Reader-Owned 1977 Corvettes

The car is pretty clean with 79K original miles. The top end of the engine has been rebuilt with LT1 cam, Edelbrock carburetor and Mallory distributor. The paint is fairly new along with the aftermarket wheels.

My Corvette is a '77 with a 350 automatic. I bought it from a guy who restored in 2005. I haven't had to do too much work to it since then. I've only had to replace the front brake calipers, rear shocks, fuel pump, and light switch. I love to drive it to work every now and then as it is a head turner and the dual Flowmasters are music to my ears. The interior was completely redone by the previous owner along with the paint job.

I picked up this '77 L48 350 automatic bucket of bolts in Sept '05. The car had been off the road for 16 years. I installed new seat covers, carpets and door panels. I have repainted it. The engine is a stock 350 but not original. I have also installed a 2004R overdrive transmission.

Binnie writes:

I personally know Jack and I have seen this car in person. It is a beautiful car and Jack knows these car like the back of his hand. Jack has been kind enough to share a copy of the dealer invoice for his car. What makes this car unique is that it was purchased by a GM employee at dealer cost. The GM employee that purchased Jack's car worked at the NJ Linden Assembly plant. Jack worked there also but never knew the man. One of his retired buddies knew him. And as for the dealer, it is still in business today. Thanks Jack for the beautiful pictures and your continued interest and help for us C3 owners.

Here's some pics of my '77. I purchased the car in May and have since rebuilt the frt susp (urathane), installed new exhaust, windshield, tires, polished the rims and added knockoffs. The car has every option (including gymkana suspension) except for the L-82 option. Have new pics coming soon and I always have lots of minor details to consider down the road. I purchased the car for $4600.00 and have another 3K on her so far. There's 145,000 mi on her and the car starts great and past smog with flying colors here in Calif. I think it will give everyone a great idea of what a C-3 looks like with this type of rim also.

I live in Norway and I bought this '77 in 2010. I think I am the third owner here in Norway. With the exception of the wheels and rear bumper cover the car is pretty original. There are a few things not working properly but I am working away at resolving them. As you can see my car is used in advertising Turtle Wax here in Norway. My car has the following options: L48 - Coupe, Power Windows, Air Conditioning, Tilt & Telescopic Steering Column, Electro-Clear Rear Defroster, Cruise-Master Speed Control, Turbo Hydramatic Transmission and Floor Mats.

1977, L82 with 4 speed, 62K on the speedometer. My clock even works as well as the under hood light. A driver with a few trophies!

I read your message at netvettes. My Vette is REALLY an unusual one. It's currently posted on the site as "Dwight's 1977". If you scroll the messages back to the first week of June of this year, you'll see what I mean about this car being a real odd-ball.

Dwight lives in Winnipeg, Canada.

Dale writes:

I'm the original owner of this light blue metallic 1977 Corvette. The only things not original to the car are the tires, the brakes (changed to stainless) and the exhaust. The paint and interior are still factory. It's an L48, 4 speed with AM/FM 8 Track, A/C, rear defogger, and GM factory brushed aluminum wheels. There is slightly over 68,000 on the odometer.

Binnie writes:

Dale belongs to that elite 'Original Owner C3 Club'. This car has a pretty rare option combination including manual windows and non-tilt steering wheel. If we were to crack the figures using the GM option numbers we would discover that this car is 1 of 'Very Few'. Dale is a very knowledgeable C3 guy and is very active and helpful on our C3 Forum. Thank you Dale for sharing your car and expertise with us.

I purchased this Corvette in 2005 and have made several modifications to the body and interior. It is your standard 350 with an automatic transmission. I love driving this car and it handles like a dream. It's my passion. I still need to paint it, replace the seats and the interior, and add a rear spoiler. Overall it's a keeper for me.

I have only had the car since October of '07. My father owned it since 1985 and when he passed away last September, I got it and started restoring it. Since I trailed the car home last Oct, I have totally replaced the interior. On the trip down from Oregon, I did not know the t-tops leaked and it rained all the way to Sacramento. The motor was replaced with a 330 hp Vortec crate motor in the late 90s. The brakes were the next project and included bear vented and slotted rotors along with ceramic pads. The front end needed a little work so I went with QA1 double adjustable shocks. Paint was also done in the 90s in root beer brown with ground mirror in the clear coat.

1977 corvette all original, interior redone, 78,000 miles, A/C, power steering and brakes, tilt steering, AM FM 8 track, original paint but needs touch up, new weather striping and its my 60th birthday gift to myself and I am enjoying it.

