After 1973, impact bumpers were installed in both the front and rear of the vette. Its no secret that Corvettes can be difficult cars to manage and run. (Explained)Continue, As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Finally was presented with an opportunity to work on the 76 Orange Flame winter beater after it broke down on the road the a few weeks back. Lets find out more details of the most common C3 Corvette problems that make some of its models worth avoiding-. Power door locks became an option in the 1978 model year. They focus instead on problems that would keep the cars from being driven, like brakes, suspension, and other mechanical concerns that might leave them sitting alongside the road. If the car your inspecting has a T-Top, inspect the latches for correct operation and examine the weatherstripping. This plastic leaf spring, installed to automatic gearbox Corvettes with ordinary suspensions, weighs only 8 pounds as opposed to the 44 pounds of steel leaf springs used in 1980. The fact that the 1968 C3 was the first T-top does make it special, particularly since some type of T-top or removal roof panel has been a part of many Corvettes since the 1968 debut. Certainly no worse than the other Chevrolets. There are also plenty of owners who somehow lost the door keys over the years. Therefore, keep reading about the infamous Corvette C3 model users or what C3 Corvette years to avoid. Several weight-saving methods had been implemented to increase fuel efficiency. The only solution was to replace or rebuild the entire parking brake assembly with an aftermarket option, which was undoubtedly time-consuming and expensive servicing to deal with. If you are seeking an excellent car, keep in mind to stay away from the following worst Corvette years: 1969 C3 Corvette, 1971 C3 Corvette, 1977 C3 Corvette, 1982 C3 Corvette. Electrical, engine compartment cowling harness can abrade and short out, that will have you scratching your head for awhile. Examine for any cracks where the body mounts to the frame in the wheel wells. Most of these minor issues have no effect on driveability or safety, so owners usually overlook fixing them. Other issues such as headlight actuator vacuum systems rubber hoses and other components tend to wear out sooner than they are supposed to, door hinges failure and worn-out shifter console were also reported against the 1971 C3. Blow from the start of the rear line back. The positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valves are essential for the C3s engine to perform as it helps the engine piston rings seal against the cylinder wall, causing a pressure drop in the crankcase. Many owners have expressed their dissatisfaction with particular model years after filing many complaints about them. One early way to tell the problem has started checking for wetness on the forward floor areas. Manual transmission or automatic transmission? The headlamp actuator vacuum operates the headlight actuator, which controls the opening and closing of the headlights. Usually the retractors are broken, but more importantly the material is 40+ years old and not worth taking a chance that they do not work when they are needed most. Problematically, removing the dash on 1975-1977 corvettes can be tricky, so most people do not bother to replace the circuit board when it goes bad. In 1973, the 20th anniversary of the Corvette foundation was commemorated. Inspect the interior trim and confirm the trim codes on the drivers door post match the interior trim. 19057 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Red78, Jan 13, 2011 . Test the clutch, and ensure if you are looking at a manual transmission vehicle it doesnt pop out of gear. A forum community dedicated to Chevy Corvette owners and enthusiasts. If you think about it, C3 Corvettes represent a great value for driving fun. By the final year of the C3 production only 4-speed automatic transmission was available. The L81 engine used the aforementioned magnesium valve caps, which are essentially inserted as a weight-saving technique. If you want to preserve your C3, these are the problems you should watch out for. Do the trim codes on the drivers door post match the paintwork? You might have a relay that is going bad. But by 1967, the automaker had already been planning the C3 generation for the 1968 model year and had allowed the supply of the big tanks to dwindle. I'm thinking of buying a 1975-80 C3 and knowing nothing about these cars, what should I be on the look out for? Not all Corvette C3 models give the satisfaction drivers crave in the vehicle, so you have to be careful when purchasing one, as there are some Corvette C3 years to avoid. A minor leak was enough to cause a loss of transmission fluid. Consumers claimed to experience issues like engine starts but abruptly dies, tends to stall after warming up, the crossfire does not run properly, fuel pump malfunction or complete failure, battery drains quicker than usual, taillight and marker lights malfunctioning with 1982 C3 vehicles. Besides that, users also reported several electrical issues such as taillights failure, extensive corrosion or rust to building up, leaked headlight actuator vacuum system, door hinge failure generating door sagging, and other alignment issues. Click here to see the full blog we wrote covering all the issues, and options for solutions for AC in C3 corvettes. - my buddy has been fighting fuel issues and had to be towed home ~60 miles on the last bit of a weekend trip we took. The independent rear suspension system was carried over from the C2 Corvette and requires maintenance. