DJdemiglaze

Hey whats up everyone? iam totally new to this site and corvettes but was fortunate enough to acquire this '77 the other day so i am gonna make this thread and update it as i go along.
this car is a bit of a beater but i think everyone still likes seeing pictures and progress right?

here it is the day i picked it up. it has been sitting in an underground parking lot since 2005.



bringing it home





unloaded and i got a chance to open it up and really have a look.. expected a complete roach under the hood but surprisingly decent




that's ALOT of blue



Story is: it belonged to the wife of one of my dads friends, she bought it after graduating university as a gift to herself (i think new in 77) and then parked it about 8 years ago. he called me a several months ago asking if i was interested in fixing it and i said yes then never heard back as he was quite busy. fast forward to a couple weeks ago he emails saying he was "disposing of the vette, are you interested?". i picked it up a few days after that. sight unseen no history

siphoned the old gas out and refueled, pulled the plugs and dropped a bit of oil in the cylinders and with a new battery and some starting fluid it fired up!

drove it around the block today even!

more pictures later as i make some progress on it

Roco71

Looks like a nice complete car that's half the battle sometimes.

DJdemiglaze

thanks. it is pretty much all there with exception the the luggage rack and some carpet (and fibreglass on the corners :/)

billcarson

she looks fairly rust free,from what we can see,and should be a fun project.'77's are sweet! best of luck on the rebuild.

persuader

Congrats. I'm really diggin' that light blue. Good luck with it.

doorgunner

If you know of any more "disposable Vettes".......................



P.M. Me!

briankeery

Nice clean B.C car, congrats.

AdamMeh

Congrats on your '77 purchase - looks like it will be a fun project! I just happen to have a real '77 luggage rack for sale if you are interested. Send me a message if you want

Adam

79CalShark

Congratulations and welcome to the nightmare!

Capkunu

Dan G>

DJdemiglaze

so i finally had some time today to wrench on the car.. after driving it once i knew the brakes needed serious work so i decided to bleed the system and see how far that got me

gross.. the fluid that came out of the rear calipers looked like orange crush,and the front calipers looked like iced tea. got them bled and guess what? rear calipers are seized.. damn. in drive with the car on jack stands i couldnt stop the drivetrain when i stood on the brake pedal.

also changed the engine oil and rear diff. the diff was like molasses.

I was about to order new pads and rotors online today but glad i waited. now ive got a few questions..

1: whos the best to buy a complete brake overhaul kit from? i was going to buy my pads and rotors from rockauto but they list a ton of different calipers, not sure which brand is good
zipcorvette has a decent complete kit and they specialize in this car so i would feel more comfortable buying from them (not gonna send me the wrong parts)
any other suggestions?


2: this car has 3 bleed nipples on the rear calipers.. my repair manual says these are only on 78 and up.. should i order calipers for a 78+?

3: also being a 77 ive read it should have catalytic converters and the exhaust was not a "true" dual setup ie both headers merged into a single pipe then back into 2 mufflers. this car has dual exhaust and no cats (and looks factory). normal??

probably stupid questions but i didnt want to start a new thread

kjb13

MUSKEGONBRAKE.COM has a huge line-up of Corvette brake parts. Not sure if they are a supporting vendor of this forum or not. The vendors listed on the forum should be able to supply you with just about any parts you may need. Hope I haven't broken any rules or stepped on anyone's toes with my suggestion.

Capkunu

Well, I'm into my 3rd month on my '76, and just completed several weeks of brake work. From what I understand, most all the Delco/Moraine rear calipers for the C3 years were set up with three bleeders. However, the rearward port should be capped off on pre-78 models. I don't know why this is, but that's what I've gone with.

I'm sure you'll receive better advice, but after failing to properly rebuild my Delcos, I got 4 rebuilt units from NAPA. They were on sale, and with the core exchange - $45 each. I believe these have stainless sleeves and the old school lip seals. I also got a new power brake booster for $95 with exchange. But I was on a budget, and many on this forum recommend O-ring calipers instead.

Anyway, that's the extent of my experience. So far, so good, which may not be good enough. YMMV.

SciVette

I just ordered a new set of o-ring, powder-coated calipers, pads, and soft lines from Vette Brakes & Products (traded in my old calipers for the core charge). Haven't installed them yet, but they look good. The set was mid-priced between local AutoZone type parts and crazy expensive Wilwood...

Good luck with your '77. Welcome to the forum. Save the wave.

DJdemiglaze

thanks for the suggestions

oh and HOLY **** why are the parking brakes so expensive??

kdf1986

Hello
From what I understand the 77 year should have a 2 into 1 into 2 exhaust system with a catalytic converter. The y pipe from the exhaust manifolds should go into a single catalytic converter and after this it splits back into two mufflers.

If your system is set up for a true dual exhaust then it is an aftermarket mod.

kdf

doorgunner

The Calipers can be cleaned and rebuilt--it just depends on how much patience you have (or how much extra cash you have for replacement calipers)....

The calipers on my '68 were scarey-cruddy-siezed.....but the pistons cleaned up well/the caliper bores needed a light honing to remove some corrosion....

DJdemiglaze

hmm I hadnt considered a rebuild.. ive never rebuilt a caliper but iam sure it cant be too difficult.. if the savings are considerable i will probably go that route.. really dont have the cash for new calipers.

DJdemiglaze

just did some research into rebuilding and iam gonna go that route if the bores look ok.

do i need to replace the pistons and springs? i will be keeping the lip seals not gonna bother with o-rings

doorgunner

It's time consuming, but not difficult. $60 for 4-wheel seal kit/ $12 for spray paint/ $10 for mini-spring-loaded honing tool (contrary to popular belief---the bores and pistons don't have to be perfect because the seal-lip compensates for pitted spots)....a week-end including reviewing the Tech manual & Forum tips/ NFL Play-Off games/ take the wife to dinner-movie-hanky-panky......


Buy your rebuild stuff from Forum vendors......WIN/WIN!!!!


Enjoy the rebuild!!!!!!!!