1973 Survivor (?)

[Don B.]

Hello to all. I am new to Corvettes, but experienced at "survivor" type restorations.

I just purchased a 1973 coupe that appears all original with 49K miles, and I'm evaluating it before deciding whether it is indeed a survivor candidate. My "questions" list has become lengthy, so I'll start here with the interior.

The trim code is 416, and my pictures show what it looks like ... can anyone tell me if the color & materials are accurate for a 416? Please note my photos look much darker on the computer than they really are.

The center portions of the seat cushions & backrest are a perforated vinyl mesh material, and the surrounding edges & trim appear to be leather. The driver's seat needs repair, and I don't think there's enough sound material adjacent to the tears for an upholsterer to work his magic. And so far, I've not been able to find a supplier of seat covers who can match these materials.

The carpeting is identical throughout ... the footwells, rear cargo area (including the storage compartment doors), and the door panel bottoms all match. The fit is factory-perfect and wear is minimal, which suggests to me it is the original carpet with the wear & dirt to be expected on a 49K mile car.

Any comment would be appreciated!

Thanks, RP/DB

[Joe L.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

Hello to all. I am new to Corvettes, but experienced at "survivor" type restorations.

I just purchased a 1973 coupe that appears all original with 49K miles, and I'm evaluating it before deciding whether it is indeed a survivor candidate. My "questions" list has become lengthy, so I'll start here with the interior.

The trim code is 416, and my pictures show what it looks like ... can anyone tell me if the color & materials are accurate for a 416? Please note my photos look much darker on the computer than they really are.

The center portions of the seat cushions & backrest are a perforated vinyl mesh material, and the surrounding edges & trim appear to be leather. The driver's seat needs repair, and I don't think there's enough sound material adjacent to the tears for an upholsterer to work his magic. And so far, I've not been able to find a supplier of seat covers who can match these materials.

The carpeting is identical throughout ... the footwells, rear cargo area (including the storage compartment doors), and the door panel bottoms all match. The fit is factory-perfect and wear is minimal, which suggests to me it is the original carpet with the wear & dirt to be expected on a 49K mile car.

Any comment would be appreciated!

Thanks, RP/DB

Peterson------

Based on your interior code (416) and the fact that this car has the door panels and carpet used with the custom interior option, you should have full leather seats. These seat covers have the leather interior pattern but with ComfortWeave insert material used only on standard seat covers. Standard seat covers used a "vertical" insert stitching pattern while the leather covers used a "horizontal" insert stitching pattern.

All I can figure is that the either the original insert material was replaced by an upholsterer using ComfortWeave or the entire seat covers were replaced by an upholsterer who made up the seat covers with ComfortWeave inserts and vinyl border material (assuming that the border material is actually vinyl and not leather).

[Jimmy P.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

Welcome! Nice to see another new '73 owner. In one year only Metallic Yellow too! Joe is correct your seats should be leather with Trim #416. I also notice the previous owner installed the aftermarket armrest covers. More than likely to cover up cracks in that area, which often happened over the years. Looks to be a black speaker cover on the kick panel added as well. If you haven't already done so I highly recommend you visit the NCRS Store and purchase the latest 3rd edition of the 73-74 TIM&JG. It will be of great value to you as you move forward. Enjoy your new purchase and share some more photos with us

[Dan A.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

experienced at "survivor" type restorations, isn't that an oxymoron in that cars considered survivors have not had any restoration among other things?

[Tom R.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

As suggested by JP, the newly revised 258 page 1973-74 NCRS technical information guide has over 666 photos and describes precisely the various seat materials and configuration as described by Joe...who wrote:

Based on your interior code (416) and the fact that this car has the door panels and carpet used with the custom interior option, you should have full leather seats. These seat covers have the leather interior pattern but with ComfortWeave insert material used only on standard seat covers. Standard seat covers used a "vertical" insert stitching pattern while the leather covers used a "horizontal" insert stitching pattern.