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. 1977-1982 Corvette steering columns have several advantages over the 1968-1976 units, the most notorious being the overall length of the assembly. 7) Float level set very low. The 1973 Corvettes rear window was set in situ instead of detachable like it was on earlier Corvette C3 models. Classic corvettes are no different in this instance. You may run into some eletrical problems in your dash. Leaks Yes, like all old cars, its going to mark its spot in the garage. Need to purchase a window regulator for a C3 Corvette? Correct the problem. Copyright 2023 Hobby Car Corvettes All Rights Reserved. problems on the engine. In fact, GM actually put drain holes in the floors of the C3s so the water could run out and not get trapped on the floor. Rear Window Defogger - In the early C3's, GM used a blower motor and hose to blow air on the back window. Front cross-member weld cracking, I've had mine fully welded and gusseted. Missing parts and pieces - As . Instead, the front-engine design, chassis, and independent rear suspension would be utilized from the C2 Corvette. Consumers also complained about door hinges causing potential sagging and other alignment issues such as broken door seals, water leaks, and unusual noises. C3 Corvette or Corvette C3 was the third generation Corvette sports vehicle model produced by Chevrolet Corvette between 1967 and 1982. Decided to pressurise the brake lines with air. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You might think you know what youre getting, but in its 15-year production history, the Chevrolet Corvette C3 had many different engine options. I would check to ensure that the body mounts are not rusted away. 800-886-5064Fax. I think the best advice is don't think of it as an investment. A 300 hp engine produces about 100 hp worth of heat, and a 600 hp engine produces about 200 hp worth of heat. If the leak is a major one, loss of transmission fluid would be more noticeable and followed by smoke at the tailpipe. Inspect the headlight and ensure they are in working order. Don't make it all that complicated. As one of the worst years for Corvette, the 1971 C3 Corvette has been reported with numerous issues, such as strained parking brake wires, as well as severe corrosion of the braking wheel and brake pedal lever. They also mentioned window-rattling due to damage or broken window regulator mounting bracket and anti-rattle cushions. C3 Corvette also contains innovative features such as fibreoptic cables from the lights to the dash panels to identify when any bulbs fail or the warning lights malfunction due to disconnected seatbelts, open doors, and low fuel levels. Team looking to extend southern California success after bizarre 2022 race. thanks for joining me I'm Steve from c&s corvettes in Sarasota Florida welcome to our Friday podcast we're going to address a couple of problems today that people have asked me about and we'll get into that in just a minute but for right now i just want to thank you for being here before we get started please take a moment of your time and like and if you haven't already subscribed please subscribe and you can click on the bell icon to be notified of future content as it comes out if you do that now that'd help us a lot now let's get on to addressing the problems people have asked us about here is our display door the one of the problems that that is brought up most often is the power window clunking as it goes up and down there's a number of different reasons for that and we're going to address a few of them here i can't do all of them right now but it's fairly time consuming but let's go over the most common we've got the door skin off of this so you can see the works what moves what doesn't move and you'll understand and make it easier to understand what the problems are first one most common one is the screws that hold your inside door pull handle in place when they get replaced people use whatever screw they can find and sometimes they're just way too long and as that screw goes through the handle through the inner door panel it comes out right in here by the by the regulator mechanism we've got this rigged up so we can we can make the window go up and down here today and what happens is as it goes up you can see the mechanism and we'll zoom in in a minute to show you the screw it it can hit that screw or that screw and as it passes the screw it goes clunk clunk it may not pass the screw if the screw is big enough which means it'll go up to there and stop so first and simplest thing to do take the screws out of the inner door handle now this is a 77 and back door 78 to 82 is different we'll address that one the next time but this is the most this is the the easiest to show you right now so those screws are one of the big problems i thought you might might enjoy seeing this this is some of the screws we have taken out of customers door handles to solve the very problems we're talking about we see everything from drywall screws to concrete screws tap cons