Venturing out to the part of the West End near the former Alameda Naval Air Station (departure point for the Doolittle Raid), I ran across this rough-around-the-edges '73 Stingray.
The '73 looked like the Corvettes of the previous few years, but the Malaise Era decline in horsepower had brought the base 350 down to an uninspiring 190 horsepower.
You could spend $299 extra for the 250-horse L82 engine, though the 275-horse LS4 big-block was only $250. No emblems on this Stingray to tell us what's under the hood, and your typical 34-year-old Chevy has probably had a few engine swaps by now anyway.
Still, the '73 still looked mean.
This car is definitely a fifty-footer; it looks pretty good when you give it a bit of distance. Get up close and you see a lot of low-budget paint repairs and rough spots.
Of course it's got Radial T/As!
1973 was the last year for chrome bumpers on the Stingray, which was a bit of a shame (though not as much of a shame as what happened to Corvette engine power during the rest of the decade).
