Seeing a vintage Corvette sitting in front of the daily driver, and looking like it’s not been getting much exercise is not an uncommon sight. In fact, it’s almost stereotypical, especially from this vintage, which pretty much has to be the low point in the corvette’s long and bumpy life. Inevitably, there’s something wrong with the car, but I wasn’t exactly expecting what I saw when I moved in closer.
Ouch! How did that happen?
I’m not totally certain if this is a ’75 or ’76, but if it is the former, it came with the feeblest engine since the original 1953 Corvette with the Blue Flame six. The base 350 was rated at all of 165 (net) hp, and the overwhelming majority of ’75 Corvettes were equipped wit it, as the optional 205 hp L82 was only available late in the model year. But that was small comfort, as the that still made it the feeblest optional top-output engine in a Corvette dating back to the mid 50s. And those old ‘Vettes were considerably lighter.
There’s a reason Corvettes of this vintage are sitting around cracked up; but for how much longer?
This is the vintage of Corvette that was available new when I was a kid. So this is kind of what I still think of when I think Corvette. I remember the kid around the corner, whose dad had a brown, yes brown, ’74. He drank Schlitz; he was staunch. I remember the burble of its engine quite clearly. And I remember being impressed by this wild styling. And then fast forward to 1986 when I had a job at a Dairy Queen on the edge of town, and my boss, a gaunt middle-aged woman, owned two Vettes of this vintage, one in black and one in dark blue I think.
Can’t tell from the pics, but if it has vents under the rear window, it’s a ’75. I prefer the ’75 all these years later. I had a ’76. When new, they touted the new steel floorboards because of quiet, heat insulation and rigidity. Well, 35 years later, that translated into rust. There is a cottage industry for floorboards for ’76-’82 ‘Vettes.
It’s a ’76. The ’75 had the name “C O R V E T T E” spelled out as individual letters on the tail piece. The ’76 had it grouped together as a single name plate as this example does.
Power for ’76 was up a bit, 180 net for the standard motor and 210 for the L82; pretty much the same car otherwise – biggest difference was no convertible available for ’76.
Another big change for 1976 was the four-spoke Vega GT steering wheel replacing the wheel in use since the ’63 Sting Ray.
This vintage Corvette always reminds me of the 1973 TV show “The Magician” starring Bill Bixby, who drove a white model.
Always loved that show, especially when the Magician sent the Corvette´s wheels spinning while trying to esacape or chasing some villains. It maybe wasnt, but the `Vette looked mighty fast ! 😉
I like the ’73 as it was the only model year with the fiberglass front clip AND the concave rear end from the ’68-72 models. I never liked the ’74+ rear clip.
Not only did the Magician drive a Vette, but he got to park it in the belly of his own personal jet, a Boeing 737, which was even cooler.
really? Was he that rich? I totally can not remember that…
For sure those years were the most shamefull not just for the Corvettes but for all the muscle car still in production. The bright side is: since those Corvettes are kinda cheap, some brazilian dealers are buying them to resale here down south of the continent.
Here in Brazil we are not very much awere that the 70’s Vette are the low point of it’s history. What really matters is: The car is still a Vette and under the hood is a Chevy Small Block with a 100 and enough horses to move the car faster than the junk we have clogging the streets.
Vette was never a ‘muscle car’, was a true 2 seater Sport Car. In fact, the term muscle car was coined in the 80’s for nostalgia.
Now, any 60’s/70’s RWD car is called a ‘muscle car’, including average 2 door Impalas with 283 V8’s and Powerglides.
Yep…Back when “Muscle Cars” were new, they were called “super cars” (if using ANY special term at all), and that applied to regular production mid sized cars load with large car power trains, While a “pony” car is a “sporty” compact, (with OR without any perfomance options…) The Corvette was neither of these things. It was (and is) a “sports car” ALWAYS from 6 Cyl. 1953’s to today. “Muscle Car” is a more modern term like “Victorian House”. No one in 1890 lived in a “Victorian” House and No one in 1966 drove a “Muscle” car!
I beg to differ. I had a copy of an R&T article from 1965/66 that called the GTO/GS/SS 396/442 and the Chrysler intermediates ‘Muscle Cars’
FWIU when these were new Brazil was a completely closed market, the closest thing to a musclecar was a Maverick Grabber with a V8, and the VW Beetle had almost a 50% market share; am I on the right track?