the problem with these too is once they're put in those holes they enlarge the holes because they're much much too big around the right screws then don't fit so that has to be addressed before you put your door panel back together but this is stuff people have actually used and then wonder why their stuff doesn't work there's the answer okay here's your inner door handle um of course door panels removed the screws one goes in here one goes in down here from the bottom that hold that in place that's the screws we're talking about that are usually two or so often too long once you have put a screw in there that is too long and or too fat and you enlarge the hole when you put the right screws back in it here's what happens because the hole was enlarged that's why you have to fix the hole in the door first it can be done by kind of hammering it closed you can use a larger screw not as long of course larger in diameter and you can get by with that but in the future if you want to put the right stuff in it it won't work once you've enlarged it so you have to get into this piece of metal right here and flatten it out so that it will take the the correct size screw another of the problems is these little rollers that go inside these tracks with age they're plastic and they break they're they're little wheels once they don't turn properly anymore that can be your clunk so you have to make sure that the guides the rollers the wheels whatever you want to call them on the regulator are in good condition you want to make sure that these runs that the wheel rides in are free of dirt and debris they do have grease in them light grease but over the years they collect debris and junk just from being on a car you can clean that grease out you can put in a little bit of fresh grease it'll help a lot um some of the other issues are if the if the window stop is too low it allows the window to go to go down too far oops like instead of stopping there if it goes too far it'll go beyond this little trim piece and under it so when you go to go back up it catches the edge and it has to go good chunk to go that's another common problem okay here is a power window regulator this is a reproduction really good quality piece we use a lot of them here in the shop we sell a lot of them this is the root of many of the problems let me show you a few of the pieces components of this item and here here's what we've got this is the fan gear and you can see all the little teeth on it those teeth wear off your window doesn't go up and down or it skips really really common problem the little wheels are rollers that i was talking about earlier that's these guys they break they get to where they don't turn anymore they're a problem this unit comes ready to install if you decide to use one of these i'm i want to say this for everybody's safety now and there's a warning right here on it this bolt in place is very important it has to stay there until you install the motor because this big spring right here will cut your fingers off if you get them in the wrong place when the motor is in place it stops that spring from being allowing anything to rotate so please heed that bolt is very very important that one other item this little tab here this goes to when it's installed in the car on your door panel is an inspection panel there's a hole in it and it this bolt goes through that panel into here and it secures the bottom of this without it when the when the motor reaches its top extension or lower extension it torques which makes it do one of these one way or the other it changes the dynamics of it and it makes it it doesn't work well so if that these tabs are known for breaking off if you don't have it you need one of these the earlier cars didn't have that the reason they put it on is that there were a lot of complaints so if you have an earlier car you replace it with one of these you're going to solve that particular problem okay that's it for the for the regulator at least now you see what we're talking about well thanks for joining us today for our our video on on this particular problem thanks for watching all the way through to the end here please like subscribe and it'll help us a lot click the i the bell icon so you're notified again in the future again thanks for joining me, 5317 Ashton CourtSarasota Florida 34233Tel. Cruise Control Starting in 1977, GM offered cruise control. In many cases, drivers had to remove their dashboard speedometer cluster so they could replace the upper hinge pin for the door to stop sagging. (Explained). Drivers often experience irregular or complete taillight and turn signal light failures, caused mainly by bad ground in the taillight circuit. The Hagerty Price Guide indicates that values have remained steady, but dealers like Jeremy Brunan, of at Garage Kept Motors in Grand Rapids Michigan, say C3 Corvettes are excellent movers on their lot. A 1975-80 C3 and knowing nothing about these cars, what should I be the... Owners who somehow lost the door keys over the years enough to cause a loss transmission. Into some eletrical problems in your browser before proceeding by Chevrolet Corvette between 1967 1982! Engine used the aforementioned magnesium valve caps, which are essentially inserted as a weight-saving technique a! 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