For Fan Car Friday this week we bring you Ron and his beautiful 71′ Chevrolet Corvette Convertible.  Fan Car Friday is a segment where we want to share with the world the automobiles that our fans have. We have absolutely no affiliation/relationship with the cars, the build or the owners. This post was made with written consent from the owner.

“I have owned many and varied European sports cars through the years (Austin Healey, Triumph, Porsche, etc.), but never an American-made Corvette. Upon my retirement, my wife and I decided to commence with a search for a C3 driver. Over time, we narrowed down our search to a small block engine (not so very hot) before the pollution and safety standards hit in the early 70’s. We also wanted both front and back chrome bumpers and it HAD to be a convertible. My wife’s only criteria – it must be RED.

Following months of searching, we found this Stingray gem near Annapolis – just off the Chesapeake Bay. The owner also had a beautiful red and white C1 in his garage, but we failed to convince him on a “two for one deal”. Given that we are both over 6 feet tall, I subsequently had a tilt steering column put in and changed out the steering wheel for a smaller wood model so we could more easily slip in and out of the car. We also added power breaks and a new Magna Flow exhaust to get that low rumble we wanted.

The car is a stunning red, inside and out, and never fails to garner attention – be it at auto shows or driving the highways and byways. We frequently are engaged at stop lights with other drivers who want to learn about the car and express their appreciation. The first time we took it to a car show, we received an award for Best in Class. We love the car and enjoy driving the back roads in Delaware on a beautiful evening.“

The Chevrolet Corvette (C3) was a sports car that was produced from 1967 to 1982 by Chevrolet for the 1968 through 1982 model years. Engines and chassis components were mostly carried over from the previous generation, but the body and interior were new. It set new sales records with 53,807 produced for the 1979 model year. The C3 is the third generation of the Chevrolet Corvette, and marks the second time the Corvette would carry the Stingray name, though only for the 1969 – 1976 model years. This time it was a single word as opposed to Sting Ray as used for the 1963 – 1967 C2 generation. The name would then be retired until 2014 when it was re-introduced with the release of the C7.

Produced from August 1970, 1971 cars were virtually identical in appearance to the previous model inside and out. This was the final year for the fiber optics light monitoring system, the headlight washer system, and the M22 heavy duty 4-speed manual gearbox. For the first time, air conditioning was installed on most of the cars, with nearly 53 percent so ordered. Engines were detuned with reduced compression ratios to tolerate lower octane fuel. The small blocks available were the 350 cu in (5.7 L) base engine, which dropped to 270 hp (201 kW), and the high performance LT-1, now listed at 330 hp (246 kW). The LS5 454 cu in (7.4 L) motor was carried over and produced 365 hp (272 kW). Offered in ‘71 only was the LS6 454 cu in (7.4 L) big-block featuring aluminum heads and delivering 425 hp (317 kW), highest of the 1970-72 MYs, and could be ordered with an automatic transmission. The ZR1 option was carried over for LT-1 equipped cars and the ZR2 option, offered this year only, provided a similar performance equipment package for LS6 cars, and restricted transmission to a 4-speed manual. Rare options: ZR1 special engine package (8), ZR2 special engine package (12), LS6 425-hp engine (188), shoulder belts in convertibles (677).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette_(C3)

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