At least I fit into this generation of Vette. I sat in a 2015 the other day and my legs are too long to comfortably shift it. The old ones were longer inside and I fit.
I love the malaise-era ‘Vettes for being a low-priced ticket into the club. While their dramatic styling was progressively watered down over time and also hung around for what must have seemed like an eternity, they are no longer everywhere and seem cooler for that. To sort-of echo Jim, these are the Corvettes I remember from early childhood, so they’ll never *not* seem cool to me.
This is how I respond to these as well. As does Dirk Diggler. 🙂
Excellent, I absolutely agree!
Dog or no, I still think of these as the quintessential Corvette in terms of styling. And the early C3s were not dogs.
Thank you. I totally agree with you and hope to one day own a non-orange 4-speed ’68-’73 example.
In retrospect, I think we were lucky that the C3 continued. Had it gone mid engine with a rotary as Zora Duntov wanted, it would have killed it. The engine would have sucked and been torqueless, The many buyers who bought Corvettes would have hated it and then Chevy would have canned it. At least these sold well and so we still have the C7 to enjoy. Sometimes just surviving a difficult era is a victory
I would guess that perhaps a giant tree branch landed on it? I hate fiberglass bodies. There’s a reason they never caught on.
The front seems somewhat damaged too, but hard to tell from the picures. The Fiberglass will crack. I had an 84 which someone on twisty mountain road (which he should not have been on) towing large 5th wheel trailer, towed it over the top of my hood before stopping. The damage is easily repaired although this looks like panels are out of alignment.
Damage possibly from towing?
Or maybe coming nose first off a trailer or ramp?
Either way, it sure took a beating.
Or a “Dukes of Hazard” leap in to the air, followed by a slow-motion, front clip mashing?
Yes, that is what I would like to believe!
My guess would be a collision on the left front corner. You can see some damage over there in the front end photo. A hard enough hit on the corner could crack that one piece front end behind the right fender just like this one.
I see it has a rear window defroster. I would think that is somewhat rare on this model, especially since the nearly vertical back glass doesn’t catch much frost.
The one-piece “corvette” emblem on the rear makes this a ’76. The earlier models had C-O-R-V-E-T-T-E in individual letters.
Stumack is right. I looked at pictures of ’75 and ’76 Vettes for comparison and the ’75s definitely had the word “Corvette” spelled out in individual letters. Wikipedia: “A new rear nameplate for the bumper cover was introduced, eliminating the individual ‘Corvette’ letters used since 1968.”
Didn’t some fully-loaded Suburbans cost as much as a base Vette back in ’75-’76?
The basic Corvette was $7600. A K20 Suburban was $6200. Options could run the price up on both. A/C and the optional engine on the vette total $1000. Front and rear A/C for the Suburban is $750, plus interior packages, auto trans, trailer towing….
Would be even easier today. Suburban starts at $49,000, Corvette at $55,000.
The Cadillac Suburban starts at some very high price.
I don’t care, cracked nose or not, I’ll still take it.
Like, some of you guys have said, growing up in the 70’s …. This was THE Vette. As kids, we didn’t know, or care, if this was the smog-era Corvette.
All we knew, is this had sexy curves and those hidden headlights looked so badass. No other US production car had hidden headlights, except seeing an occasional Opel GT drive by, once in awhile.
Plus, movies like Mark Hamill’s “Corvette Summer”, pretty much cemented us youngsters that this was the car to have on our wall, besides some guys’ Farrah Fawcett poster. Lol
The sad thing, I hated about this era Vette, especially the 1976 model… Is that it was slower 0-60, than the Cosworth Vega.
Whoa, talk about embarrassing.
and the Opel GT was the baby Corvette, I might add ! 😉
Yes, it was, Monza… Good eye.
Back, when you can buy an Opel, at your local Buick dealership… And when you could buy a Pantera, at your local Lincoln-Mercury dealers. Gotta love the 70’s.
There is a running, driving 1972 Opel GT for sale, for about $1000, in my area. Don’t know if it sold or the owner had second thoughts, the ad isn’t around, anymore.
So I guess you had this Farrah poster up on your bedroom wall 😉
…
…
Not that I would have noticed (or cared) 40 years ago but; 1, How does the ‘phone stay “hung up” and 2,, How the $&*% are you supposed to watch the TV. (Oh, Well it was the ’70s!)
