73 L82 M21...what to do?

[73vettecollector]

Hi all, thanks for the opportunity to post in this forum.

Last summer, I found (in my neighborhood) a 73 coupe that was sitting under a tarp. After running the numbers, I came to find out that it was an L82. Silver in color, black interior, A/C, tilt, and the 4 spd close ration Muncie.

I matched the engine/M21 (close ratio), and rear numbers and they all matched up. After purchasing the car for $6000, the first order of business was the build sheet. Amazingly enough, after 100k miles and 33 years, the tank sticker was still very much intact on the tank. I removed it and have it protected, framed, and on my wall.

This car is original, but tt needs a complete rebuild. Frame is solid minus surface rust. I planned on doing a frame off and having the chassis rebuilt. I scraped the paint by hand, sanded, and primed. Body is great, but it needs a front bumper and a drivers door (door weather stripping is bad and the door started to rust).

Do I hold onto this car until I am ready to completely rebuild it, or can I get what I paid for it? Not sure how many silver (914) 4-spd (close) A/C L-82's them made. I am active duty USMC, and will not have the time for a few years to work on it.

Any suggestions on storing it vs. finding a buyer?

Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the help over the past year on my car.

David

 

[tx73vette]

73 vetcollector.. Cant give you any advise if you should keep it or sell it but you may want to check Toms Web site here is the link to it lots of good info on our 73's. Hope that this help you If you have a e-mail adress I can send you pictures of my 73.


Good Luck

Daniel
http://1973-corvette.com/

 

[Tom73]

...but you may want to check Toms Web site here is the link to it lots of good info on our 73's. ...http://1973-corvette.com/

Thanks for the plug Daniel

If it is a good solid car, no frame rust and no rust in the birdcage, then I would keep it as it will do nothing more then go up in value.

David, have a question for you. I have been looking for a good tank sticker to use on The '73 Spot. Would you be willing to provide me with a copy of yours to post online as a example? Just a scan, copy, or high quality photo. Your assistance would be appreciated.

tom...

 

[tx73vette]

Tom is there any way I get the Tank sticker. Without removing the gas tank? Is it true that you can get it thru the gas filler cap? if so on wich side woould it be on?

And Tom glad I can give a plug to youre site its a wealth of information

Daniel

 

[rainman]

The tank sticker is usually on the driver side, but not always. You may be able to see it by removing the rubber boot around the gas filler neck. I was able to remove the sticker from a 70 this way, but be careful, the sticker will be very fragile. You may have to drop the tank to remove the sticker without damage.

The 73 sounds like it will be a nice car when restored. You can always advertise it and see what knid of offers you get, if it is the car you want, I'd keep it until you can restore it.

 

[Tom73]

Tom is there any way I get the Tank sticker. Without removing the gas tank? Is it true that you can get it thru the gas filler cap? if so on wich side woould it be on?

That sticker is 32 years old so it will be very fragile and brittle. It was glued to the tank so may be hard to get loose. I would not try to remove it other than by removing the tank. But even if you remove the tank, be careful of the tank strap. Sometimes it is glued over the strap and then the strap will rip it.

tom...

 

[dooscoop32]

I believe it would be very easy to spend way more on a '73 than it would be worth at selling time. They just aren't there yet as far as desirability.

CRVETTE

 

[Tom73]

I believe it would be very easy to spend way more on a '73 than it would be worth at selling time. They just aren't there yet as far as desirability.

A '73 with one of the optional engines can be a very good value. Don't confuse the '73 with the later (75 and later) smog engine cars. The '73 L82 is within 5 hp of the 72 LT1 and the 73 LS4 has 5 more hp then the 72 LS5

The big thing in these cars is to have the optional engine. A base engine car can be very low priced but the value comes with the optional engines. That is what is nice about these cars. In later Vettes (like your and my '04) there are NO optional engines. They are cookie cutter one-size fits all cars.

tom...

 

[dooscoop32]

A '73 with one of the optional engines can be a very good value. Don't confuse the '73 with the later (75 and later) smog engine cars. The '73 L82 is within 5 hp of the 72 LT1 and the 73 LS4 has 5 more hp then the 72 LS5

The big thing in these cars is to have the optional engine. A base engine car can be very low priced but the value comes with the optional engines. That is what is nice about these cars. In later Vettes (like your and my '04) there are NO optional engines. They are cookie cutter one-size fits all cars.

tom...

What about the Z06? That is the optional engine these days. Who needs an optional engine when the LS1 will blow away nearly all of the old Corvettes, especially when equipped with a 6-speed and 3.42 gears which mine is. And the few it won't outrun are too valuable to be thrashing these days ('67-'69 L-88s, '69 ZL-1s, '71 LS-6s). I have owned 13 Corvettes including a '74 L-82 (optional engine), a '71 454/365 and a '69 427/435 and the new cars are faster. I have ridden in and driven them and read many magazine articles about both kinds and the LS1s are faster. I do agree that an LS1 car with automatic and 2.73 gears is a cookie-cutter car but my original post had more to do with the high price of restoration versus the eventual selling price of the '73s. In my area, a '73 is very hard to sell regardless of the pedigree.
I'm still thankful that we have these cars to argue about though. Remember in the mid-50s they nearly died. What would we have discussed if that had happened?

CRVETTE

 

[Tom73]

What about the Z06? That is the optional engine these days. Who needs an optional engine when the LS1 will blow away nearly all of the old Corvettes, especially when equipped with a 6-speed and 3.42 gears which mine is.

The Z06 is a seperate model, there is only one engine available with the Z06. Also that LS6 engine is not available in the coupe or conv They are all basicly the same exact car. You get a coupe, every other coupe out there is the same other than some minor options. Same for a Convertible, same for the Z06. What makes a corvette a collectable is how rare it is. In the older cars the optional engines is what made them rare. Oh to have another year like '69 But with the C4, C5, and now the C6 it is a one size fits all. Sure they will blow most anything else off the road but they are still cookie cutter cars when compared to each other. They need some optional engines to create a collector

tom...

 

[73vettecollector]

73 Tank Sticker

I was able to remove the spare carrier, lay on my back, and stick my hand up on the top of the tank... That's when I felt the paper.

It was located on the passenger side of the filler neck, right in the center of that side of the tank.

I was also able to remove the filler neck and rubber grommet and actually see the folded piece of paper.

I decided to drop the tank to retrieve the document. The acutal paper was folded in 4 ways, and glued to the tank. It is simply amazing that after 33 years and 108,000 that I was able to retrieve it, remove it, and read it. The paper is faded, but the document is very much read-able.

I slipped it into a document protector with NO tape or glue, then matted that document protector to a matted frame. Turned out pretty good. Let me know if you'd like to see the build sheet or the frame setup I have it in.

Thanks!
David