherwise BUT my rear... and my driving style think I upgraded... LOL

You just have to judge the Mid 70's against all the other Mid 70's by all manufacturers ...the Corvette of that era WAS the strongest runner ...but would never keep up with the older cars...

Bob G.

64 72 & 98 Convertibles 76 & 79 Coupes

Oh! I agree. There was a big difference even between a 70 and 71 regardless of engine. The mid 70s were more for touring whereas the early C3s were closer to the late C2s. Except I always thought of the C2 as a bad aeroplane at speed. But, that makes the 76 Vette an affordable bit of fun still and something you can actually work on.

Well I can tell you that my C2 is a heck of a lot more stable at triple didgets then any of my C3's... LOL

Every one of my C3's want to Rotate and climb, (as in taking off in an airplane) when you get up to the 100 mph mark... The C2 seems to keep the front wheel on the ground ....

Not really much of a problem as I force myself to get off the gas a little before I hit 100 ... Darn State Troopers !

Bob G.

Bob,

you have some problems.

First, you need to move where you can hit that 100 without worrying about a trooper around every corner.

Second, in stock form, the C2 lifted much more than the C3. So something is amiss.

Does your '64 have a spoiler? Or is the rear high, nose low? It was common for people to alter the ride height long ago and after awhile, they seemed normal. Dropping the nose on the C2 actually helped handling, unlike the tail in the air drag racing stance on many cars. This is because it helped keep air out from under the nose and changed the lift on the front in.

You C3s, do they all have their front spoiler? Have you dropped the tail on them or someone else? Dropping the rear end to get lower without also dropping the front increases the lift and the C3 was a delicate balance, indicated by the fact that only a 1-1/2 inch deep spoiler would hold it on the ground. Be sure all vents in the front are open and not blocked. The side louvers are very necessary to prevent lift, yet people like to stuff overflow bottles, alarms, horns, etc. in those areas and block the exit air.

The '76 may have had the big rubber spoiler, but I can't remember. If not, you can get the big spoiler for the '74 454 with AC to put on. It is about

3 or 4 inches deep and makes a difference, both in handling and cooling. But I think you said something once about having the Pace Car spoilers, or was that on your '79?

The 64 is original as hell... much to my dismay since I honestly can not play with it as much as I'd like... I took a heck of a lot of flack when I put on front discs...but to me that was something I NEEDED for my own peace of mind... Not sure what you are referring to about its spoiler...what spoiler? I have noticed that it does set about an inch lower in the back then the front however..not nearly as bad as a lot of C2's .. heck many of them look like the front is tilted up 20 degrees...

Nope all 3 of my C3's have the front spoiler on them..and the side vents are completely stock and open... I find I need the spoilers on them or they run hot... ALL of them have gotten new fiberglass rear springs which if anything has increased the height of the rear slightly...

Yes my 79 has the 78 Pace car front and rear spoilers..came from the factory with that option..

But again...I find the 72 gets especially light in the front at speeds, the 76 slightly less....but the 64 does not get light at all...

The 79 I really do not push all that much it serves more as a car to take out on Saturday night with the wife, to get an ice cream sundae. That said I never noticed it getting light in the front at all...

Bob G.