Sweet!
No… But, I would love to. Lol
All I had was Star Wars, Godzilla, Shogun Warriors and a Porsche 911. 🙂
could have been me
I’m straight but if I wanted a girlfriend she’d be the one.I had the same hairstyle then except I was a redhead
Please, don’t tease us like that, Gem.
Some of us guys had a thing for Farrah, back in the day. Lol
Well, not me… I was more of a Jacqueline Smith fan. 😉
IKR, Farrah was hot, But Jacklyn was (and is ) stunningly beautiful!!!
I hope you had not Farrah´s hairstyle. In that case, we would have to discuss your “straightness” ;-)))
Except…is Gem a woman? Like in Gemma?
All woman (but there’s a bit less of me than in 1975 thanks to Weightwatchers).
The 70’s era Corvettes can be brought up another 100 horses with but intake, carb and cam swaps which are available all day long. Considering a 1974 Mustang II’s top engine was a Ford Deadly Sin 2.8 V6 with barely over 100 horses the 165 for the low point Vette and later optional 205 don’t sound quite so bad. I’ll even bet a few simple carb tweaks that cost nothing could get that 165 number up to 180 or more very easily.
Your right. Bin the smog gear, legal for older cars in some states, and the power will come back.
One of these was the first ‘Vette Id ever seen. I knew it was something special due to the exotic styling, but as my dad explained these ‘Danny Disco’ Corvettes were all show, no go. Still, these made an impression on me and the later 80’s era C4 may have reclaimed some performance mojo but what an absolute letdown in styling. No Corvette since these has ever ‘wowwed’ me with its styling.
My ex g/f had a freind whose dad owned a red one like this. A T-top coupe with a reare 4spd manual. He had the 350 stripped of its smog equipment (no DEQ in rural southern OR) and a few hop up goodies on it. For what it was it was a kick in tne pants when he let me drive it…but I owned a 4cyl YJ Wrangler at the time, so perspective is everything. Still Id rather be tasked with repowering one of these beauties to make it live up to the name rather a later model which to my eye has a serious case of the uglies. Either way, this example needs some love.
Me too, first cool car I ever got a ride in too as it was my next door neighbors car. Funny enough my Dad told me the same thing about them being all show and no go(which he had a Saab at the time, no show and no go lol), and he always felt the bumper caps ruined the look, which I still don’t quite agree with, I think the 78 bubble window ruined the look personally, and I was happy to see that appendage finally disappear with the C7.
Dirk Diggler’s still on hard times I see
has anyone ever seen any items strapped to that chrome “trunk lid” rack ?
Never. The only time I saw, anyone use a luggage rack was, I think, an MGB in a movie or was it, an ad…
I forget, but what a useless option that was. Hahaa
not exactly a matching combo…
What kind of rear clip is that? Is that Euro-market, or straight-up aftermarket?
Well yes, I have: there’s a mid 60’s Sting Ray around here with a briefcase strapped onto the luggage rack. “Accountants Gone Wild” or maybe “Daddy” from the Rat Fink era?
The racks were supposed to be used for the T-tops.
Really??
If you DON’T care for your T-tops, I guess THAT’S the place to put em.
All I can picture is smashed glass once you hit the first pothole. Lol
I know that’s not right…. where did you hear that.
It’s true. Also, the T tops were fiberglass for most of the C3 production, they wouldn’t shatter.
Okay, I stand corrected. Good sleuth work, Matt.
The reason I questioned it, is because I have a Monte Carlo SS with glass T-tops, and found that place to store them, kinda odd.
Never knew, the Vette’s had fiberglass T-tops, and not glass.
Very interesting fact.
Weird…
I’ve got plenty of room to store the t-tops inside of mine, even with one or two small bags of groceries.
Right after I retired from the Navy we picked up a 75 ragtop. Should have known it had the second most anemic engine in vette history when new. There was a replacement engine so don’t know what it was. It ran well.
Pragmatism finally put the wife into an olds cutlass when the kid wouldn’t fit behind the seat. The vette was a lot more dependable and durable than the Olds.
As maligned as these cars are, they sold in record numbers never to be duplicated again. Starting in 1976, sales broke the 40,000 mark for the first time and ramped up steadily to a record 53,807 in 1979.
