67 Corvette 427

I've owned 5 Corvettes in my time. 2 C-1's (1961 and 1962), C-3 (1974), C-4 (1989) And finally a C-5 (2001 Z06). Every time I traded up I wouldn't have looked back for driving or performance. Yes I would like to have my C-1's back for investment and bragging rights but it was always fun going newer. I recently traded the C-5 for a Smith and Wesson, and some cash, but that's another story.
 

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I bought a new '67 roadster with the 327ci/325hp in Burgandy and light tan leather interior. I drove it to work at the Nevada Test Site at 90 to 100 mph with the A/C on. There was no speed limit in Nevada at the time. The OEM tires lasted 6k miles. A year later I moved to Anchorage, AK to work heavy construction. It was not the car for Alaska. I sold it there two years later for more than I paid. ..... Like everyone else I regret selling it. When I moved back to the 'Lower 48' I intended to buy another, but got into raising horses big time and need big pickup trucks and horse trailers..... :-)

I now own a red 2002 Z06 Coupe with a 350 ci that has been 'breathed' on by a fantastic tuner. It dynos right at 440 hp. My Wife who never got a chance to be a hot rodder in her earlier life loves the sound of the Borla exhaust. I think it is a little too loud and I am hard of hearing.... :-)
 
Love the C2s but got a C6 then a C7 because they were a lot cheaper. And back in college, if had two nickels, one of them would have fallen out of a hole in my pocket.
 
Bought my 6th Vette last June, I found a pristine C6, 2009 Cyber Grey with 24K miles on it. There was a 26 year break since I sold my last C4 in 1992, got the fever again. The one I wish I'd kept was the '63 SWC with factory air, 4spd.
 
Still waiting for the story about the Corvette/Ferrari that had a body in it and was sold cheap because of the odor.... Remember that one?

Ischia
 
Always wanted a 62 but never got it, couldn't afford it! :rolleyes:
But upon my retirement I did buy myself an 86 convertible.
Kept it in the garage for sunny days and enjoyed it. But as with getting older I was having a hard time getting in and out of it and with some other health issues I no longer really enjoyed driving it. So I sold it.
Do I regret that nope, can say I owned one though and that's as far as it goes! ;)
 
I've had an 05, 08, 10, and now a 16 Zo6. It's white with blue interior, and 650 hp, 7 speed manual.
Interesting, a friend got one when he got out of Nam. Not sure what year, probably early 70s. I rode in it and didn't like it at all and said I'd never buy one. The comfort and ride in the newer vettes spare immensely better than the earlier models. But they were built for fun, not necessarily comfort.
 
Back when I was ironworking in Arizona 30 something years ago, the owner of the company I worked for had a 69 with the 435 horse engine. The new ones may be faster, but that car with the side pipes and tripower was just a raw brutal beast. No need for a radio in that car.

If we look at the 1/4 mile ET's between the new and old muscle cars there isn't much difference. Install a distributor weight kit using the lighter springs under the rotor, remove the advance limiter bronze bushing that's under the point distributor rotor too. Set the accelerator points at .017", the n5 sparkplugs at .032". Set the crankshaft timing so 50 degrees advanced is achieved @2,000 rpm. That big block will come on like gangbusters. Port the heads, install a gm camshaft, degree it to the crank. Nstall the baffle in the oil pan and the one under the intake manifold.
 
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Yep, Chevy came out with the 396 in the 65 Vette to be compatible with what was THOUGHT to be the new IROC unlimited max cubic inch rule of 400. A 396 with 5 thousands ring wear would keep it at 400, but then the rules were set for higher CU IN displacement and the next year out came the 427. The Yenko's actually had 430 cu in engines, 427 plus legal ring wear.

Wasn't the 396 cr actually 402ci? The 396/375hp was actually 425hp due to insurance costs they claimed lower.
 
When I was in school in St.Louis back in 1969 there was a 1967 forest green 427 roadster with side pipes for sale for $2850. I sure wanted it bad but even if I had bought it I would have sold it like I did my 60 vette. At the time I had a 1968 SS Camaro that got stolen in St. Louis.
My 60 vette had 4.88 gear and at 55 mph that 283 was singing like a sewing machine. I bought the 60 for $1350 in 74 and sold it in 75 for $1650. I couldn't even afford to buy it back now. I just shake my head about the hind sight thing.
 
My bil has a 61 Vettel in the garage for fourty years now, he paid $2,800 for it. It needs restoration.
 
Wasn't the 396 cr actually 402ci? The 396/375hp was actually 425hp due to insurance costs they claimed lower.

The 402s were .020 over bored 396s. 1969 is when they started appearing. I always though someone screwed the bore up a little and saved them for a later build. I don't recall HP 402s. You could get 11 HP ratings in 1969. 140-155-210-255-290-300-325-350-375-425-430. Here is a nice 71 with original stuff my neighbor has for sale. He is old and cant fit in any more.
 