Binnie writes:

Another nice code 56 Bright Yellow Corvette. I wonder why I am partial to those

This is my 1977 L82 4spd which I bought last July. It was in fair condition with original engine that had just been rebuilt. After I put about two hundred miles on it, one day it started to overheat. I was almost home so I pulled over, let it cool then drove home. I noticed antifreeze coming out the exhaust. The next week I started tearing into it and found the block was cracked. I decided then to just go wild. I removed the body and did a total refab. I bought a ZZ4 long block and built it from there with the stage three kit, added the flares and hood and striped it to the glass and then painted it. I did everything myself in my shop.

Bought the car in 2001 from a guy in financial trouble. It is a bone stock '77 350. It is a fully optioned car. Everything now works in the car. It has been garaged since I owned it. I have done a lot of work on it the last 3 years it has been parked. I have made no modifications to the car other than adding the front spoiler. The wheels are 15 inch classic centerlines with swept wing spinners from Ecklers. It runs perfectly. It has just turned 125K miles and will still approach 125 mph! I just recently completely gutted the interior and did a complete rewiring job. Even the clock now works! We added a stereo upgrade and removed the factory alarm for a much better security system. The only thing left is replacing the door panels.

The car has been in numerous Vette shows and has failed only one time not to place. I am upgrading the suspension, tranny and engine. It won't be a race car but it will have a bit more go than a stock '77.

This is my 1977 L82 4-speed which I changed over from an automatic. It is a great car and a real head turner at car shows. And my wife even likes it.

Binnie writes: The following pictures were taken after the car was newly painted.

You can never have too many Corvettes. Robert and Dianne of Daytona Beach, Florida, take pride in the three Corvettes they own. They have two very nice 1977 Corvettes and a C5 for a daily driver. I have had the pleasure of meeting these two fine people and they have a genuine passion for Corvettes and these examples show the pristine condition that Robert and Dianne strive for.

The car below is the rare color code 52 Bright Yellow (71 produced) a day 2 production red engine L-48 4-speed.

Our '77 was my wife's idea after our daughter went off to college. We searched for a year at least and looked at everything from '74 - '77 and a few glances over to the C5 area. We have an LS2 in our Trailblazer SS so we decided to go with a weekend toy. I don't care what anyone says to me, it's a '77 and a survivor with 55K miles. The car is an early production in the first 4000 and has the brushed horn button and no side flag emblems. It is white with red interior and rally wheels. It is so nice to see so many fellow '77 owners.

Binnie writes:

I think my wife will agree with Lori, great choice!

My Custom 1977 Corvette: Exterior modifications include 67 stinger hood, lambo doors, custom spoiler, custom hooker side pipe covers, recessed headlights, and custom pinstriping. Engine: 383 stroker, balanced, blueprinted, roller rockers/cam, Demon carb, NOS TH350 3spd auto w/3:73 gears w/2,400 stall converter & shift kit. Interior: Racing seats, rose steering wheel, racing gauges, NOS bottle, 70 'Cuda shifter, yellow/black/red combo. Suspension: VB&P TOP-OF-THE-LINE package has all the features of VB&P Hi-Performance System PLUS other enhancements. Tires/Wheels: BF Goodrich Drag Radials & Keystone wheels.

Binnie writes:

I have known Jack for a number of years now and I had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife last summer at the Corvette car show in Delaware. Jack has since sold this car.

I purchased this car almost three years ago when I was 15. It always meant a lot to me to have a car like this because my dad owned a 1967 and 1968 Corvette in 1969, so it's kind of a tradition. When I purchased the car, it had a GM 290 hp crate engine, and since then I have modified the car as I learned about mechanics. The first mod I did was side pipes, and they gave the car a phenomenal sound. Next, I installed a 224/234 camshaft, added an Edelbrock intake manifold and carb, and installed dual electric fans. This satisfied me for another year, then in February, a month ago, I began gathering engine parts to do another rebuild. This time I installed Vortec heads, a polished intake manifold, block hugger headers, and roller rockers. I had the car dyno tuned, and it currently produces 300 hp at the wheels and 345 lbs. of torque. I am still not up to the amount of power my dad had with his 427's, but I will get there someday!

This 1977 L48 Museum Grade, all matching numbers, Victory Red Corvette with Oster White interior was purchased from a man that had it for 11 years and put a lot of work into it. For personal reasons, he decided to sell and I immediately bought it. It is immaculate and runs and idles perfectly. Low mileage: 64000. I had one before when I was much younger and I always said that I would get another when the opportunity would arise.

My wife was instrumental in wanting this corvette. I also loved them very much. We did many car shows and finally settled on a C-3. Our car came from Marshall Chevrolet in Reading PA. We found it at a Corvette dealer close to home. After purchasing this car we realized what we had was an original 1977 Corvette. still stock as stock could be. We love the color and found out there is not many out there. We do many shows and always walk a away a winner. The car has 58,500 miles on it, L-48 still has the original paint as stated above. We do a lot of summer driving and put about 1500 miles per year on it. There is nothing better than taking the Tee Tops off and going for a ride. We met many of fine persons that share the same interest that my wife and I do and this would not have happened if it were not for forums such as this. Thanks Mike & Ann.

