Frankie the Fink

It'll be nice to see some that dash cluster and parking brake get put to good use. Like a lot of other stuff I have laying around they were just gathering dust. The 1963 80lb vs 60lb gauge thing got really ugly. Here is what I got back when I raised the issue concerning my coupe:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ure-gauge.html

65silververt

Drip rail repair progress.

BEFORE



AFTER



BEFORE



AFTER

Frankie the Fink

I'm just amazed at people that take on these monumental restorations....a labor of love for sure. I assume that's an early '63 as I think I see the underseat "toolbox" depressions...

65silververt

It's a late car, so I'm not sure why it has the deep tubs. I've heard of some other late cars having them as well, but I really don't know much about them.

65silververt

6 hours

I picked the car up this morning from the body shop. The drip rails have been replaced and the other necessary metal repairs to the birdcage are complete. I also had them lightly soda blast the cage to remove as much rust as possible.







I brushed the top portion of the birdcage with SPI epoxy primer after using wax and grease remover. I also poured the epoxy inside of the cage where i could. I'm not going to bother spraying the cage with the crappy rattle can zinc oxide. I'll apply it to the visible areas, but not those that will be covered.






Next I cleaned the bonding strips.



And finally I applied 3m Panel Bond to the birdcage then riveted the bonding strips in place. I know they used some sort of seam sealer type product under the bonding strips at the factory, but I am going for maximum adhesion.

65silververt

I finally found the engine pictures. I thought they were on my Nikon, but they were actually on my phone.
The never rebuilt 327 block

65silververt

Since I am overwhelmed with work currently, I am going to let a pro handle bonding all the panels in place for this particular car.









These pictures did not turn out very clear, but I sprayed the green zinc oxide paint on the birdcage today and it looks really nice.



.

ChattanoogaJSB

It's phenomenal.

3JsVette

I am too! Attention to detail and thoroughness are truly incredible.

65silververt

+4 Hours spent prepping and painting the rest of the birdcage.

After sanding I applied a rust encapsulator primer. I also used Eastwoods internal frame coating to spray and coat the inside sections of the upper birdcage.

65-StingRay

Very impressive. I really like your attention to detail - it's exceptional.
Looking forward to more updates.

65-StingRay

65silververt

Thanks!

I'm surprised somebody hasn't pointed out that i painted the support rods and the clips green. I'm not going to mess with the window trim clips, but I do plan to remove and paint the support rods and bolts the correct color black at a later date.

stratplus

Truly an amazing restoration. I would think that you would feel incredibly proud of what you can do.

Looking at something like this makes me feel less talented, more incompetent, stupider (ya that's a word) and like a missed a page out of a car restoration book when I was growing up.

groovyjay

Amazing build! Another brought back from dead!

65silververt

She's off to the body shop to become whole again.

leif.anderson93

How sweet it is!!!

65silververt

Ordered the wheels and tires today. here's the look we are going for.

morly1963

I like em'

65silververt

Thanks! They are from Vintage Wheel Works. These wheels will also help show off the WilWood Front Disc Brake Conversion. I did not order the vintage Good Year tires...those probably cost $1500.00 and I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for them.

http://www.vintagewheelworks.com/pro...heels/v45/15x4

dudman

Unbelievable!