Root2812

Hey guys, I am hoping that the vast knowledge on this forum will help me on my journey. I'll give you a little back story first. 20 years ago I was 13 and watching True Lies. Arnold Schwarzenegger drove a 59 Corvette and I was hooked. Corvettes were always the ultimate car to me, kinda like an untouchable status symbol with the 59 being a unicorn. I have gotten kinda obsessed. Anyway, the cars always went up in value faster than I could catch up and afford one. I finally came to the determination a C1 was forever out of my reach.


I began looking at C3's and joined this forum. I just couldn't find the right car. Then one day I am talking to a neighbor I never met before and he mentioned he had a 59... actually 2 of them in his family for close to 50 years.





He told me the red one was his father's who passed away and the car laid in a family barn after an accident and was pretty rough. The other, a Frost Blue car, was his grandfathers. The Blue car is now mine.


The car had been family owned for so long and one day they were doing maintenance and realized it had the dreaded frame rust. My neighbors Grandpa, along with his 3 sons and his grand sons, began a frame off restoration. They found an original 1959 frame and started building. A fresh professional paint job, a rebuilt balanced and blueprinted motor was dropped back in, and a ton more. The car was mechanically done and runs like a dream. My neighbor's grandpa passed away before he could finish the car.


The family decided to part with it and I was able to get it for a steal of a price. It comes with a box of new old stock chrome and trim, a new convertible top, and a bunch of other stuff in boxes. Right now its drivable as is but needs the trim, interior, and top put on.





Its a 4 speed, soft top car with a wonderbar radio. I am going to be completely honest with you guys. I need help. I love these cars but have never really gotten to be around them. I have only sat in two C1s ever and one is this one. I have never ridden in or driven one but I just love them. Even if this car turns out to not be numbers matching I don't care. Its my dream come true. I would like help along the way putting it back together and documenting things.


Thanks for reading my wall of text and thanks in advance for the info and advice.

Qblue92

Cool story. Where are you located? I bet a local who knows these cars might give you a hand.
I have a red '60, so I definitely understand your appreciation for these cars.

Root2812

I am in the process of relocating to Duluth, Minnesota. I was lucky to find this car before I finished packing to move there.


One questions that I can't figure out. All the 59's I see, including the red one in the picture have a crossed flags in the cove. This car doesn't have them. Should it?

Redbird

Take your time with repairs or buying parts. Enjoy the ride. And never forget "Save the Wave"!!

Root2812

What is "Save the wave"?

I will take my time. The car is all tuned up and ready to run but I need to get new tires for it. I will take it for a few rides before winter rolls in and then methodically go through the car and bolt on all the parts I have. I know the interior needs redone but all the old parts are there. My goal is to have it together by spring and worry about redoing the interior later.

ptjsk

Great story, and congratulations on acquiring the car!

"Save the wave"....be sure to wave at other Corvette's you encounter, especially while driving yours!

wilbur

Congratulations on your 59 and yes it should have the cross flags in the coves.

Frankie the Fink

You will want to get a '59 Passenger Car Shop Manual from GM, an AIM (Assembly Instruction Manual) and an ST-12 Manual (its also online now):

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...csg/index.html

and read this thread:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...se-points.html

If brakes, tires and steering are fine then I would have the 24 chassis lube points (only 22 if you have new U-joints) lubed up and drive on!

If you want the "wide whitewall" look for your new tires go Diamondback...

plaidside

Congrats on your great find. When you get a good deal it makes the experience of C-1 ownership so much sweeter.
As Frankie has said make sure you keep the front end greased.
I am also a fan of wide whitewalls.
Joe

corvetteed

Congratulations on getting the car of your dreams. Feel free to ask any, and all, questions of the Forum members. Remember, there are no questions too basic for you to ask. The members here are pretty knowledgeable and really do want to help "newbies" learn. Best of luck to you

Root2812

Great that is what I was hoping was the case. I like the flags. I may change my mind but for the time being I want to try and stay as original as possible so if the car had it I want it. The only exceptions that I know of that I won't mess with is the distributer since it has an upgrade (original comes with the car though) and I am on the fence between bias ply and radial tires. I like the bias ply look but radial ride.. hmmm...

Awesome info! Thank you. Definitely white walls!

