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My name is Justin. I recently picked up a 1976 Stingray from my brother in law (who isnt that mechanically inclined.) He was in need of a commuter so I threw out the idea of trading him. I had a 2000 subaru 2.5rs coupe. I had a lot of fun with that car but I knew the potential with the Vette. That being said, the car was originally parked in storage next to a 68' that had caught fire. The 76' was just close enough for it to damage the paint on the drivers side front half. Also, the front and rear bumpers were very cracked so the owner had pulled them off. The hood aparrently had sentimental value so it was kept. Now this is where I sit. The car is in dire need of attention and I am willing to give it. (Let alone my wife is wanting to help so....) What I do know about the car is it runs but needs a tune up, the transmission shifts fine, theres minimal visual rust underneath, its all original minus the hood I temporarily put on and IMO its in decent shape for its age. Now on to the pictures.
A few days before it was brought over to my place.
The night I got it squeezed in the garage.
I like how the dash looks.
My wife did a little cleaning on the door panel to see how it would come out.
This about the extent of the damage from the fire. Im pretty sure there was a cover on it and thats what went up in flames quick. There was a lot of little ash flakes around the body.
Today I had pulled the drivers front caliper as there is no brakes at the moment so i plunged in. It has leaked out brake fluid at two of the wheels so I'm going to rebuild the brake system first and foremost. The first caliper is not looking that hot though.... well.... pretty sure this is the one that got really hot at some point. Hopefully the others are rebuild-able. The outer half of this one isn't by the looks of it. Like an idiot I didnt take any before pics. The outside of them cleaned up great!
Yikes.
Look at those pistons! How or what could cause the gumming up stuff? It almost has like a chalky/waxy consistency.
This half looks like pure crap.... plus there are a couple of gouges in one of the sleeves.
Gouges are bad, especially if they're along the path of movement rather than radially. Use your fingernail to tell how deep the gouge is. If it catches, just replace it. Replacements aren't that expensive.
Congratulations on your corvette. Could be a fun project for you and your wife , but you didn't mention if you still have something for a daily driver . I hope you do because this car is definitely going to be a project that will take some time to get in shape. Brakes can be a problem on these corvettes as far as getting all of the air out of the system and can get expensive . All of the calipers should be replaced with stainless steel sleeved pistons . The rotors might also need to be replaced . I'm sure you will enjoy it when it is done but be prepared for a project . Good Luck .
Curious: Was it stored inside or outside? Do YOU plan on storing it inside or outside?
How it was stored previously would lead to a series of questions about specific things to check to make sure she isn't rotted out to bad.
How YOU plan on storing it will lead to a series of questions about insurance (most collector insurance folks insist that it be stored in a locked garage) and recommendations about water-tight covers (because these things tend to leak worse than a bathtub McGyver made out of toothpaste and cigarette butts...)
Other than that, I say tally-ho! Good on you! Drive it like you stole it!
Thank you all for chiming in. I do have a second car as our daily driver/family car and a motorcycle that I ride to work on good days. That being said, the car was stored in a pole barn. I know it wasnt the best but it at least had a roof over its head. I will be keeping it in a garage at all times. As for the hood, the previous owner's good friend had an eagle and american flag painted on it and it meant a lot to him. Weird in my opinion but whatever. Today was an interesting day so far. I pulled the car out of the garage to pull off the other front caliper (which went well.) However, when i went to start it up and back it in again, I lost all power. I know the battery is good so Im thinking its going to be a fuse or fuseable link. Didnt have time to track it down so that will have to wait till tomorrow or the weekend. Here are the pictures I took of the caliper before pulling it. I will hopefully have more after cleaning this one later.
Definitely not the greatest. We will see how it turns out.
Now my wife and I have been discussing what route we want to take with it. Im thinking about removing the body from the frame and going all out when we move to a bigger place (which might be next year.) As for the scheme were not too sure. We both dont like the color, and seeing as how it needs paint were thinking about going Laguna blue like the new stingrays. Were probably going to keep the interior the same colors as long as we can get it looking right. Heres a picture of a c3 thats got me inspired.
Whoever owns this car.... kudos! I really love it!
Theres a dark metallic blue used on the late 80s C4s that would look nuts on that car.
Came SO close to seeing a 78 SA L48 spd but knew Id go in debt...and probably give up a reliable drive to get it. then lose my job over it.
Heck Id be the coolest looking unemployed gimp out there.
OP keep at it, craigslist has TONS of late C3 stuff there dont count that out as a parts source, do it on the cheap dont worry about perfect youll enjoy it a LOT more trust me.
Wow.... so cool. I just found out that the car was previously owned by a locally well known corvette collector by the name of Bob Mcdorman. He passed away last year unfortunately. BUT there is a big GM auto museum that he owned on the other side of columbus. Neat!
Heres the link to his site. http://www.bobmcdormanautomuseum.com/index.php
Now back to the grindstone. Got the passenger side caliper cleaned up tonight. Still needs paint but that will come in due time. Here are some photos.
Before you pull off the rotors and toss them on the scrap pile, closely check them as to their condition. Vette rotors can last the life of the car if the pads are replaced before there is rotor damage. If your rotors are original and still riveted on, I'd do everything I could to keep them so you don't have to go through the rotor runout problem that many others have dealt with on the forum.
Duane
Well came up with the next issue at hand. Went to pull the car back in the garage and I lost all power. I checked the fusible links and they are good. I did notice the door buzzer is on really faint when the key isn't turned but when I turn it forward it goes off. Also I have no power anywhere else. It seems to have Low voltage at the fuse block with the key off. The alternator connections have full power woth the key off but when I turn the key on it all goes away. I'm kinda thinking the ignition switch... any ideas?
So i got a chance to mess with farrah again today. What I did was hook up my jumper cable to the negative side of the battery and went to the frame with it. Looks like it is definitely a grounding issue. First try with that method and it fired right up. At least now I can move it around a little to get some more done. Also i now need to put some panels back where they belong.... Glad to know its not an issue with the fuse block. That thing is not easy to get to in a one car garage!
Negative battery cable grounds to the frame right under the battery box in the middle of the frame. One big bolt holds it on. Remove, clean, re attach and then paint and you will never have to worry about it again!
Negative battery cable grounds to the frame right under the battery box in the middle of the frame. One big bolt holds it on. Remove, clean, re attach and then paint and you will never have to worry about it again!
Ill have to get under there and do that next time I get the chance.
09-21-2016, 10:29 PM
"Farrah" revival
) What I do know about the car is it runs but needs a tune up, the transmission shifts fine, theres minimal visual rust underneath, its all original minus the hood I temporarily put on and IMO its in decent shape for its age. Now on to the pictures. 
