So, you’ve been test driving the Shark for a few years, but there’s just too much road noise inside the cockpit for your taste. Well, 1973 is your year! Chevrolet claimed a 40% reduction in cabin noise, due to the installation of sound deadening material on several inner panels and a layer of deadening on the inside of the hood.

The 1973 Corvette also took off it’s Chrome teeth and pranced out of the factory wearing a urethane front bumper in order to comply with Federal Highway Safety regulations. Radial tires were first introduced to Corvette in this year, and occupants received greater side-impact protection due to reinforced doors.

1973 saw a few departures from previous years. First, the rear window was no longer removable, and windshield wipers were mounted externally instead in the hidden panel. The grille lost it’s shiny egg-crate grille, and instead looked much more demure.

30,464 cars rolled off the GM assembly line in 1973. Convertible sales continued their decline: less than 5,000 were sold. There’s little demand for ‘73 Corvettes and they can often be purchased for less than $25,000. This is only about five times the original base price of a little over $5,000.