When you wrote:

I just purchased a 1973 coupe that appears all original with 49K miles, and I'm evaluating it before deciding whether it is indeed a survivor candidate. My "questions" list has become lengthy, so I'll start here with the interior.

Dan's comment perhaps was premature given your assessing whether the interior materials/configuration you're seeing is original...thus the forum query and why JP suggested schooling up on the 1973 by securing the NCRS 1973-74 tech manual. But I think you're approach is cautious, learning what you have before diving in with modifications and its great to see these 73s come to life...once again. But 43k miles is a lot on any Corvette.

[Don B.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

Wow! I have to say, four quick responses is more than I expected ... I feel like my investment (joining NCRS) has already paid for itself. With that said, little did I know the membership fee was just the beginning, since (with Jimmy's persuasion) I just went to the NCRS store and bought everything I could find that will help me rewind this 1973 back to the day it was born. I also ordered a shipping data report, to see if I can verify 46 year's worth of hearsay info provided by previous owners. You guys are costing me a lot of money ... please don't stop!

I especially liked Dan's comment ... questioning the use of words "survivor" and "restoration" in the same sentence. Well, yes, but, ... it did not leave the factory with torn seats. The joy of doing what I'm doing is trying to figure out what it DID leave the factory with, and get it that way as close as I can 46 years after the fact.

Joe and Tom's comments inspired me to take it apart and see what I got. The patina and condition of the seat hardware, foam, and springs are consistent with 46 years of togetherness, and the condition of the cover/butt pocket is consistent with light use by medium-weight widebodies who occasionally spilled his or her cups of coffee (see pics). Could this be a factory anomaly? A 416 with the horizontal-seamed butt pocket stitching typical of leather, but done in ComfortWeave instead of leather?

I need to decide where to go from here, and right now I'm leaning toward reproduction Dark Saddle leather. Any chance someone has a 1973 416 trim code willing to post photos so I can see what it's supposed to look like?

Thank you!

RP/DB

[Robert G.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

Hello welcome to the madness. Glad to see another 73 come out. Where did the car come from? I really like that color combo. What engine? That was a good idea to get all the 73 books etc. from the ncrs. There is a lot of very knowledgeable people on here to help.

Brett

[Joe L.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

Wow! I have to say, four quick responses is more than I expected ... I feel like my investment (joining NCRS) has already paid for itself. With that said, little did I know the membership fee was just the beginning, since (with Jimmy's persuasion) I just went to the NCRS store and bought everything I could find that will help me rewind this 1973 back to the day it was born. I also ordered a shipping data report, to see if I can verify 46 year's worth of hearsay info provided by previous owners. You guys are costing me a lot of money ... please don't stop!

I especially liked Dan's comment ... questioning the use of words "survivor" and "restoration" in the same sentence. Well, yes, but, ... it did not leave the factory with torn seats. The joy of doing what I'm doing is trying to figure out what it DID leave the factory with, and get it that way as close as I can 46 years after the fact.

Joe and Tom's comments inspired me to take it apart and see what I got. The patina and condition of the seat hardware, foam, and springs are consistent with 46 years of togetherness, and the condition of the cover/butt pocket is consistent with light use by medium-weight widebodies who occasionally spilled his or her cups of coffee (see pics). Could this be a factory anomaly? A 416 with the horizontal-seamed butt pocket stitching typical of leather, but done in ComfortWeave instead of leather?

I need to decide where to go from here, and right now I'm leaning toward reproduction Dark Saddle leather. Any chance someone has a 1973 416 trim code willing to post photos so I can see what it's supposed to look like?

Thank you!

RP/DB

Peterson------

Well, it looks quite old, perhaps dating back to about the time the car was built. However, from what I can see of it, the seat material exclusive of the insert, appears to be madrid grain vinyl and not leather. I could be wrong about that, though. I'd really need to see it in person to say for sure. Having the seat covers off, though, you should be able to tell if it's leather or vinyl.