Binnie writes:

My wife and I had the pleasure of meeting Mike and Ann summer of '07 at the Corvette show in Wilmington, DE. Their car is every bit as nice as the pictures show. Mike and Ann are a terrific couple and my wife and I are honored to have been befriended by them.

This is my 'hard to keep clean' black 1977 Corvette with 35k original miles. The engine is a 1971 350 bored .030 over with a TH350, Hookers. The car is fast and smooth with a set of COY C-57 wheels with 235/55 - 17 tires. I put a '68 removable window in the car. Anyone that hasn't done the window swap, 'Do-It!', it's very easy! This car has all new interior, drives like a dream and never overheats. Thank you for having such a great site.

Binnie writes:

Thank you Gary for sharing your car with us.

Here is my 1977 just after I picked it up. It is a numbers matching car with 85,000 miles. It is an absolute pleasure to drive!

In 2007 I bought this white '77 L-82 with 62,000 miles on it. The license plates were nine years past due and the previous owner had it for 20 yrs. I took it all apart to check it out and rebuild it. I painted it Bright Green and just recently installed a Tremec 5 speed for the better gearing. Just like the license plate says: OOU Baby

During the summer of 2005, I was looking for a project car. One that I have never owned or driven before, I decided to look for a Corvette. My aim was high. Well, way too high after I started looking around. I Just couldn't afford a C1 or C2. So I looked into the C3's. I searched local and looked at all the Corvette sites. I finally found one I could afford on EBay. It was a tan '77 L-48 Automatic. I bought it sight unseen and had it shipped to me. Two weeks later, it showed up at my house. The engine would start, the transmission would move it, but it had no brakes. So the driver and myself backed it into the garage. The car was up on jacks that night. I started on the suspension that weekend, the brakes and anything under the car. Next was the engine and transmission. Once that was done, off to the paint shop. When I picked up the car from the paint shop, I drove straight to Goodyear. New tires went on that day. Once home, I gutted the interior. Two weeks later, the interior was complete. All this took two years to complete, not because of time, but because of money. This past summer I put the car in 6 shows. I took 5 1st places and one 2nd place for C3 original. Now I am not all done with the car. It will NEVER be completely finished. I am always finding stuff that I need/want to do. But for the most part, I have completed the hard stuff. My wife and I enjoy the old look and feel of the car.
Pat Mullins
Tennessee

I have enjoyed your web site for quite some time. Thanks for keeping us all informed! I live in the Charleston, SC area and am the proud owner of a 1977 Corvette. I purchased it from the original owner in May of 1997 and have pretty much kept it original. It just turned 58,000 miles. Through my research I discovered that it was built on the morning of March 15, 1977 just three cars ahead of the 500,000th Corvette. I have also retrieved the dealer invoice and most of the original documentation. It is a L-82, Turbo 400, AM-FM Tape, and everything else but trailer package and luggage rack. Paint is original and only wear-out parts have been replaced. (Am thinking about side pipes!)

My car is a 1977 corvette with 79000 original miles and recently painted. It has a rebuilt top end but it is basically stock with an aftermarket exhaust. When we rebuilt the top end, we kept everything original. We painted the heads and intake manifold factory colors. I love to drive my vette, she is an every day driver and it is a blast to drive.

Here are photos of our 1977 s/n 0242 that we would like you to post on your site. Our car is a code 52 corvette yellow with dark brown leather interior It has the L-48 with the wide ratio 4-speed, sport mirrors, aluminum wheels, tilt/tele, a/c p/s, p/b, rear defogger, am/fm 8-track, and the convenience group. I am the fifth owner of this well documented 51,500 original mile 1977. The car spent the majority of it's life in northern New Jersey, and I purchased it last July('04) from a guy in southern New Jersey. Now it is in eastern PA. about 20 miles north of Philadelphia. The car was retrofitted by the original owner with a GM power antenna and the the side fender flags. Other than that it is a stock L-48 180 HP and will stay that way as long as I own it. Thanks again Binnie.

Chris & Kim Merckx

Binnie says:

This car is a fine example of a very early '77 built in the first week of production. It is also one of 71 color code 52 bright yellow cars built before the code was changed to 56. It also has the 4-speed option which puts the car in a very desirable category.

Update: Chris is the forum moderator for Corvette-C3.com

My car is a '77 with an upgraded '80 nose and back end. I live in Gauteng, South Africa.