John's 1976 C3 Corvette Gets a Brand New Crate Engine 

Hi Ben, I like what you did here. You repaired a customers vette to his specifications, expectations and cost budget. You took a car with a worn out engine that might have been making all of 90 hp and put in a motor putting out 380+ on the dyno, so probably now 330 to 340 at the rear wheels. All for a price your customer could pay. This is a big win. The fun factor increase for this car just went up like a SpaceX Falcon rocket. This corvette is a driver, not a restoration. I have no doubt you had a detailed set of conversations with the customer about what his options were and guided him on making the best choices for him. By delivering a well executed budget end product, I bet you have acquired future work and income from this customer and possibly some of his friends. There is a difference between repairing customer cars and your own cars. Your time has economic value. So does the customers available funding. And another corvette stays on the road. Good job.

What’s crazy is someone out there was super proud that they saved that original fan shroud at one point in time

Not his car, not his money, not his choices. Thanks for showing us the process, appreciate it a lot

Thanks for the video. Always like seeing your work.

I really appreciate your calm and thorough narratives. Kudos!

One of your best videos!

You did great! Proud of you.

Idk how your channel has never popped up on my RU-vid feed but subscribed, love vettes an Camaros

Man I love this guy. Glad I found this channel.

Great video Ben.....you never fail to be interesting in all your videos as well as very informative. Thanks buddy!!

Thanks for the great video

One of the best videos I've ever seen. Well edited and explained 100%. Thank you very much

I gonna keep this video in the watch list for this winter when I drop a 327 in my 78. Can't wait to have a good engine in the car!

LUV your long videos. keep them coming.

Very cool. I have an ‘82 C3 and these cars really turn heads.

Great video. Keep them coming.

Great job

I did basically the same thing to my Brown Met. 76 glad i did she chirps 2nd gear now. Thanks Ben keep it up. Great video!

Excellent job!!

Great result Ben

*Ben, finally!!!!! Great job on yet another decent RU-vid video*

GREAT video! Im about to start an engine swap on a stock 81 and this helped me tons.

Excellent video!

Super cool video

Good video, I like you’r work ,and manner. I’ve seen the same color on an other C3 corvette once before. At that time thinking the color was a custom paint job. Nice to see you taking correct mechanical care of this corvette.

Great job. Every car has a story. This is just another one to add to the pile.

Great project brother, wish you the best.

Good work sir.

I just bought a 76' Stingray, trying to keep it right, LOVE this video

Alot of people don’t like the paint but i love it

I did same thing in 1987 to my 74 vette but it had a 454 in it and for a second I didn’t think the engine lift was going to hold it .. good video

Beautiful car

Great "How To Video" Thanks for taking the time to make and share this video. Very well done. I got many chuckles from the arm chair critic's comments. I purchased my one owner 79 L-82 last year for the love of its classy looks and to also remove a Corvette purchase from my "Bucket List". It's a warm sunny day cruiser from May until November. I spend my long Canadian winters doing my priority things on her. Complete renewal of rear suspension, U-joints, spindles and bearings, differential stub shafts and so on last winter. This winter's projects I'm working on are a complete rebuild of the front suspension and steering. A new aluminum rad and electric fans. Replacing the 2-1/4" pipes with 2-1/2" back from the ceramic coated headers and working over my transmission crossmember to let the pipes run straight back until after the crossmember to make room for the 2004r transmission I have on the bench that will be rebuilt strong enough for a future engine up grade of fresh Vortec heads (on the bench) and Edelbrock manifold and maybe a different camshaft. My goal for this is for lower rpm's on the highway, fuel savings and respectable power. It will never be a ground pounding drag car nor a numbers matching Vette but rather a reliable money hungry Classic which will always present herself well. It will be passed on to my son. All original parts will be kept if anyone wants to have a #s matching car. lol.

Great video.

Your vids are interesting tbh and it’s educational for me for when I get to buy one of those C3

Great video

I really liked the video! Great job!!

A 35 minute Corvette Ben video? Is it Christmas?

For all those saying keep it original, these cars were slow and boring and will never be worth much... but great lines good suspension and can bolt in an awesome engine.

dang good lookin car!

