Never stop looking my friends, follow up on leads, look behind houses when you drive around new areas. I did a quick follow up on a lead that sounded impossible. Now I'm negotiating with the current owner to aquire a '71 454 4sp. Convertible with both tops. 140k , been off the road since 1985. Engine is missing. Tranny isn't. I'll keep you updated as things proceed.

 

Good luck.

 

Well, I did it! I am now the proud owner of a car that has been off the road since 1985. I'll keep this updated until it's back on the road.

 

Are you going to try to put it back stock? Do you have any history on the car?

 

Yes, I m going try and keep it basically stock. It's a base 365hp. 454, I will probably just run an aftermarket manifold and carb. I got the original exhaust manifolds so they're going back in. I did get the original carb, I'm not really a Q jet fan but we'll see.

 

IIRC, that's a LS-6. Since it doesn't have the engine, I assume you are getting that information from the tag on the console. I know a lot of people don't like Q-jets but they are easy to work on and have a lot of tuning capability. I grew to really appreciate Q-jets after working on my friend's '66 427/425 Holley for several years. The good things about Holley carburetors is they have a lot of adjustments. The bad thing about Holleys is they have a lot of adjustments. You almost need a dyno to really get the full capability out of them.

 

Here she is on the way home!

 

A good thing about this generation of Corvettes is that you can get just about every part for them at a fairly reasonable price usually. Big block roadsters are usually a good investment also.

 

She is resting comfortably in the shop now.

 

Spent a little time in the shop cleaning it up today.
Engine arrives tomorrow!