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Discovering and Preserving a Grand Old (69) Vintage Racer...Sort Of.
As a homage to Doorgunner and a few others who post on their builds, and also perhaps as a tonic for me as I return to the daily or weekly struggle to "restore" another grand C3....I start this thread..
Discovered on New Years Eve 2016 were these parts...
and so I traveled out and boxed them up!
I will be traveling today so this start will be slow...but stand by...
Last edited by international blue; 09-26-2017 at 05:33 PM.
you bought that front end off ebay? it came out of TX where a guy had it hanging in his shop? I bet under the yellow paint you will find black paint! did he share the story?
Last edited by redvetracr; 11-30-2016 at 06:57 PM.
Hello old friend! I remeber years ago your wonderful contributions to the Vintage Racer pics thread, and your comprehesive knowledge of the cars as well! Its been a long time. When i found it on ebay, I realized what it was, and was prepared to go stupid money for it. It was just wall art....
but as I visited and packed it up other parts began to show themselves. After the box was sealed for shipping I found the decklid in original paint, and after many enjoyable exchanges and conversations with the previous owner of this car, hatched a simple plan...
having so much of the car in "original as raced" paint, and knowing the true car is now correctly restored as a triple black L88, I felt the racecar heritage of the car deserved a sympathetic and honorable rebirth. By the time the first shipment of parts arrived I found a forlorn and savagely maintained 1969 sister that needed saving. For $1,200. She was shipped west immediately....saved from oblivion.
Haven't seen you around in awhile. Can't wait to follow this one. That old race car thread is the best one ever on this forum and I remember your contributions to it.
I had developed a friendship with Hans Hirt in Switzerland who offered me the car for $100K before JD bought it, I had the money I just didn`t have the *****, I offered $50K. if you google Curt Wetzel Corvette images you will see the car in black and in yellow although I don`t think Curt (who I have spoken to) ever raced it in yellow. did JD give you the article about the car? if not PM me an address and I will try and send it to you.
Hello old friend! I remeber years ago your wonderful contributions to the Vintage Racer pics thread, and your comprehesive knowledge of the cars as well! Its been a long time. When i found it on ebay, I realized what it was, and was prepared to go stupid money for it. It was just wall art....
but as I visited and packed it up other parts began to show themselves. After the box was sealed for shipping I found the decklid in original paint, and after many enjoyable exchanges and conversations with the previous owner of this car, hatched a simple plan...
having so much of the car in "original as raced" paint, and knowing the true car is now correctly restored as a triple black L88, I felt the racecar heritage of the car deserved a sympathetic and honorable rebirth. By the time the first shipment of parts arrived I found a forlorn and savagely maintained 1969 sister that needed saving. For $1,200. She was shipped west immediately....saved from oblivion.
Would this car be now residing in the Kroiz Collection?
First off, Gentlemen, so great to be back and find you here and active. Its a wonderful thing to be back in this, and a great greeting for the morning. Hello again.
The original L-88 car does exist and is restored to a perfect standard. The triple black car that is currently for sale is a perfect example of the art and science of Corvette Restoration. If I had the money, I would love to caretake that car...
However; the discovery of the parts and their condition continued and clarified quite an internal debate within myself as for many years "restoration' was such a good and fun word to use. While the motives of the NCRS and any of us are as pure as possible, the restoration of a famous or noteworthy car does change the car. It is the restorer who decides what is preserved and what is consumed by the restorative process. Today, the results of what we as people have changed to make correct may be a bit of a mixed bag looking back on it. It became my goal to not take away anything from the beautiful restored car, as she is THAT CAR and is a historical icon in a way. However, in my view, the racer body, thankfully preserved as "wall art" consists of many parts in original paint, and deserves another chance to be on the grid, and active as a nod to the glorious race history of the car.
At the core of it was the desire to not sacrifice another car as a donor that had a chance on its own, and not to modify an original car. Further, the continued recycling of corvettes, and the loss of identities and origins is a point with me. So the poor donor car located and sourced for the project needed to be a 1969 Corvette, and one that truly needed a break. Ebay is a powerful tool, and as stated, a project was located and shipped west. Also a (small part) of Corvette history, this donor car was quite a beautiful car when she rolled out of the factory... How the years had changed her.
Stay tuned...
Last edited by international blue; 12-01-2016 at 10:32 AM.
At the core of it was the desire to not sacrifice another car as a donor that had a chance on its own, and not to modify an original car. Further, the continued recycling of corvettes, and the loss of identities and origins is a point with me. So the poor donor car located and sourced for the project needed to be a 1969 Corvette, and one that truly needed a break. Ebay is a powerful tool, and as stated, a project was located and shipped west. Also a (small part) of Corvette history, this donor car was quite a beautiful car when she rolled out of the factory... How the years had changed her.
Stay tuned...
here you go, put it on this, that was my plan but $hipping from TX was too costly when an aftermarket 1 piece will do
Last edited by redvetracr; 12-01-2016 at 03:36 PM.
Easy, if the car is at Pro Team then it is more than likely for sale! Thus you could buy that poor former race car and reunite it with some of the race car parts and make it cool again!
Easy, if the car is at Pro Team then it is more than likely for sale! Thus you could buy that poor former race car and reunite it with some of the race car parts and make it cool again!
Well that's not quite what is possible for a number of reasons. ��
Remember I didn't want to damage an original car? This car came to me and exemplified everything I was looking for, a 1969 car that no longer was original, or capable of being original. As I began to examine the car, and discover what she was, it was a pretty interesting car also!
Last edited by international blue; 09-26-2017 at 05:34 PM.
So as the original race car parts that were saved from the restoration were being found for the project, the car that would form the basis (the licensed car that would define the legal foundation for the project) was purchased and on arrival was (in the eyes of all who saw her) pretty thrashed.
Modified into what I believe is called correctly a "Drumbuggy" as per a Corvette News magazine issue, the look at the body trim tag shows she had been a Fathom Green coupe with a standard black vinyl interior. Oddly the car still showed traces of what she was, but was very far gone. Strangely the doors were power window 1968 doors, and showed green under the brown paint in the doorjambs. Under the car was a fatal amount of frame rust, yet there was an original 427 rear sway bar setup, single fuel line on the frame, and F-41 springs! In the driving compartment the zinc chromate green factory primer was still present on the steel rear bulkhead with white grease markings on it indication "AC". Crazy. It seems to me she was born as a killer cool dark green 427/400 or 435 4 speed Air conditioned coupe equipped with F-41 suspension! The rear end codes indicated a differential swap at some point, with the case being from a 1965 Corvette 327 car.
The construction of the "wagon" was something I was kind of eager to tear into. I never really knew how these were put together, and so the removal of tuck and roll upholstery and lots of raccoon and cat dung began. For those who haven't discovered the joys of auto restoration, this is not one of the places to choose to learn the ropes. Ugly, dirty and disgusting work...
After the trash and the carpet came out however, the simple structural elegance of the mod began to show itself. There may have been an accident or damage to the car that caused the owner to convert the car to a "drumbuggy" and attach flares at the same time. The rear fenders were not original, and were attached at the factory seam to the new top panel. The floor was smartly extended to the rear taillight panel, also a repro part, and all in the same glass, and then the gas tank hangs from a steel plate that sends two long threaded studs down through the floor. Kinda smart. Also the back was pretty roomy. I thought it was kinda neat that this Corvette was probably used as an intimate bedroom from time to time. As Zora once said "Chevrolet wants Corvette owners to reproduce...".
11-30-2016, 06:48 PM
Discovering and Preserving a Grand Old (69) Vintage Racer...Sort Of.