Chevrolet sold them as fast as they could crank them out, and that led to GM investing in a brand-new plant in Bowling Green, KY, which came on line in 1981.
Corvette sales would break the 50,000 mark only one more time, in the extended model year of 1984 (introduced spring 1983). And sales these days are in the low teens.
You could come up with a bunch of reasons why Corvette sales skyrocketed but one important one was that even with the lame L48 engine, the ‘Vette could still blow away most Malaise-era iron. Also, there were few alternatives. Trans Ams and Camaros broke sales records at the time, too, and Ford got back to the drawing board on the Fox Mustang when they realized they were being left in the dust.
Power hit a low point in 1975-76, but by ’79 the L48 was back up to 180 hp and the L82 at 225. Road tests at the time had the L82 hitting 60 in 6.6 seconds with quarter miles in the mid-15’s, with either manual or automatic.
Throughout the Malaise Era, the Corvette never lost its performance image, and when you consider those numbers were comparable to what a contemporary Ferrari 308 could do, they weren’t bad by any measure. Corvettes and the F-bodies kept the flame alive until the computerized engine-management advances of the 1980’s could get power back up across the board.
And they’d top out at nearly 125 mph.
The last Corvette I seriously lusted after was the 1967 model year.
Oh, yeah, 1975 wasn’t even the low point. That might have been the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian revolution/hostage crisis/oil shock that killed off the L82 and the Pontiac T/A 6.6 220-hp 400 V8.
Remaining 1979 Trans Ams got Oldsmobile 403’s and the Turbo Trans Am came out in 1980, which turned out to be a slug, 1981 California Corvettes had a 305 V8 engine. The 1982 third-gen F-bodies topped out at 165 hp, which meant the new Mustang GT’s were eating them for breakfast. So someone grafted L82 heads onto a 305 block and got 190 hp with a 4-barrel. The horsepower race was on again.
These are the ones I think of when I’m looking at $2,500 running, driving ‘Vettes .
The 350 V-8 is dead simple to make come alive and still pass the smog test too .
-Nate
To me, the malaise era of the Corvette began with the squished-down styling of the 1984 model. The ‘Vette above still has the original Mako Shark concept styling of the 1968 Stingray, and to me, that’s a winner.
Lack of power in those years? Who cares? I’d be happy in one with a 235 Blue Flame six tied to a Powerglide!
Corvette for ’76 also began using the Vega GT steering wheel… For ’77 and ’78 they also continued further diluting the interior quality/character, with GM parts bin substitutions for…centre console, and door panels, respectively.
If this were a ’75, it would be desirable in California since it wouldn’t have to pass CARB’s SMOG check. That being the case, you could put an SB2 in full 2005 NASCAR spec into it and nobody could stop you. ’76s have to remain as underpowered and stumble-prone as the day they were made.
Those Vettes are cool looking but gutless. Swap out the drivetrain, put in a modern Chevy V8 and a 5 or six speed and you’re getting somewhere.
Agree 100%. Me personally, Id rather start with a pretty body and sh!tcan whatever feeble garbage is in the bones, then build the car up to perform how I think it should. That prospect has more potential than some of what we have now, such as the Mitsubishi Evo, Subaru STi, Neon SRT-4 etc. Boosted 4cyls with serious go power and lots more waiting to be flushed out with some tuning but damn if 4 door sedans (especially compact ones) aren’t about the ugliest thing this side of a bag of buttholes. The beauty of a malaise vette is only skin deep, but the ugly of a ricer 4 door cuts right to the BONE. No feasible way to fix that, really.
My high school was across the street from the neighborhood Chevy dealer, and my ride home before we had licenses was my friend’s mom’s new 1981 Malibu Classic sedan. She had to stop for some service follow up one day, giving my friend and I a chance to peruse the showroom. I recall thinking how ancient both the Camaro and Corvette looked, still sporting the bodies they always did in my early years. But, they were still very cool. The price tags also seemed remarkably low, with minimal options the Camaro in particular seemed a bargain – maybe out $6,000. Loaded up Caprices were over $10,000. Even tricked out Monte’s and pick-ups seemed to be in low-end Corvette territory. This era Corvette average transaction price was probably about as cheap as it got in relationship to the overall Chevy line-up. IIRC, sales volume stayed pretty good on malaise era Camaros and Corvettes – they were equipped and priced where people who merely wanted the style with some pseudo performance could be happy with them.
