chstitans42

CHECK THE LAST POST FOR UPDATES!

My Corvette Obsession
This thread is going to have two purposes. First, it is going to serve as a place to remember all the Corvettes that I ever own. Second it will be my restoration thread: to record the extensive restoration that I have done to my personal 1975 Corvette. I plan on illustrating the entire story with pictures as much as possible and giving credit when it is due.

The Early Years
As early as I can remember I have been noticing corvettes, especially C3 Corvettes. The first recollection that I have of one is way back when I was in Pre-school, roughly 1993-1994). I can remember that my teacher, Mrs. Skinner, had a really cool 1977 Corvette. Back then, I didn’t know anything about the year, options, engine sizes etc, but what I did know is that it was a very cool car. It figures that the memory of this car stands out as one of my first memories of Pre-School. I can remember thinking it was the coolest car that I had ever laid eyes on, even if back in the early 90s it was just a junky corvette. Here is a picture of the car:



My next memorable encounter was in 2004, when the family took a vacation to good ole Tennessee, where we visited one of my dad’s life long friends, Scott Marshall. Scott is now a successful car parts supplier, but as most of us, is also an avid Corvette collector and restorer. He has a very impressive car collection in his possession. This is the first time that I had ever ridden in a corvette. As you can see in the following picture, I got to ride in his turquoise C1 Corvette. I can still remember watching him shift and wondering why cars weren’t like this now-a-days. This is the only picture that I have of the experience:


Little did Scott know that he was helping create another car crazy guy, or should I say another Corvette crazy guy? As the years past, I had occasional run-ins to other C3 Corvettes. I would always stop and look at them, but I never had enough money to consider them (let alone a driver’s license). It was about that time that I decided that I would start to save the little money that I had to buy my own corvette.

It Gets Serious

After saving for the entire time that I was in high school, I finally had enough to buy my very own C3 corvette. Just a few days after my 18th birthday, I finally made my first corvette purchase, a 1975 Bright Green Metallic Corvette Coupe. Here are some of the pictures that the seller sent me before I bought the car. Notice the condition of the interior and engine compartment.







Since I bought the car, I have done the following work to it

Maintenance Work:
• Replaced burnt out headlights (Brights and Regulars)
• Replaced missing fuses
• Replaced air filter
• Windshield wiper blades
• Replaced Cap and rotor and coil
• Changed Oil and oil filter
• New oil pan gasket
• Replaced Spark Plugs
• Replaced Fuel Filter

Headlights
• Replaced floor switch for brights
• New actuator seal
• New relay
• Replaced burnt out headlights (Brights and Regulars)

Brake Work
• New calipers on all four corners
• New brake pads
• New brake hoses all around
• All four rotors turned true within spec
• New Master Cylinder

Window Work
• New window anti-rattle bumpers
• New door handles (2) and gaskets
• Passenger side door latch
• Replaced gear in Passenger Side window
• Repaired wiring going to the window motors
• New power window switches
• New Door Panels


Front Suspension Work: (All components sand blasted and painted)
• New front shocks
• New Ball joints
• New Tie rod sleeves and ends
• Front sway bar link Kit
• Replaced control arm bumpers
• Replaced control arm bushings (upper and lower)
• Idler Arm
• New Passenger side lower control arm
• New front coil springs
• Alignment
• 2 New front tires

Rear Suspension Work: (All components sand blasted and painted)
• Tailing Arm rebuild:
• New bearings
• New parking brake shoes/rebuild kit
• All components blasted and painted
• New studs
• New trailing arm bolts
• New rear shocks


Engine Work
• Rebuilt Carburetor
• New pump to carb metal fuel line
• New Chambered Exhaust from Allen’s Exhaust
• Chrome Engine Kit
• New fuel Pump
• Removed Exhaust

Radiator Work
• New aluminum radiator
• Replaced thermostat with new gasket
• New thermostat housing
• New radiator hoses

Interior:
• New sun visors
• Two new windshield pillar posts
• Instrument cluster bezel
• Rear compartment frame
• Rear compartment storage doors
• Shifter console
• Reflectix under carpet insulation
• New carpet Kit from Wilcox
• Interior Screw Kit
• Center Cluster Dash Vents
• New emergency brake cover
• New floor carpets
• New Radio
• New t-top pad
• New rear window halo
• New Seats (Covers and Foam)


Misc.
• Replaced turn signal flasher
• Replaced Spare Tire
• New Trim rings for wheels
• New Front bumper
• Rebuilt steering column
• Power steering Control Valve
• New power steering pump and lines
• Drivers side door spring
• 2 new side view mirrors
• New weather stripping T-top
• Seat covers
• New stop light lens
• New back Up lens
• New rear tail light socket
• Resealed wiper tray
• New antenna
• AC box restoration

Looking back, I over paid for this car. I probably spent about 2-3K too much on it based on the condition that it was in, but I did have a solid frame and birdcage. I also wouldn’t have learned how to fix that huge list of things above if I hadn’t, so I guess it all works out in the end. I have to give credit to my dad Jared Friend, and my mentor/friend Mike Dyer. They helped me at times with motivation and with the knowledge to keep working on the vette. But they never did stray from the rule that I pay for everything that goes into the car. Thanks guys!

It Gets More Serious

It seems the more that I work on these Corvettes, the more I seem to like them, and the more that I want more of them. Some call it the Corvette fever? Well whatever it is, I decided to get myself another one, to part out, sell the parts that I didn’t need, and then keep all the other good parts for myself.