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I'm on my 6th Corvette starting with a C1 1962. They've all been interesting and fun to drive and my current one is an 1989 C4 convertible with around 65,000 original miles on it. Living in Arizona an older example, which would probably not have A/C, isn't really practical as driving it in the summer would be a real chore. The drivetrain paint and interior are still all original. Additionally, since it 30 years old my insurance company treats it as an antique and my yearly premium is around $200. I do drive it regularly but try to keep the annual mileage under 1000. I've also noticed that they are now starting to creep up in value.
Jim
 

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435 HP / 427 L-89 - Factory Side Pipes and all matching numbers. The 4:88 rear is an issue though.

Bob

Yes, my old 69 Z-28 had a Zoom 4.88 rear end and a Zoom Clutch, I seriously could NOT pass a gas station, LOL

Had a fully built DZ-302, that I can honestly say made between 400 to 450 HP....

my first car! ruined for life
 
Yes, my old 69 Z-28 had a Zoom 4.88 rear end and a Zoom Clutch, I seriously could NOT pass a gas station, LOL

Had a fully built DZ-302, that I can honestly say made between 400 to 450 HP....

my first car! ruined for life

Well as a long time gear head that has had 7 Vettes, latest is my avatar and a bunch of hot cars over my life time, I understand a bit about millage.:)

I had a well set up 440 Mopar from early 1967 -end 1970. Car had a lot of parts added/changed/modified in my quest for power. It was the only car i owned and I drove it year around!

Went through a bunch of rear ends but settled on 3.90 as the best compromise gear for both daily driving and 1/4 mile type racing.(street or strip)

At one time I had a 4.33 rear and also put on a 3 barrel Holly. For those of you that do not know what that carb was, it was a big Holly with the back two ventures hogged out to make 1 huge venture. Looking into the carb it looked like a choke type plate. Carb had double pumper. That carb dropped my "reasonable:D" city mileage from about 8 to 3 and road mileage from 12-9. I made good money and could afford it, but the bad thing it only drooped my ET at the drags very little. Definitely not cost effective!
 
Yep, Anything that could get through the 1/4 mile traps in 3rd gear at the top of the power curve, was nicer to drive on the road in 4th gear.

In 68 I had a Competition Hemi-Roadrunner and then a 69 Baldwin Motion 427 Chevy II. 1970 an LT-1 Z-28 in Orange and White. Those were the days.

Bob
 
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Had a friend who had a 65' w/ 396-425 HP motor-wow, that thing was a Hoss!!

Yep, my neighbor at LRAFB was a Texas Boy named Bonn Tanner, I just love that guy... hated motorcycles and was worried about me, told me about motorcycle wrecks, (there are those who have had wrecks, and those who will!)

He an IP in the C130 like my Dad, a Captain, had a lovely Texas girl name Joelynn, who also took care of me, I mowed their yard etc, etc......

any way, Capt Tanner was playing "Frisbee" and stepped in a whole and had a very bad sprain, the clutch went out on his Ti-yota. I was 14 and had a "learners permit", and he very reluctantly asked me to drive him to down-town Jacksonville, Ark in his Nassau Blue, 1965 roadster with the 396 cubic inch, 425 horsepower "porcupine moter"....

It was a full 5 minutes before I could drive away, (I heard that thing start around 4 AM every morning), had the choke and heat riser blocked off, I killed it 2 or 3 times, and complained because it pulled badly to the right, he pointed out the the road was "crowned", two lane black-top out the "back gate"......

He was a little "annoyed" that I was pointing that out, went to town, got the clutch for the Ti-yota, and headed back to base....

We hadn't gone a block and came to a red-light at the bottom of a steep hill... I was sitting at the red-light when the light was just turning green and some "dumb-azz" hillbilly came flying over the top of the hill about sevendy miles a hour......

Well, my high performance n-stinc took over and I put the "balls to the wall and popped the clutch" on that chick. By the time I banged second, that hillbilly was still trying to stop that damned old truck with little success, but that Vette was beginning to look like a space shuttle launch, hardly moving at first, but then shortly going "super sonic"... as I was reaching Mach 1.1 that hillbilly was getting his truk slowed down, I was able to come out of the power and grab 3rd gear, only then was I able to look over at Capt Tanner???

I'd give a $1,000 dollars right now to have video tape of that whole damn thing, maybe even just to see the look on Capt Tannner's face? to this day I don't know if he realized how close his beloved Vette came to being "pranged" and it was a quite ride home, LOL

The only vehicle I had ever driven before was an 8N Ford tractor, and my Dad's new 70 F-100 Sport Custom with a 3 on the tree and a 302 small block? but something awesome had come over me in that moment of great crisis?? and I was "HOOKED".. I'll never forget that Nassau Blue Vette, and I'll never forget the look on Bonn Tanner's face, I was never invited to drive the Vette again??? but that was enough....
 
I owned a 66 small block Roadster in my youth, good thing I had it when I was young, my back couldn't take it now.
 
I did have a lot more fun driving a High Output Small Block than the Rat Motored cars. My 350HP / 327 in another 67 coupe I had was a dream to drive, was really quick on the highway and no solid lifters to have to keep adjusting like on my 435/427.

Bob
 
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