The insert material is definitely genuine ComfortWeave. Genuine Comfortweave is a true woven vinyl material, not just a pattern impressed into vinyl. The reproductions available for many years have not been genuine ComfortWeave. Also, very interestingly, the insert is backed by the muslin/foam rubber padding as were all the original ComfortWeave insert seat covers. This was necessary with ComfortWeave in order to partially support it and absorb sweat which inevitably passed through the woven material. With imitation ComfortWeave it would not be necessary but I do not recall if the reproductions still use it.

Assuming the seat material is madrid grain vinyl, these seat covers would be the same as the 1973 standard seat covers EXCEPT for the "horizontal" pleat pattern which mimics the pattern of the leather seat inserts. The leather seat covers were all leather with no ComfortWeave, at all.

If the seat material exclusive of the inserts is actually leather, then all I can surmise is that some former owner, possibly the original owner, decided that they wanted the ComfortWeave inserts and some upholsterer replaced the leather inserts with ComfortWeave.

I'd be very interested in finding out, for sure, if the seat cover material is leather or vinyl. If you cannot tell, for sure, then perhaps you could ask an upholsterer to look at it. They would be able to tell in an instant.

Possible Correction:

I suddenly realized that I may be in error regarding the leather seats. I seem to recall now that with the leather seats only the insert material was leather. The rest of the seat cover was vinyl. If I'm correct (and the more I think about it the more I think so), then your seats could have been original leather seats which have had the leather inserts replaced with ComfortWeave. I still don't know why this would have been done but, perhaps, the owner had something against leather or just liked the Comfortweave better.

[Jimmy P.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

Peterson,
You stated above that you are thinking about going with repro leather covers in Dark Saddle. Keep in mind that your trim # is 416, which in 73 was Medium Saddle (Leather). The trim code for Dark Saddle Leather in 73 is 422. In your photos above your interior does appear a little darker as you noted. Below is a photo from NCRS member Russ Steinhaus's 73 with original 422 Dark Saddle Trim as an example for you to compare or to see what it looks like. I don't have any pics on hand of a 73 with medium saddle interior but they are out there on the internet to see. I do have a photo of a 74 with the original 416 Saddle Leather Interior, but as you can see it appears much lighter than yours. In 74 it was just called Saddle.

[David C.]

[Joe L.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

Hi Tom,
I’m curious about what you mean by saying ‘43k miles is a lot on any Corvette.’ If you mean the materials and paint of the day did not hold up so well with even a moderate amount of use, I would agree.

Makes me believe the 25k on my mostly original car is likely to be authentic given its good condition.

David-------


I often wonder how many of these "low mileage" 40+ year old cars actually have 100,000 more miles on them (or, even, 200,000 more). A well-cared for car might look like a "low mileage" car even if it's not. Remember, these old odometers only go to 99,999.9 miles and then they "zero out" and the car becomes "low mileage".

[Patrick H.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

I need to decide where to go from here, and right now I'm leaning toward reproduction Dark Saddle leather. Any chance someone has a 1973 416 trim code willing to post photos so I can see what it's supposed to look like?

Thank you!

RP/DB

I would look for original seats or covers. They're out there, and they will look far better in the car if it is actually unrestored.
Reproductions have a different finish, plus there is no guarantee on the color match.

[Bill M.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

I don't think there should be any paint on the trim tag.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

[QUOTE=Bill McMorrow (15609);854598]I don't think there should be any paint on the trim tag.[/QUOTE


Bill------

I agree. However, to my eye I really can't see any paint. However, the paint surrounding the trim tag does not look like factory paint to me. That's why I scrutinized the trim tag for paint. If there is paint on the trim tag, then that means, for sure, that the car or a part thereof has been painted.

[Russ S.]

Re: 1973 Survivor (?)

What about the paint doesn't look original to you Joe? I think it looks very original.[QUOTE=Joe Lucia (12484);854616]

I don't think there should be any paint on the trim tag.[/QUOTE


Bill------

I agree. However, to my eye I really can't see any paint. However, the paint surrounding the trim tag does not look like factory paint to me. That's why I scrutinized the trim tag for paint. If there is paint on the trim tag, then that means, for sure, that the car or a part thereof has been painted.