Good job 👏 👍

My '75 has basically the same set-up, runs great and a lot of fun.

Nice video keep up the good work

That your wife cares enough to know about your tools is awesome.

great video.

You work hard, sacrifice a lot of family time to get the job done,do a fantastic job & your tutorials are 2nd to none, no crap music a lot of content, you Sir are a great video presenter & have a lot of patience...this corvette get's to live & i like the car as stock, not bubberised up ...keep it up Ben..if i lived in your area i'd get a corvette so you could work on it & get it back to stock...love the corvettes.

Love to see a follow up video with everything fine tuned like carb exhaust etc. and see how she does fully opened up rpms!

Looks good I swapped in a blueprint 396 stroker in my c3, sounds great and goes like hell :)

Cool to see someone show what really happened when you put in a new motor

The Corvette c3 - pure art on four wheels!

The gas gauge.....we can fix that later.. haha! Great video, nice work!

Oil usage is common on older cars that are not driven much, and the oil is not changed often enough. The oil control rings get stuck in the ring grove because of the waxes in the oil. The thicker the oil, the more wax is in it. Also short trips wreak havoc on engines, plus it could have overheated, taking the temper out of the rings. I can't stand finding hacked up aftermarket wiring for alarms and other accessories. That is always the first thing I remove, as it always causes other problems. Plus I hate scotch locks and crimp connectors... I solder and shrink wrap everything. With the alternator, the voltage did look low, but remember voltage will increase as amperage output decreases. The other carburetors you have, just need a good rebuild. There always rebuildable, unless the casting is cracked or broken. Great video... Thank You.

I hate when people do these projects in different videos and you sometimes end up getting them out of order. You tied the whole project into one video just continueing it on separate days. Made it easy to watch and follow the project. Well done and yes I actually always liked that color on a vet.

Sweet looking engine. Exactly the same power ratings (389hp 412tq) I had from my N54 BMW straight 6 after a little tune. That was a quick car and a fun amount of torque and power. So this should be good for a older vette that you just want to have fun in.

Super satisfying video to watch. If I were the owner of that car I would have done two things differently, I would have kept the old engine and I would have upgraded to headers and duel exhaust.

Just came across this video. Nice presentation. I've had 8 C3 Corvettes over the years, from mild to holy shit. 74/75/76/77 Corvettes are pretty much the low point for Corvette resale (other than maybe a 1984, but that is what makes them interesting for a project. I have to say though, that first, this car had the L-82 engine, which actually had decent potential. I bought a bone stock 76, L-82, 4 speed car. Changed to headers with a full dual exhaust, including dual CATS. Re-worked the stock Quadra-jet, added a better HEI, a performer manifold and the car went 14.0 @100 on regular Comp T/A tires. The bottom end on the L-82 is a good piece, including 4 bolt mains, and a steel crank. Heads are not bad. Cam is small. Just for the heck of it, I put on an NOS 100 shot and it went 13.0 @110. Fun car....this was back in 1996. I did ultimately replace the engine, as I didn't trust the rod bolts, and it had developed some excessive crank end play. Put in a Pro-flow injected, aluminum head, roller cam 350 with a Richmond 6 speed. A lot more of everything, but big $$$

I've looks around a few places on youtube to even get familiar with such an awesome car. My grandpa happened to be put into an early grave, damn cancer. but he has a 77 stingray we were beginning to work on I want to help keep it running good and in shape for my grandma since she's got enough on her mind. Just learning as much as I can. This smoke is a pretty similar problem in his.

Honestly this video made me chub. I love these classic vettes.

It's funny to see you have the same engine hoist, Jack, Jack stands. Lol Harbor freight has some decent quality tools. I bought a Dannmar lift 2 post fits in my 10' ceilings. Can't lift all the way up but man it saves you a lot of bending and crawling around on a cold dirty garage floor. Great job. Peace

Im an old fart and would have rebuilt the matching engine, but great video!

I hope the owner goes through the process of rebuilding the motor. That would be a huge selling point to have the original motor - even if the crate motor is in the car.