If you didn’t order the Dura-Kwalitee premium package on these cars, GM sent you a pre-cracked front clip to let you know should have ponied up more you cheapskate.
I’d rather have a ‘malaise’ Vette, then the 80’s over the top ‘techie’ C4.
Can argue all day about 1970’s net HP ratings, but who really kept their cars “bone stock” back then anyway?
And even today, depends on state, but can ‘wake up’ one with a modern crate SBC, with emission controls.
Here in the northeast, weathered ‘Malaise Era’ Corvettes frequently appear next to the road for sale, go wanting for long periods of time. Structural rust is the main problem, along with rear wheel bearing, cracked fiberglass, tired powertrains, moldy interiors, myriad sub-systems gone awry. Prices still reflect the optimism of the owners who can’t admit to themselves to costly problems of their cherished chariots of their miss-spent ‘best’ years or the long supply available. The owners themselves fit a certain profile: aging playboys sucking in their guts, combing Just-for-Men to keep the hair dark and current pharmaceuticals solutions to other ‘critical’ problems.
Maybe a pristine condition Corvette with the lowest HP ever offered (except for the 150 hp Blue Flame Six) could have a place in a collection as a conversation piece. And maybe because they have been worth almost nothing and therefore have not been saved – they might be worth something, sort of like Jap Zeros (back in the day).
It may have come with a flimsy small block, but there are many (cheap) ways to wake it up.
Or you just forget about it and get a more modern LS-series engine. I’m talking an elcheapo 5.3 one.
Ugly and all, I’d have a go at this one.
Everyone says these are low-po Vettes, but does anyone have stats/figures re: 0-60 and 1/4-mile times for a ’75 L48?
I’ve seen L81 Vettes do the following:
0-60 9.2
quarter 17.2@80
124 mph top speed
Also, the Corvette 305 was very slow too.
A current V6 Camry would leave you in the dust, to put it nicely.
An old Corolla will probably keep up at high speed in the freeway.
Which shows how meaningless statistics are.
Good for the Corolla finally besting a car made 40 years ago, and in such style too! /end sarcasm
I am not sure the source of your performance times, but I do have some for mid 1970s Vettes.
Car and Driver tested a 1975 Corvette L48 vs a Bricklin 351 in May 1975.
Corvette 165 hp L48, 3690 lbs
0-60: 7.7 secs
1/4 mile: 16.1sec @ 87.4 mph
Top Speed: 129 mph (observed)
Road Test Magazine tested a 1976 L82 Corvette with 210 hp:
0-60: 7.4secs
1/4 mile: 15.2 @ 92.4 mph
High Performance cars also tested a 1976 L82 Vette:
0-60: 6.9 secs
1/4 mile 14.96 secs @ 92 MPH
Bill…
Don’t leave us in suspense! Who was faster? The Corvette or the Bricklin?
The Vette was faster. C/D said they were pretty close overall with the Corvette having the edge in performance while the Bricklin had the more “interesting personality”.
The Bricklin tested had the 351W-2V rated at 175 hp. However, C/D reports the engine ran out of steam at 4000 RPM. This is my experience with the Autolite 2100 carb too, they just can’t move enough air above the mid range.
Bricklin SV-1:
0-60: 8.3 secs
1/4 mile: 16.6 @ 83.6 mph
Top speed (observed): 118 mph
This body style of the Corvette always reminded me of a 45 year old man, recently divorced, bad toupee, polyester leisure suit, chest hair full of fake gold chains, “on the make” for a bimbo bleached blond half his age to show off to people.
True but not as much as the Ford Thunderbird.The Corvette was still a relatively lean sporty car,after 67 the T bird was a long way from the sporty 2 seater of 1955
From the around mid to late 90’s when I went on bike rides before I could drive, I would notice one house that had an old white Corvette parked on the left side. Only the rear was visible, but it appeared to be around ’75. One of the other vehicles parked there, if I remember correctly, was a motorbike as the Corvette never moved. It just sat there day after day, deteriorating under the elements. I would sometimes wonder if it could be fixed up, but as the years progressed it seemed to be too far gone. Just recently I was wondering what ever happened to it. People sometimes park old cars for whatever reason, thinking that they will get around to fixing them back up some day.