Renovation............

Thu 08 Nov 07 19:03

Renovation............

Not sure if this is the correct place for this, so moderators please move if you feel its not right, altho it will become more techinical as i go on

RedVetteHead and others sugested i make posts about the renovation of my C3 when we spoke at the meeting on Sunday, so i thought it may benifit others to see parts of their cars that dont see day light normally, help with any queries or questions that others and myself may have on the way and motivate me when the nights get colder.

A bit of background info as to why the car has been neglected for 14 years is mainly due to me moving house and stripping the whole interior and starting again, plus the addition of my son all happily draining my income on a monthly basis.

Now i have more time and a little more cash i thought it was time to get my arse into gear and get the project started.
Some may have seen a few pics posted of the chassis being cleaned down and re-painted, but im now in alot deeper !!!

Because of the time its spent sat all alone on my drive i decided to go the full hog and go for a body off full make over.

All the front suspension and steering has been removed, cleaned, painted and new polly bushes installed, teh rear has been stripped cleaned and painted with new parking brake mech and pads, new spring bolt set fitted last night

The interior is stripped and the full extent of the rot in the windscren frame and lower birdcage is evident, hence a body off !

The plan is (due to confined working space in the winter) is to free up the front clip ready to remove, undo all the body mounts, then with the front end re-built, remove the font clip and remove the body in 1 sitting (while i have a few friends round) so i can start work on the firewall removal.

The engine and tranny are out and the block and heads have been away for honing, grinding and pressure testing, crank reground and new mains and big ends oredered, they are now all in the shed awaiting a rebuild.

So onwards and upwards

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Corvette 1977 coupe
She LIVES
Now 383ci

Thu 08 Nov 07 19:29

Re: Renovation............

A few pics of the progress so far........

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Corvette 1977 coupe
She LIVES
Now 383ci

Thu 08 Nov 07 19:32

Re: Renovation............

Some of the rot in the birdcage..........

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Corvette 1977 coupe
She LIVES
Now 383ci

Thu 08 Nov 07 19:41

Re: Renovation............

Wow. Fair play. That's no small undertaking.

Thu 08 Nov 07 19:46

Re: Renovation............

Theres not many jobs around a car bother me, but, removing the front clip was a job that has haunted me for a few weeks, i've put if off and put it off, TBH i was sh*t scared of seperating the clip from the firewall in case i damaged the fibreglass, but it had to be done!

So.................... a day off work today to get a few jobs done, i bit the bullet, nervous i changed into my old underware and put on the overalls after about 4 hours of very careful work with a 1" chippies chisel, 1.5" and 3" wallpaper scrappers the clip was free from the firewall in all 4 places..................... and no cracks !!! <----- thats me feeling pleased with myself, i undid the 4 bolts on either side of the front of the chassis and its ready to come off.

Ive read alot about this process and looked at what seems to be a 1000 pics, but finding a starting point is tough especially when your not really prepaired to dig in and the seam that runs down the fender is very hard to deal with, hence the chippies chisel, it helped remove some of the bonding that had been rounded of to seal the join, that made life a bit easier.

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Corvette 1977 coupe
She LIVES
Now 383ci

Thu 08 Nov 07 21:35

Re: Renovation............

Bloody hell that is serious work. My A frame is rotted too but im in the process of repairing it. Ive drilled out all the tack welds and have received all the new metal from Ecklers in the states namely the upper corners and top piece and am preparing to spot weld them in. I was daunted enough by this but feel better now having seen yours!

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Simon

Thu 08 Nov 07 22:36

Re: Renovation............

Yeah, scary but impressive stuff indeed! I always feel a bit daunted at that sort of stage at the work involved but also its a good feeling to know you're leaving no stone unturned and doing a really thorough job of it!

Keep going, it'll be fantastic when its done!

Dont know if I ever posted any of mine but here's a few for the thread, I never went quite so far though.....

btw, why is your VIN down there? is that where they moved them to later in the production run?

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1974 C3 Convertible 350ci L48 Auto. Met Blue
1967 Ford Mustang Convertible 289ci V8
2004 MG ZT 260 V8 SE (1 of 882 made)

Thu 08 Nov 07 22:38

Re: Renovation............

and this is what you look like after a few hours of blasting off years of crud!

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1974 C3 Convertible 350ci L48 Auto. Met Blue
1967 Ford Mustang Convertible 289ci V8
2004 MG ZT 260 V8 SE (1 of 882 made)

Thu 08 Nov 07 23:22

Re: Renovation............

wev wrote (View Post):
So.................... a day off work today to get a few jobs done, i bit the bullet, nervous i changed into my old underware and put on the overalls after about 4 hours of very careful work with a 1" chippies chisel, 1.5" and 3" wallpaper scrappers the clip was free from the firewall in all 4 places..................... and no cracks !!! <----- thats me feeling pleased with myself, i undid the 4 bolts on either side of the front of the chassis and its ready to come off.



Fortune favours the brave. Nice job Wev. Glad you managed to get it apart without cracking the f/glass.

God knows how you manage to find time to do the restoration AND post great articles about it, but PLEASE DO KEEP THEM COMING.

I for one will be following developments with keen interest.

Cheers
Phil

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1978 Auto L48 red/biege
and Site Moderator
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Alcohol and Calculus don't mix so don't drink and derive.
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Thu 08 Nov 07 23:48

Re: Renovation............

Thanks guys, i must admit im on a high from getting the clip un-secured with no casualties, just gotta stay focused now cos something has to go wrong, its all going to smooth !!

Astockley, VIN is on a alli plate there and the usual on the windowscreen jamb, must have been the previous owner after the spray job.

Red, i'll keep posting while theres interest, just need more day light and some spare time would be nice

Motor show on saturday and with VIP tickets including free beer, i might be a bit sluggish on Sunday and at least two of the body mounting bolts need to be encouraged by the grinder !

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Corvette 1977 coupe
She LIVES
Now 383ci