W

wgrr

I'm New Here
C3 Ontario
Jul 9, 2021
5
4
Guelph
VetteCoins
117
Car
1974 C3
Province
ON
Hello
I am a new owner of a bright red 1974 C3 with the stock 350 195hp which is the original motor.
I am afraid to admit I got taken and on this gem, bought it certified from a dealer and have not been able to drive it for all its problems, and the dealer I bought it from doesn't want to talk to me about it. I bought it, I own it ,suck it up.
I have restored lots of British cars over the years but have always wanted a C3 and found this one with everything stock except the headers, so the day I brought it home, I found gas coming out of a cross threaded fuel line going into the Rochester QJ carb. Seems it was fine on the short test drive I did but the hour long drive home it let go to the point I could turn the filter bolt by hand. After all the years of putting a steel bolt into an aluminum carb body there is no meat remaining to work with. Found a used carb and hopefully will be able to rebuild this one.
I am the type that if its on the car it should work. So the dash is all apart right now trying to get the temp and oil pressure gauge working. The temp only comes up to the 100 mark and no higher and I have replaced the sender on the block. If I unplug it, it will drop to the far left. but no higher than 100 when plugged back in. Th oil pressure goes to 80 and pretty much stays there with anything more than idle, it will occasionally go to 40 while idle.
My question is can the gauges go bad and only work sort of ? I see they are getting power and a signal just not what I would think to be accurate.
I have already bought the factory assembly drawings and the haynes manual. Do I need to replace the gauges? Fuel, voltage and clock work fine.
If I can solve these little bugger issues I plan on investigating the non working AC.
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed
 
Sounds like you definitely have a project car. Lots of guys on here with C3s that have restored or in the process of restoring. Sounds like you are already well into it and with the advice from the guys here should be enjoying the fruits of your labour sooner rather than later. BTW, most of the guys on here are addicted to pictures and will enjoy some of your beauty. A lot will probably follow along and give encouragement as you troubleshoot your issues.
 
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What condition is the frame and birdcage? What oil pump is on? I have been running high pressure ones on my 383 strokers - one built for running 1/4’s in the early 2000’s and the GM ZZ383 (2014) came with one. The oil gauge reads just under 70 when I get on it and drops to @ 30 at idle which is consistent on both engines. Next time out I’ll make a note and let you know. Wow your clock actually works! It must have been redone as every original early C3 I’ve seen reads correctly only twice per day unless modified.
if you need either good used or new parts I highly recommend both Santo at Caledon Corvette and James at Northern Corvette. Santo also has a fair sized shop with 3 hoists and large trailers full of parts. He’s btn Airport Rd and hwy 50 on hwy 9. James is in Thorold area. A word of caution, there is a Corvette new parts reseller located in Ontario that friends don’t let friends buy from. I’m located not too far from you in Orangeville. Good luck and post up pics and questions. Hopefully you can get the original Qjet rebuilt as they are great carbs when setup properly.
 
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@wgrr
Welcome to the forum and Welcome to Corvetting..
We have been waiting for you to arrive.
Your issues are pretty common for a 40+ year old car.
Sad to hear the dealer has shut you out.
Carb issues… probably would have needed building anytime soon anyway.
Gauge issues …. I usually suspect the sending units first.. they are cheap to replace.
You could temporarily run a parallel oil pressure gauge off the port near the distributor to see if it coincides with the readout on your stock electrical unit. Maybe a buddy or yourself has an extra gauge around. Same with your temp unit. There is probably another water port near the water neck in the intake manifold. Again, another gauge/sender may be required/borrowed/acquired..
I have a ZZ4 motor in my ‘75 coupe. It usually pins the oil pressure gauge except at idle.
YOUR clock works? ( same reaction as #gdh ).
Do you have a Voltage gauge or an ammeter in your car. My ‘75 has an ammeter.

The best investment is a proper set on GM shop manuals. You can find these used for not too much money.
The next thing is an assembly manual to have when working on your car.
Purchase from some of the regular Corvette parts suppliers, Corvette Central, etc.

We need pics.. not necessarily to help with your gauge issues, but we just like them.
1DC25D52 D0AA 47F7 A0DE 89773416E1D5

graham
Langley, BC
 
What condition is the frame and birdcage? What oil pump is on? I have been running high pressure ones on my 383 strokers - one built for running 1/4’s in the early 2000’s and the GM ZZ383 (2014) came with one. The oil gauge reads just under 70 when I get on it and drops to @ 30 at idle which is consistent on both engines. Next time out I’ll make a note and let you know. Wow your clock actually works! It must have been redone as every original early C3 I’ve seen reads correctly only twice per day unless modified.
if you need either good used or new parts I highly recommend both Santo at Caledon Corvette and James at Northern Corvette. Santo also has a fair sized shop with 3 hoists and large trailers full of parts. He’s btn Airport Rd and hwy 50 on hwy 9. James is in Thorold area. A word of caution, there is a Corvette new parts reseller located in Ontario that friends don’t let friends buy from. I’m located not too far from you in Orangeville. Good luck and post up pics and questions. Hopefully you can get the original Qjet rebuilt as they are great carbs when setup properly.
The frame is good, the bird gage needs some loving. The stock oil pump to my knowledge.. Spent the afternoon pulling the seats out to install new seat bumpers as the seats were great for lounging not so good for driving.
So I found both seat bottom frames rusted beyond salvage , someone had brazed the drivers seat at on time, someone who should not be allowed to play with torches. That seat is split in half at the rear.
I pretty much mastered the nightmare of Lucas wiring , but what the heck is all this vacuum stuff and the dpo wiring fixes, and what he could not fix he just cut the wires.
 

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Good idea on the gauges Graham. Yes the clock works BUT no idea if its keeping the correct time, I kill the battery switch as its not going anywhere for the next few weeks
 
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Sorry to read about the seat issues…
The engine compartment looks clean.

Let us know how we can assist you to move forward on your project.

thanx for the pics. We are expecting more!
graham
 
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Have you put it up on a hoist and taken a good up close look at everything. Looks like the engine bay rec’d a liberal dose of spray paint. If you have access to a 2 post lift that would be ideal. If you need to have your carb rebuilt and it is original and untouched I would recommend that you send it to Lars ([email protected]).He’s in Colorado but he Is well known for being a Qjet guru.
 
The frame is good, the bird gage needs some loving. The stock oil pump to my knowledge.. Spent the afternoon pulling the seats out to install new seat bumpers as the seats were great for lounging not so good for driving.
So I found both seat bottom frames rusted beyond salvage , someone had brazed the drivers seat at on time, someone who should not be allowed to play with torches. That seat is split in half at the rear.
I pretty much mastered the nightmare of Lucas wiring , but what the heck is all this vacuum stuff and the dpo wiring fixes, and what he could not fix he just cut the wires.
My seat frames were bent and broken .... I blasted them straightened them out, re-welded them and added on a 3/16” reinforcement plate (I fabricated my own but you can buy them). It isn’t pretty but once the foam and covers go on you will never see it again. Also, I have a pair of bottom frames if you are interested....not perfect but they will work.
 
Thanks for the offer but at this point we are still looking to see if this car is going to the wreckers for scrap or how much money we want to sink into it. As I have heard from the mechanics she is not good.
Just got a rough price of converting to a 4 speed and that was 7000.00. Waiting on a shop to contact me regarding a drivers door that is hanging by a thread or 2.
My concern with the seats and used frames is whats the chances of getting the old leather off and on to replacement frames.
 
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