Sharp car you have! White walls are just perfect for this body style. And yes, getting a deal makes it feel so good. If I had to pay market price I would have gotten a far worse car for more money. I never dreamed I would find a car like this at $35,000 after a pro paint job and fully rebuilt mechanicals and a ton of documentation. If I put the worn interior back in I think its a mid 40K car all day around here. If I spend the money on new interior over time it should only go up from there. The only things I know so far holding this car back value wise is that the frame has been replaced but atleast thats something no one will ever see and I don't mind.

I really wanted an Inca Silver car with red interior but this car was priced right and had every option I wanted. Plus the Frost Blue is pretty unique, I have never seen it in person before so not many should be at shows.

Thanks. I will be asking a ton because I would rather ask and be corrected than make a mistake on something like this. I have some more pictures I will post shortly.

Thats pretty cool. Around here we all do that when riding motorcycle. Riders waive as others pass by, its builds a nice feeling of community. I'll keep my eye open for corvette waves now too!

Root2812

Here is the engine.


Grille


Back end. Thats a new stainless steel exhaust but installed like original. Who ever painted the car did a nice job but got over spray all over the leafs and under the car. I will have to black them at some point.


Front


Interior or lack there of. The dash pad is new so I will need to mount the rear view mirror through it. for now i want to keep the seats for the story. The owner's wife sewed up those covers for him.


So when the paint was done they didn't paint the inside parts so I will need to get those painted to match at some point. What do you guys think? remember that all the other parts are supposedly there in boxes.

Loren Smith

Thanks for posting, and welcome. If you look from behind in the wheel well, you might see where the cross flag holes were filled, and this could be your guide for drilling new holes. I love that color and the white coves make it pop. Wide whites might make it pop even more, but that is always an issue of person taste. If you want to drive a lot, radials are a must. Check out the Diamond Back Classics website for your tire purchase.

dahogan

Congrats and enjoy em while you can!

Frankie the Fink

Looks like you have 'good bones' to work from. I posted a long treatise on here somewhere about installing C1 carpet - if you want I'll try to find it.

Lots of info here on your WCFB carb as well. Errr...that HEI distributor would have to go IMO...I just personally don't like the look of them and you won't get ignition shielding on with one of those either (if you ever want to make it a 'radio' car).

Root2812

Hopefully I can see those holes. I am no excited about drilling that nice paint. Since the old time picture doesn't have the flags they must have been removed long ago. Wide whites are a must for me. I will have to compare pictures of bias ply and radials on these cars to see if the radials look ok. I like the pie crust look on the bias ply tires but maybe losing that will be really minor looking.

Thank you. I definitely plan to. I will get it out as much as possible this year. Winter is fast approaching though.

Please do share the carpet install thread. Anything that helps me put it back together will be helpful. The car was rebuilt so I should be ok there for a while. I know what you mean about the looks of the HEI. I'll put the stock one back at some point. Do you mean that my radio won't work right if the shielding can't be used? This car has a wonderbar radio that I plan on useing. Or does the radio effect the distribute without the shielding?

Root2812

Just to add to the story, I registered the car on the C1 registry. It's car 108028. So one of the later cars of the model year. The registry says June 1959 which is fun for me because my 1950 Chevy truck was also a June build, June 1950.

corvetteed

I can't tell for sure from the picture, but it looks like the exhaust doesn't come completely out from the chrome surround. If it doesn't, you'll be getting carbon build up on the chrome. You could leave it like that however, and just remember to clean that area when you return home each time. Or, you could extend them out another inch. Or, maybe put chrome tips on the ends of the pipes. Just a thought......

Frankie the Fink

Here is the carpet installation info. DZVette converted it to a PDF...if you are on here much you will be dealing with a lot of his excellent work!

thoyer

While you have the black paint out, spray the "faux" air scoops behind the front bumpers.

Looks like a great project with a lot of the goodies already there.

As was mentioned, get yourself the assembly manual for 1959. Also the ST-12 manual.

A few other great additions to your reference collection are the NCRS 58-60 Tech Manual and Judging Guide, Nolad Adams C1 book and the 1958 to 1960 Corvette Restoration Handbook. Lots of really good pictures and info in that book. Check out the NCRS store for C1 info.

I just finished a 58 and all of these books helped me through the process.

Ask lots of questions!

Do your research and decide how you want the car to be done. I referenced a couple NCRS docs not to sway you to do an NCRS resto on it, just to point out that there is wealth of information there for you to read and help you decide the direction you want to take.

Tom

PS: those rear spring shackles are not installed correctly. The spring should be above the frame, not below - but you'll find this out when you look at the AIM and the sT-12............