iandm

Alright im going to do my best to keep it short and sweet. Im hoping i can get some advice and ideas along the way. I had the great idea to restore my moms 77 corvette that had sat for a while. At 16 and no job i realized very quickly that it wasnt going to be cheap. I stripped the frame and body but then stopped. Fast forward 5 years and i purchased another corvette for parts. This one is a 79 with lots of engine parts. I have been working since september because i wanted to have some lead before starting a thread. I will post pics from start to end and be on the lookout for questions!!

iandm

Heres some items that came with the car

iandm

Ok now that the introduction is done i will start with the steps i have done so far the best i can remember. It may take this week to get caught up and please do not expect speedy progress.

iandm

First thing i had to do was clear an area in the warehouse im using and then i pulled the engine and trans out of the 79. The process was pretty simple since nothing was connected. Cleaning on the other hand wasnt.

Rescue Rogers

Good. Remember lots of pics. I like pictures. It should be a fun project and it looks like you scored a lot of cool parts.

AdamMeh

That '79 "parts car" looks like a much better starting point than I had with our '77!

Good luck with your project.

KYC4

Agreed...that's not a bad looking parts car! Was it an L82?

Good luck and keep us posted please.

Later,

Lee

iandm

I probably should have used the 79 body but i had 2 issues.
1. I like the 77 flat window . Everycar today has round windows
2. The story that i have a second owner family car is better than some random 3rd 4th or who knows that may have been wrecked

iandm

Dont think so

iandm

Ill give some more updates before i head out to work tonight.
I bought some used VB&P suspension parts right after i bought the car. Had to pull the hubs off the 79 because over the years stuff went missing from the 77. Plans are to get willwoods with the hub built in...1200$ Anyway front suspension wasnt bad. I decided that all i was doing was mocking up everything first, then take it all off and get frame coated and then put back on. My reasoning is that any frame modifications, parts missed , ect can be resolved the second time i put it on.

iandm

well i also lost a half shaft so guess who tried to take one from the 79. It was the hardest thing to do. No room to work and those bolts were tight.

iandm

heres the heart of the car. The engine was rebuilt but i took pan and heads off to verify the guts. I may add the spec sheet later once i finish buying the odds and ends.

iandm

Maybe i should have changed the thread title so i get more views haha. Spent 300 more on parts today. The little things add up quick.

KYC4

Yes they sure do!

If you are not going to use the hood emblems on the '79 I may be interested.

Later,

Lee

iandm

Gonna end up selling hood at some point but what are the emblems worth?

iandm

Heres the engine getting mated back to the transmission...TKO 600. Had to get offset dowel pins for the lakewood housing and that was very very frustrating. Then trying to get the transmission in the hole was terrible but i finally got in at 2 in the morning.

cv67

Heck of a project, with a frame off keep moving on it even if you dont have money do something, clean paint etc to keep the motivation factor
Dont let it become a FS ad that says "lost interest, project for sale".
Been there many times boy was it hard to finish up...but worth it! (wouldnt do it again though lol) Your mom will be pleased and youll remember the experience forever...also look at cars in a different light.

doorgunner

Good start and plenty of parts to work with......keep posting the pics!

Andy Tuttle

Looking good! Will be neat to see how it goes. A family tie in the guy makes it extra special!

Gweesh

Looks familiar... Doing a 79 right now. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...d-project.html


Looking good, you're making really good progress. What's the interior like? What are your plans for the build? I've found lots of good food for careful thought on this forum.

Some things I've found out -

Trailing arms/rear bearings suck - sounds like you got that handled though.

Rear end/yoke slop - Are you rebuilding/replacing rear differential?

Steering - Stock setup prone to leaks and most agree sloppy/poor feel.

I'm slowly ordering parts, hoping to be ready to coat frame by end of week. Keep posting! Let's race our builds