Got a tonne out of this vid...ready to start on my 73 coupe 350 4spd. I have had it for 30 plus years..ready for a new heart..🙏🙏🙏

Man, I love the sound of a small block Chevrolet.

I had a ride in one of these when it was only a few years old, and it was already a disappointment, with valve tick and rattles. I love them regardless, and proper h.p. would be so exciting.

Hey bud, just subbed, been watching the Caddy vids, got a soft spot in my heart for 49-69 Cads. (I had a 69 SDV and my bud had a 49&52 waaay back-he has a 53Coupe now, I have a 67 Galaxie500 2dr) Anyway, I do enjoy your show, and this Corvette build is no exception. Alright, I wasn't gonna do this, but, he shoulda built the L-82, those are 4 bolt main and steel crank motors! I know, customer's car, customer's decision, just my $.02 Thanks fer takin' us along....more Cadillac! Keep up the great work, also enjoyed the resurrection of the old Merc...

Very nice video. Although back in the day, we would have added a couple cans of STP and called 'er good!

Well, I'm a purist, enjoyed the video, would've enjoyed more if old motor was sent out for rebuilding, internals, had the heads worked, original carb, and most importantly A/C, cause now it's just a 76 non matching #s Vette, I'm sure anyone over 50 feels like me, at least store the old motor, carb, and pollution stuff, so possibly the next owner has options, I'm not even a Chevy man, but a Vette deserves some respect

Ready for a refresh. Valve seals too.

I wanted to see it go!!!!!

I enjoyed watching your video, and learned a lot! I would pay you to put new 5.0 in my Mustang if I could afford it lol!

you forgot headers!! thanks for making this video..

Thanks for this vid. I would not have dropped in a Blueprint engine and bolted it up to the original exhaust, which is probably robbing power from it. Should have gotten some headers, and a dual 2.5" to 3" y pipe, and a 3" cat, and a decent muffler. The exhaust manifolds should have put in a corner of the garage. I like how you showed what was involved in replacing an engine. Might want to look at getting a shiftworks kit and dropping in a built 200r4 now. getting ready to do the same to my 86 firebird Lg4. This gives me a better idea what will be involved now. Got all the valvetrain in my closet.

I just did this to mine. I removed both ft tires, had on Jack stands and put the hoist on the pass side. Not to bad.

Great video, I love vettes. Makes me laugh when you read the negative comments on how this should of been done or this is what I would of done or why would anyone ever do that..This was done between him and the owner, it was the owners final decision. If you would of done if different that's great then do it but what matters is it came out nice and the owner is happy. Again good job👍

That's a very good thing put all new engines in old 1960s cars

Good video. with 250 criticisms​.

Yup I’m with some of these other guys, nice LS 3 would be sweet

First time I've seen someone break in a roller cam.

It's cool that it still has the Monza steering wheel 1976 only.

Very intéressent

That shroud could be a work of art if you mount it on a block of wood & stick it in one of those artsy fartsy galleries..lol

I put a crate motor in my 75 Stingray, and tossed the numbers matching original. Reason being? I'm gonna croak in probably another 20 years, so I could give a crap about numbers matching. It's a way better car with the crate motor.

i would go through the old motor myself and use it in a project car!

you should have done that same test under load again to show no smoke with new engine great vid

I installed a 350 HO crate engine when my original blew on the freeway (1976 Camaro).

few things are glorious as unboxing, or unwrapping, a new crate engine....gawww....dream cheese!

Great job!. Not sure if you know, but you can put the rear of the car up on ramps and the nose will be itched down. The you can lift the engine and transmission as an assembly from the front of the car. it also makes it so easy to put everything back in. I have done so many C3 engine swaps. tell your customer to get the original L-82 rebuilt. Keep the original 9:1 heads with 2.02 intake valves, just rebuild them as original and that motor is worth money to someone in need of one.

I love this color!

That is a beautiful car, surely worth the new engine....Too bad the original one couldn't be rebuilt and beefed up a bit, but I know that would be a major undertaking....And I'm sure this new one will run rings around the old engine even in its best condition...Wonder if John will keep the numbers matching engine, just in case someone down the road wants to return the car to stock form....

