1960 corvette - lost for the past 40 years
 

hi guys,

I just joined the forum a few days ago, but had found a lot of very useful information on it as I contemplated buying this 1960 corvette (hopefully the pictures r attached).

this car had been sitting in a garage in Washington, DC since 1975 (we have the VA state inspection receipts from the early and mid 70s), when a friend of mine bought the house and garage as part of an estate sale. the car came with it. it was moved to her dad's garage for another three years when the family decided they were going to sell it. I was eventually able to convince my wife to stop saying no, and now I own it. I shipped it to central Ohio, where I'm from, and a friend is going to help me with the restoration (frame on).

needless to say, I have a lot of questions! and I should probably come clean now and let u know that I've never owned or even ridden in a corvette, let alone restored one. but I love this car and plan to keep it and drive it.

the estate had appraised the car and noted that the motor was not original, but the numbers on the steering column and the numbers on the engine block match! it is a base model, with a 3-speed manual transmission and a CQ engine with 230 hp. the engine turns over but we've not yet tried to fire it up. we believe that it was once red with a red interior. it was repainted Kermit the Frog green in the early 70s and the interior was redone in white. it sat with the top down for 40 years and the interior is pretty rough, the frame has slight surface rust and the body is in great shape. the car is mostly complete and we will rebuild what needs to be rebuilt. it has 68,520 original miles.

the plan is to make her a driver. we r going to redo the fuel system and lines, brakes and brake lines, soak the radiator, rebuild the generator and starter, and pull the engine for a rebuild as well. we plan to try to restore the car to its original condition, but change the color scheme. it needs a new top, tires and I'm sure countless other things. I think that we r likely going to have to redo the wiring as I think we made more than a few mice homeless when we shipped it to OH.

anything we r missing that must be addressed?

all of the chrome on the car needs redone and I will send in the bumpers. however, I'm not sure what to do with the windshield chrome, the side mirrors, door handles or the grill? rechrome or replace?

keep the craiger ss wheels or find original hubcaps with spinners (I like the current wheels).

the car comes with two hoods, the current one has a scoop (which I also like), but we think we should put the original one back on. thoughts?

as u can c, the carburetor has been replaced. I will find a correct carter to put back on it. where can they be found?

we also plan to replace the teak wood steering wheel and go back to an original.

I live in norther VA, and plan to use the ZIP guys down in Richmond for parts unless I hear otherwise.

sorry for the long note, but I've been looking forward to posting this for quite some time and didn't want to miss anything.

its good to be with u!

dave

very cool! For the chrome you can send all of it and the windshield posts, door posts out to a refinish shop.

I would suspect you have quite a bit of rust on the frame based upon what is on the rear bumpers. You might want to check the frame and the door pillars underneath the dash for rust. If there is then maybe pass on the car. It is a major project to get it fixed. That's just my opinion.

Welcome to the forum.

I had a very similar situation. You can read all about it here: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...-barn-car.html

I'm not sure what you mean by "soak" the radiator but I wouldn't bother trying to do anything with a radiator that's been sitting for 40 years. IMO it definitely needs to be replaced as well as all the hoses and clamps and a good flushing of the block which, hopefully, isn't too rusty.

What have you budgeted to restore the car?

I agree with Gary about the radiator.. and same for the gas tank too. Here is what mine looked like after 20 years of sitting:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8200/8...b77a522c_z.jpg

Looks like fun. That looks like an old Edelbrock C3B or CB3x intake under that Holley.

Everyone has original C-1's...maybe a "Day 2" resto or something to be a little different?

JIM

Good ol' JC Whitney hood scoop.

The pot metal door and windshield posts should be refinished. Note you will have to find a chromer that knows how to do potmetal, don't just take their word, get references.

The stainless trim can be polished and it also needs to be flash chromed after polish.

Bumpers can be rechromed.

I like Cragars, you will probably find that new ones are cheaper than rechrome, but the new ones seem to be universal lug,and i don't care for them as much as dedicated lug circle diameter wheels, which center better.

Yours are probably for single lug diameter

Doug

http://www.srtarms.com/CorvetteFeb097.jpg

http://www.srtarms.com/CorvetteFeb094.jpg

1. If the motor turns over, why don't you try to start it? See what happens. Maybe you don't need to rebuild it right away. Maybe the generator and starter work too.

2. You probably do want to paint it and completely replace the interior. If you do that, then remove the windshield and send the windshield chrome out to be redone with the bumpers and other chrome pieces. You can remove all those items yourself and save on paint prep costs.

3. Replace the windshield glass because you have the windshield assembly out. The glass is probably pitted from age. Zip can put the glass into the re-chromed frame. You can put the assembly back on the car.

4. The time to do the dash pad is when the windshield is out. You can do this.

5. You can replace the interior carpets and door panels. Send the seats out.

6. If you have the interior out, replace the wiring.

7. Remove the passenger side door mirror. It is not original to the car. If you're spending $10K for a paint job, this is your opportunity to fix the holes in the passenger door where the mirror was.

8. You already know about the brakes, fuel tank, and fuel lines. If it were my car, I'd replace the master brake cylinder, wheel cylinders, and lines and switch over to DOT5 (silicone). The gas tank is under $200. Cheap insurance to help keep the car running well.

9. Join your local NCRS chapter. Those guys know all the local resources that could help you get this work done.

Good luck with your car.

Nice find.

Don't start it until you clean out the gas tank or use a glass jar with fresh gas ! You can suck up rust and vanish from old gas.Change the oil , then pull the distributor and prime the oil pump...

Have fun !

If starting I agree about the distributor, but, just take the coil wire out and it can't start that way..rather than removing the distributor and then replacing it with out any timing problems..

where did the two mirrors come from, the right side is the concern


I forgot to mention that a chrome plater in Owensboro Ky. is excellent

Two brothers run it

thx, yes I got under the car and crawled through the spider webs and dirt to check the frame and from what I could see, it looks solid.

your car looks great, but I've got to be honest, the thread u just shared has me a little nervous.
thx for sharing

One more thing.

You don't want the hood scoop. Even if you think you do now, you won't later. And when you go to sell the car, the new owner won't want it. That scoop knocks a couple thousand off the value of the car.

I recommend that if you feel you must have the scoop, then find another stock hood, and have it painted at the same time you get the car painted. Put the stock hood in storage to go with the car when it's sold. That way the paint on the stock hood will match the car.

Nice new toy, welcome aboard.

budget!? well, let me put it this way: if I get in too deep, then I will finish it, sell it and then hear about it for the rest of my days.

You are starting out with a lot more than many have started with, don't get discouraged, your way ahead!

thx chris. there r a lot of maybes in your first answer, but I completely agree with every point u make. we were ready to fire her up at Xmas time, but discovered the keys that came with it didn't work in the ignition. I'm not really sure what they r for? anyway, we have that worked out now and will try this spring (if it ever comes) when I'm back in OH.
2. I will check the windshield glass thx and replace if necessary.
4-6. absolutely
7. seriously? I had no idea that mirror was an add on. it weird, but the car has a number of small snaps riveted onto the body. similar to how my boat cover snaps onto the boat - and I have no idea what they r??? maybe a makeshift convertible top? we will take care of them before paint.
appreciate the input very much!
dave

no idea on the extra mirror? the rearview mirror is gone, so I guess they needed another one? I never noticed it, thx.

thx, we have the original hood and will put it back on.