corvette body style

[nd4speed]

I was wondereing if someone can answer this question. I am searching for my first corvette it seems to me that certain years seem to have different styles of rearends mostly on 74,75,76. some seem to be shorter and wider. is this a fact or am i seeing things. john

 

[Flared69]

it does appear that the 74 & 75 have a slightly narrower rear end (heheh *chuckle*).

but that may well be me too...

 

[78SilvAnniv]

I'm also not sure about the measurements...

But I think that the differenct looks in the years is apparent in how the body-style changed.

Welcome to Corvette Action Center...that is a good question!

1972, last year to offer chrome bumpers
1973, pliable nose (5mph bumper) w/ chrome rear bumper
1974, pliable nose and tail fascias. 1974 last vette w/ BB and no cat-converter
1975, last year to offer convertible

There were chrome bumpers with flat rear fascias and little up flips at the back, the curved rear fascia of the non-chrome bumpers with no up-flip began in 74, 78 began the compound curve rear window, 80-82 rear fascias also have a different look with another up swept flip at the back and lower front spoilers.

74, 75, 76 and 77 all physically look the same
78 and 79 look the same with the curved rear window
80, 81 and 82 look the same with deeper nose spoilers and a flipped up back tail

Have fun shopping for the right one for you!
Heidi

 

[Tom73]

The rubber "cap" could have a slightly different shape for the year but the fiberglass fenders that thay attach to is the same. The 78 and later will have a slightly taller shape due to the fastback (bubble back) lines.

tom...

 

[nd4speed]

I was in carlisle last weekend lookink at 2 76 vettes and i'd almost bet money they had 2 different types of rearends. the one i wanted and almost bought seemed to be a little more muscular around the wheels. i'v noticed this on some 74's also

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Muscular around the wheels?

Maybe it had fender flares on it to accomodate wider tires.

I believe the body of the C3 generation is the same, with changes occuring only on the nose, differing hood shapes, roofline and tail between the years. Most any other changes are probably dealer or owner applied.
Heidi

 

[Minnesota Fats]

I always thought younger or newer in this case are always a little thinner and not as plump.

 

[78SilvAnniv]

I always thought younger or newer in this case are always a little thinner and not as plump.

Are you talking about vettes? :L
Heidi

 

[Yoda]

I don't remember the specific years through the 70's but there were subtle changes in the fenders. The roll or edge of the fenders were different giving a different appearance from one to the other.

I remember a buddy having a 76 with 74 rear fenders.. once he pointed it out then it was very noticable esp when I could compare what the stock 76 looked like (one side was 74 and the other was stock 76).

I don't know if this may what you are refering to or not, but there is a difference, Somebody that does Corvette body work or a few others around here can probably comfirm or straighten out my old memory

Bud

 

[nd4speed]

heidi, i am talking vettes.




bud, are you saying it's a factory thing. I havn't seen alot of these cars. but to me they stick out like a sore thumb. you really see the difference standing in front of the car.

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Was I misunderstood?

My comment: Are you talking about vettes?...

Originally posted by Minnesota Fats:
"I always thought younger or newer in this case are always a little thinner and not as plump."


...was aimed at Minnesota Fats (not you, nd4speed ) because I didn't understand his comment...I can't relate it to vettes, unless he perhaps meant tires. :confused I thought it was kinda funny!
Heidi

Have you determined the difference between the fenders? It almost sounds like what Bud was describing. It that it?

 

[nd4speed]

heidi, what bud says sounds like what i'm after. now what i need is someone who knows how these cars came about. for the money you can get one fairly cheap. compared to the chrome bumpers that we all love so much

 

[Eric]

The 74 rear bumper was unique to 74 as it was a two piece design with a verticle split down the center of the car.

In 75 the rear bumper became a one piece and small extrusions were added that gave the appearance of the car having two small bumperettes on either side just below the horizontal center.

The bumper shape had little to no changes through the 79 model year. One thing that may give the illusion of a larger bumper may be that the "CORVETTE" script changed. 74 and 75 shared a similar design to the chrome bumpered cars with the letters spaced individually across the rear. In 75 the letters became compressed and stylized taking up much less of the bumper area.

The flares around the rear wheels (splash protection) was virtually unchanged from 70-79 as well.

The gallery in the CAC Model Center shows good rear shots of most of the years in question.

Hope that helps!

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Chrome bumper sharks...

...are the sexiest looking Corvettes, for me.

I will have to take a look at early shark fenders, the edges of my 78 are sort of "cornered" with an edge, not curved over. Curved over sounds nicer, with a smoother transition from fender to wheel well.

I recall reading in another post, AussieWithNoVette or AuusieWithFlared69 posted about when he purchased his '69, the owner/seller (NCRS member) told him the flares came like that from the factory! He had a story about how it came to be, so it was documented that they could come like that from the factory.
I thought it was a neat story to have about your vette.

What will be your criteria when shopping?
Engine options, hp ratings, catalytic converters, BB availability, chrome or eurethane bumpers?
Heidi

 

[Eric]

Just for clarification, the "flare" that I was referring to in my post is the part behind the wheel that was added in 70 to keep rocks off the paint. I wasn't talking about the fender itself but rather the splash guard portion. The wheel surround was changed when wider tires began to appear, the lip underneath was eliminated.

Another thing to keep in mind is that people built these cars and there are variations and imperfections all over the place.

- Eric

 

[Motion 1]

Rear bumpers

Just for your info you can put a '82rear bumper (or any year in between) on a '74 vette. The back part that they all bolt to is the same. Back in early '78, I took a silver '74Cpe and made a big window '78 Pace Car out of it back before you could get one from the Chev dealers.

All I had was a pic of them to go by but it worked enough for a used Corvette dealer that I knew to chase me 5 or 6 miles only to pull up beside me and cuss because he realized it was not a real car when he got close enough to see that it didn't have the spoiler yet. when I finally was able to order one and added it, I had a great time with everybody when they looked inside and said that looked funny because I still had the original '74 silver seats. I used a '76 bumper instead of the 'split '74 as that was all that I could locate without having to pay a high price for a new one. Sure fooled a lot of people.

 

[Minnesota Fats]

Heidi:
No I was being funny and thinking of women.

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Ah-ha!

Heidi:
No I was being funny and thinking of women.

That explains a lot!
Heidi