bknd

You might be a bit of a wet blanket, but your point is well made for not taking on a project you can't finish. As far as finances we are not tight on finances, just on the budget. I see estimates from people all over that say a restoration costs anywhere from 40k to over 100k. We are not going to spend anywhere near that kind of money. Yes I can do nearly all the work myself so that is how I will save money. No I won't have every speck of chrome replated, some of those cosmetic finishing touches might get replaced or repaired over time. This car has been in my wifes family for over 35 years so there's a sentimental value to the car. My wife has two sisters and all three couples drove away on our wedding day in this car. That was almost 14 years ago for us now and it's time to give the old Vette the attention it deserves. I'm not looking to build a show car or a completely original top flight car, but I do want it done right. IMHO that means a ground up restore. Fortunately for me I have the knowledge and tools to do it myself. Being able to tell someone after its all done that I built it is pretty cool too.

bknd

That is a truly beautiful Corvette you have there Rich. I'd be very proud of what you've got. Funny enough I am going to put on the side motor mounts, I just haven't gotten into those details yet. I think I will need the room for the new steering setup. I'd also rather not deal with a leaky water pump. The four link and rear disc brakes are absolutely something I'd love too have, but I'm trying to keep the budget under control. I'd really love to slip in an LS engine and an overdrive tranny but that's another big ticket item that we won't be doing. One item I am not decided on is a radiator. I thought I'd just have the old one fixed, but I see a lot of threads on cars that overheat. I'm going to hold off on sending the old one out so I can do a little more research.

jimh_1962

I expect you will be close to 40K to do a complete frame off or ground up restoration even if you do majority of the work. Just the cost of restoring these cars even for a nice driver. Very cool that it is staying in the family.

Document the heck out of it! I wish I would have taken more pictures than I did.

Pilot Dan

I can understand your enthusiasm for wanting to restore THIS particular car now that we know the back story. Should be a great project and sounds like your family is behind you as well which is really important when you commit a bunch of time in one direction like this will be.

Loren Smith

If your housing / axles look good, you could buy the Meyers kit without the 9" for about $1,400 I believe, and then put a new posi unit from Eaton for about $600.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Eaton/362/1968...rentProductId=

This unit should be able to handle a lot more torque than the stock unit.

bknd

I've been quite busy with the tear down and repairs. I have found many issues with the car that make me very happy that it's getting a complete tear down and re-build. Here are some of the issues that I've found.
The clutch cross shaft ball stud was badly worn, it was basically flat on top instead of round. The ball stud on the engine side isn't worn, but it is very loose so that will also be fixed. The lower frame bracket that bolts to the engine mount on the passenger side was missing completely so the engine mount on that side was tilted back making the engine sit about an inch and a half low on the passenger side. The new Jim Meyer motor mounts are installed and all of that is corrected. The two bolts holding down the rear of the transmission were not bolted to the transmission. I'm not sure if they were forgot or if they're stripped out, either way I will be sure the transmission is bolted down.
Three of the four bolts that hold the drivers side seat belt bracket were missing. The rear frame cross brace was rusted through near the ends and the frame rails underneath the brace were also rusted through. I have repaired the frame and installed a new rear brace. The battery tray was rusted through and has been replaced.
The leaf springs were bent near the front of the springs and to help with sagging someone installed overload shocks. I have brand new springs and shocks to fix this issue. One really strange thing I found was the weld on the axle tube near the center differential stopped a little too soon on one side so the housing had a slight leak. About a 3/4" weld is all it took, no more leak. The frame has been blasted and all fixed up so I'm almost ready to paint the frame and start reassembly. I'm so happy to be done with the old rusty dirty frame.

bknd

So it's been quite some time since I've posted an update and thought it was about time. The chassis is basically complete and included an unexpected engine rebuild. I just planned to repaint the engine but there were some major issues found and a full blown overhaul was in order. Besides the expense it also delayed me about a month. I had the heads completely rebuilt with bigger intake valves, upgraded seals, hardened exhaust seats, and bronze guides along with all new parts. That added up, but totally worth it to keep those valve covers. The heads and block deck were surfaced and rotating assembly balanced. The balancing showed things were off by a lot and the engine would not have ran smoothly without it. The decision to not paint the engine orange was one I wrestled with and hopefully I don't regret. I do like how it looks and it won't look dirty as quickly as the orange would, but I'm sure some people will comment. Anyway on to the bodywork now. I'm almost done stripping the body so soon I will start addressing all the cracks and poor repairs.

Beggers

looking good, the chassis looks excellent, with that grade 8 hardware you probably wont be loosing bolts anymore!
Lets see the body off, Brian

bknd

Here's where I'm at with the body, you can see a couple of the old repairs.

ptjsk

Car looks good! You have come a long way. Keep it up!

Loren Smith

Wow, great progress! Chassis / engine looks really sharp, you are building it right. A nice mix of old school and new school, will be a blast to drive.