In '85 I bought a 72 Chev C10 Step side pick up. Member of the family for nearly 30 years. Sure, one plug would foul (#3) but never smoked like the C3. Was told get to that point, Rebuild.

You can double the horsepower on SBC with a Thumpr high energy cam flat top pistons and vortec heads and the air gap dual plane edelbrock manifiold,headers and magnaflow mufflers!

if you want to learn this was great ! i had same vette same paint and tools , the problems and solutions were real . like real life situations are tks

Wow, that Vette shook the ground loose at the 3:35 mark. Break neck acceleration at it's finest. Smoking like a BBQ.

lol! I would've assumed the owners no.1 complaint would be lack of power with those sorry excuses for a boat anchor they called a power plant in those poor things back then. after the early 70s, ugh,gutless wonders needing major power,glad you're giving it some life at speed. lol! bubba ingenuity. thanks. ☆☆☆

Nice car. I had a similar issue with my '72. If you revved to 3,000 or beyond it would smoke like that. Eventually the motor came apart.

Having owned a 79 with a 60s LT1 engine lightly massaged to around 400 HP I can say this. They are fantastic looking cars IMO and the stock performance IN ALL WAYS do not do the shape any justice. If any car deserves a resto mod it is these cars. These are like the perfect car for an E-rod and THEN whatever is possible within a reasonable amount of spending to make it turn and stop to handle what a current SBC of around 400-460 H.P makes. My 79 with an old-school 350-400 hp small block and most everything else stock besides some bushings and replacement parts was scary in all other ways besides running it from 0 to whatever the MPH was at the end a 1/4 mile run. My car ran with stock Toyota Supra's , Grand Nationals and My friends Anniversary Turbo Trans Am with the GN-X set up. A little bit of modernization on these cars that are really 60s tech/chassis/platform and an engine with around 400 HP makes a cool retro car with timeless IMO styling that wont try and kill you if you use it more like you would a modern car. Any more HP then 400 you would need a lot of $ to make it stop and handle to be reasonable beyond going straight and fast. They can be had relatively cheap and therefore are a good car to make a street 'hot rod". If you don't like the shape of the C-3 I don't know what to tell you (the 80s cars might be for a certain taste but are lighter then the 70s cars and not without charm but these or my 79 with the more practical bubble back are some of the only 60s "muscle cars" built throughout the 70s and not overpriced and don't have rusted body panels for obvious reasons. I don't think an E-rod type of engine makes you lose much if any of the feel of a sixties car and you can just put a carb crate motor with bigger secondary's for a more stock feeling. With the release of the C8 and previous corvettes I think a 400 or so HP set up is fine for that nostalgia feeling because going much higher to compete with modern performance its just easier cheaper and safer to buy a used c-5 c-6 or even C-7 and throw some boost at it if it isn't a boosted model.

Sweet, looks a lot like my old 75 if it had good paint.

had same car mine had the L 48 factory 4 spp in the same doodoo brown and tru spokes hahaha miss it tho!

This turd brown reminds me of the same color 75 stingray my older brother had Back in the late eighties. He rebuilt the 350 (l48?) .030 overbore with flat top pistons, comp 268h cam, performer intake and stock but rebuilt q jet carb. Horsepower was probably double, at least it felt like it. He was going to trade school at the time and new a few guys in the auto body course. I helped him strip three layers if brown paint with aircraft stripper and remove the bolt on plactic nose and tail pieces. Then the guys from his school molded later model vette front and rear nose and molded them in. They painted it in the 78 pace car design but gold instead if silver. He also installed the later vette aluminum wheels. BTW, Matching numbers wont get you anything extra on a 76 vette. I woulda installed the dual carb paytern version of the performer intake and kept the q jet though. Especially since he said he just rebuilt it. Then he has trouble with the holley. If it aint broke don’t fix it. I would be willing to bet performance would be better than with the spread bore the square bore. edelbrock or holley.

Bubba was definitely at home with that fan shroud. So much so that it maybe deserves a new word in the English language. I vote for 'Bubbaneering...'