All in all, I made $500 on the car after earning my money back, and also was able to get a good steering box core, rear end core, and engine block core for my green ’75. Not bad huh?

This winter I plan on rebuilding and installing the three items listed above, and plan on adding them to this thread. I will keep you posted, so check back!

chstitans42

bobbarry

That's a great story; I wish I started as young as you did.

Rebelrob

I am pretty sure I was parked next to you both times at the last two C&C. Sorry, I did not get a chance to meet you, I do not think... Its sensory overload at these shows.
Mike, knows his stuff, you got an A+ resource with him.
Nice story, you have a done a lot with your Vette. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to hearing about your engine, steering and rearend rebuild. Sounds like that is all you got left. You got an early start as mentioned above. You definitely have the FEVER....
I will look for ya at the next show. Assuming its actually still scheduled for New Years day. Not sure about that one.

chstitans42

Thanks! My new engine wont be as nice as yours, but hopefully it will hold its own. As for the next CnC, I believe that that was already discussed in our gtg thread. Still not sure either though

Alan 71

Hi c,
I enoyed your post and pictures!
Playing with old cars can become an obssesion/addiction just as you've said.
But, I think what keeps people going is that it's also BIG fun; often one small victory at a time!
Regards,
Alan

Frank.luvstingrays

Great story well done

C3bdj1

Bobby

Cajun-in-tx

Awesome story, thanks for sharing Ben. I wish I had more time to work on mine myself. I had no idea you had already done that much work on your car. Great job.

I like you fell in love with the c3 at an early age. I was probally 10-12 when i remember seeing one and thinking... one day....

Yankeededandy

What a great story. Who can claim to have a picture of his or her teacher's car? Love that. The teachers in my time (late 60s, early 70s) all drove VW beetles. Definitely no head turners. Keep going, would love to see more.

Martin

chstitans42

Update!
Since this is my new restoration thread, I thought I would add what I have been doing this weekend, since I had a little bit of free time. I decided yesterday that I would rebuild my heater controls, after seeing the restoration thread by AllC3ForMe. Alot of you remember the parts 75 that I parted out, well I got alot of useful parts from that car, including and extra heater control unit. I decided that out of the two units, I could make one really nice one. Here is one of the two units that I started out with.



What I did first was take apart both units (reference pics take first of course) and then decide which peices from the two were in teh best condition. I stripped all the old paint off the better front bexel and then applied a new coat of paint. Then I cleaned the best looking plastic plate/backing and put the three together.



I then re-painted the two orange plastic indicators and chose the best strings condition to go back inside the unit, and re installed them.




After that, I put it all back together as I had taken it apart, re-painting the better two wheels, and greasing all moving parts. I also was able to choose the best condition switches from the two units. Here is the end product, and what it will look like back in my car.




Old VS New


the only problem is that the center console piece that I have is a crappy plastic remake, and doesnt fit very well at all. Im going to have to order a better one from Willcox before Im able to install anything

68AIR

Great job on the controls. It takes a lot of patience but it's the little details that really make the difference. When you find you can conquer the common problems, the next car you see for sale with that problem or others you've handled its no sweat. That's when you know you are addicted to restoration.

in2fun

Hey, looks GREAT !!!

C3 4ME

Love the thread. Yeah, I got started in old cars before I had a liscence. I had a 71 and 72 Cutlass back in 87 when I was just 15, and did sort of what you have done, made the best car out of the 2. Way before then, all I ever dreamed about was a C3, and knew one day, when I was fortunate enough, I would own one. I love my Vette, and would never sell one to go back, but would love to one day also again own a similar Cutlass to my high school and college ride!

rudolph schenker

Nice work!

beachcomber

Ben great job on that! I admire you for tackling these projects yourself versus going out and just buying new repo stuff. I'll continue to follow and looking forward to seeing out in the area soon. If you need an extra set of hands, let me know.

G-Sting

Really great story and cool pictures! Thanks.

chstitans42

UPDATE!
So I finally got almost a full day with my car, so I was able to make some progress. First, on fiberglass floored cars, there is a metal plate that bolts on the outside of them (to protect from rocks and road debris I guess). I got this particualr piece off of my parts car, so it was pretty much free. You can see how dirty it was, so I used a razor blade to clean it off. Now I didnt go to all the trouble to really clean it and paint it, seeing that it will be living underneath my car forever. Maybe if the car ever gets a frame off...

During cleaning:



After install:



Now the underside of my car looks a little more complete.

The next item of business was to tackle the ever leaking, ever sloppy, 35 year old steering box. After looking at the before pictures, Im actually suprised that there was still grease left in the box to leak out.
The box before removal:


The box that I ended up rebuilding was the box from my parts car. The reason why I did that was so that there wasnt any down time for my vette. i drive this car everyday, so the less time out of commission in the garage the better. After pics:


The slop on my steering has decreased almost to none. Its also much more responsive, and the car ALMOST drives straight. Im sure it just a small alignment issue, which dosnt bother me at all. I give total credit to Mike Dyer who rebuilt the box for me. If you want a great deal give him a shout here on the forum.
The last thing that I ended up doing was finally replacing the interior light bulb on my drivers side foot well. Mind you that this has never worked since I bought the car. Slowly but surely...


Until next time. I plan on a rearend build and install, and also finishing my center console rebuild. Then its off to replacing the heart of my Corvette!!

vette54728702

I would bet the majority of us here have a obsession/addiction.... I know I do.

GS977

you do some nice work with attenion to detail. i look forward to seeing future updates. i hope to see it in person one day.