1971 Corvette Specifications

1971 Corvette dimensions and weights

These are the 1971 car's own figures, read off the factory specification manual further down this page rather than taken from a reference book. Curb weight is the car as it left the line, with fluids and no driver.

Where these figures come from

Page 12 = 'VEHICLE DIMENSIONS-CORVETTE' (GENERAL INFORMATION 0-3); curb weights qualified 'with Base V-8'. Pages 145 and 154 are the bound-in AMA Specifications Form. The leading digit of both curb weights is broken in the scan; it was checked at 600 dpi and matches the identically-printed 1970 page, so 3220 / 3210 is read with confidence. Fuel tank drops from 20 (1970) to 18 gallons here, as printed.

1971 options, quantities and original prices

• A 350 cubic inch, 270 hp engine and a 4-speed manual transmission were included in the base price.
• ZR1 and ZR2 were special off-road packages rather than engines: ZR1 paired the LT-1 with heavy duty brakes and suspension and deleted the radio, power steering and air conditioning, and ZR2 did the same around the LS6. Eight ZR1 and twelve ZR2 cars were built.
• The LS6 was the only 1971 engine that was not simply a detuned 1970 unit. It was designed for low-lead fuel, had aluminium heads and could be paired with the automatic, though not in combination with ZR2.

1971 engine identification codes

The engine suffix code is stamped on the front of the block, on the pad ahead of the passenger-side cylinder head. Read it together with the VIN to confirm an engine belongs with the car.

Casting and component numbers

• Block: 3970010 (350ci 270 and 330 hp), 3963512 (454ci 365 and 425 hp).
• Cylinder head: 3973487 (350ci 270 and 330 hp), 3993820 (454ci 365 hp), 3946074 and 3994026 (454ci 425 hp).
• Alternator: 1100950 (350ci), 1100543 (454ci), 1100544 on all cars with air conditioning.

The full casting number breakdown per engine, including intake and exhaust manifolds, is on the casting number page, and the carburetor numbers are on the carburetor page.

1971 horsepower and torque

1971 is the changeover year and the manual prints both ratings side by side, which makes it the one place you can see what the change was worth on paper rather than guessing. Gross is the bare engine on a stand; net is the engine as installed.

• The manual contradicts itself on the LS6. In the book the LS6 column is headed 460 HP, while the Gross Brake HP row directly beneath that heading reads 425 at 5600, which is the figure carried everywhere else for the 1971 LS6 and the one in the table above. The 460 looks like a heading left standing from the 1970 LS7 column, which genuinely was rated 460.
• This is the only year you can see what the 1972 rating change actually cost. The base 350 reads 270 hp gross and 210 hp net on the same page, for the same engine. Nothing was taken out of it between those two numbers; only the way of measuring changed.

Where these figures come from

'ADVERTISED ENGINE RATING', PDF page 118. The only year printing gross AND net side by side, which is why it is the one place you can see what the 1972 rating change actually cost on paper. CONTRADICTION IN THE BOOK, left as printed: the LS6 column is headed '460 HP' but the Gross Brake HP row beneath it reads 425 @ 5600. 425 gross is the figure everywhere else for the 1971 LS6; the 460 header looks like a leftover from the 1970 LS7 column.

1971 VIN range

1971 Corvettes ran from 194371S100001 through 194371S121801, all built at St. Louis. For convertibles the fourth digit is a 6, giving 194671S. 1971 is the only C3 year whose sequence starts at 100001, so the short six-digit number on its own identifies the year. The 1971 Corvette VIN decoder breaks down each position, and the trim tag decoder works out roughly when in the year a car was assembled.

1971 production by month

1971 colors

• The factory manual lists the 1971 colours without production quantities, so no quantity column is shown for this year.
• Which interior trims went with which paint is set out in full on the exterior and interior combination page, along with the trim codes.

1971 axle ratios

The axle code is stamped on the differential carrier housing. The full list for every year is on the axle code page.

What changed for 1971

• GM cut octane requirements across the range to 91 research, to give the oil companies time to phase in the unleaded fuel that catalytic converters would need four years later.
• Chevrolet quoted net horsepower alongside gross for the first time, so the LT-1 reads 330 hp where the same basic engine read 370 in 1970.
• Amber parking light lenses, though very early cars had clear ones.
• Last year for the fibre-optic light monitoring system.

What the manual covers

The 1971 book runs 165 pages: specification sections, general information and lubrication, and the Corvette body section, plus the Corvette Black Book summary sheets bound in at the front.

For part numbers and exploded illustrations rather than specifications, the parts manuals are the companion set. Other model years are on the specification manuals page.