1973 z07

[Born2DriveAVette]

Wow I miss a few hours on here and I miss a lot. Ok where to start with all of the questions. My Dad's hobby was auto cross, he drove and pit crewed I even found a picture of him in the back of a corvette book as a part of a pit crew in California in the 70's. He knew the value of good suspension but wanted this as his daily driver with the option to maybe someday take it to the track, as far as I know he never raced it. the closest it got was flat towing his 59 to the track to race. As for the paperwork i don't know, we have not found it and because he died unexpectedly 3 years ago we still have places to look. I know the dealer he ordered it from, I also know the area manager tried to cancel the car 3 times before Willie (the owner of there dealer) went over his head and got the car in. I'm not to interested in the real value of the car. It means more to me and my family then and other person could put a dollar value on. I would like to be able to pass it to my kids someday with some sort of proof so they don't later think their Grandfather was lying.
Other questions....
no AC
yes it still has the factory radio
I believe it only has dual pin brakes in the back. Will have to double check. But I remember him telling me that they were the original calipers when we were rebuilding them shortly before he died
Not sure about the axle I will have to look into that.

 

[SVO]

The problem is, without proper documentation, the car will always be a doubtful maybe.

 

[Born2DriveAVette]

Does anyone out there have a list of everything that was included in the Z07 package itself? ie the 1 1/2 in front sway bar the existence of a rear sway bar. If the dual pin brake were not z07 then what made them so special. Z07 does say off road suspention AND brake package.
Does anyone out there have a L48 with power steering no AC and a four speed. I would love to get the GVWR and GAWR for a similar car. If I can get these from an identical except z07 I might have something.

 

[6880 Mike]

...I know the dealer he ordered it from, I also know the area manager tried to cancel the car 3 times before Willie (the owner of there dealer) went over his head and got the car in...

Plausible. The area manager would have contacted the ordering dealer for out of the ordinary requests like you Dad's, strange (non-recommended) color combinations, primer, etc. They double checked things of this nature before ordering production of the car. Often, if the out of ordinary request did not cost GM anything, it stood a good chance of being approved. Example: you wanted your Corvette yellow with a blue interior -- not a GM recommended combination, but since they already had the yellow paint and since they already had blue upholstery, your request for yellow and blue could have been approved.

Keep looking for your Dad's original paperwork.

 

[Tom73]

NCRS Judging Guide states:

An Off-Road package, Z07, is offered which consists of higher rated springs, a larger diameter front stabilizer bar, a larger diameter front stabilizer bar, a rear stabilizer bar, heavy duty shock absorbers and heavy duty dual pin brakes. This package is only available with the M21 transmission and either the L82 or LS4 engine.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Just thought I'd revisit this thread....

It was said earlier that the car not only has the L48 but it also only has dual-pin brakes in the rear. That's another highly-unlikely situation unless someone modified the car.

I think you really ought to begin to accept the fact that the car, while it may have some retrofitted Z07 parts, is not original.

 

[Born2DriveAVette]

Plausible. The area manager would have contacted the ordering dealer for out of the ordinary requests like you Dad's, strange (non-recommended) color combinations, primer, etc. They double checked things of this nature before ordering production of the car. Often, if the out of ordinary request did not cost GM anything, it stood a good chance of being approved. Example: you wanted your Corvette yellow with a blue interior -- not a GM recommended combination, but since they already had the yellow paint and since they already had blue upholstery, your request for yellow and blue could have been approved.

Keep looking for your Dad's original paperwork.

Thanks for the encouragement mike. I know that dad ordered the car this way, I'm been around it my whole life. Thank you for taking me seriously.

 

[6880 Mike]

Thanks for the encouragement mike. I know that dad ordered the car this way, I'm been around it my whole life. Thank you for taking me seriously.

I am not discounting what may have occurred, but you will want original documentation to confirm how the car may have been delivered.

Good luck with the paper chase.

 

[EdsOrange73]

Does anyone out there have a L48 with power steering no AC and a four speed. I would love to get the GVWR and GAWR for a similar car. If I can get these from an identical except z07 I might have something.

I have a 73 L48, power steering, power brakes, AM-FM radio, four speed, no AC. Here's the GVWR and GAWR from the sticker on the drivers door:

GVWR 3971
GAWR FRT-1859
REAR-2112

Hope this helps--Ed

 

[lt1george]

Just thought I'd revisit this thread....

It was said earlier that the car not only has the L48 but it also only has dual-pin brakes in the rear. That's another highly-unlikely situation unless someone modified the car.

I think you really ought to begin to accept the fact that the car, while it may have some retrofitted Z07 parts, is not original.

A good friend of mine, his Dad ordered a 73 with L82, 4 speed, Z07 with the YJ8 wheels in Oct 72. He waited all year for the wheels to come off stop. (constraint). The zone guy told him in May 73 remove the YJ8 or don't expect to get a 73 Corvette. Car came in 1st week of Aug 73 with Z07, dual pin brakes. I saw them. Wish I had a digital camera back in the day. NO YJ8. It was yellow like the feature Corvette on the Oct/Nov 72 Corvette News. Beautiful ! I later ordered a plain jane 73, same color.

 

[lt1george]

What's the vin ?? Sure it's a L48 ? Is it a early vin ? Like under 00050. Possible some kind of early GM test Vehicle ?? Gotta ask.

 

[Born2DriveAVette]

yes it really is an L48. i've decode the vin and checked the numbers on the block. I also remeber my brother asking my father on more then one ocation why he got the racing suspention and brakes with the smallest motor. thanks for the gwvr on that 73 i will compare it. fingers crossed it will prove something at least.

 

[vetteman1]

Any updates?