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Man I wish I had your courage, I’d love to mod my vette.
About the floor, why not fabricate one using the original to build a mold?
There are guys fabricating hoods, etc.
Well dang, dude, that’s what they call “stealing your thunder”, which is the counter move to “a cliff hanger”.
The rest of the story is that we had access to another ‘67 that had a good floor and we used that to make a mold. The only problem is that it’s really 2 molds, if you want to have the bottom of the car and the top of the floor BOTH to look right. That’s a little on the expensive side, so be sure the car has a good or easily repairable floor before you plan to mod it. Everybody thinks about the bird cage, but there are other traps along the way.
Man I wish I had your courage, I’d love to mod my vette.
About the floor, why not fabricate one using the original to build a mold?
There are guys fabricating hoods, etc.
I guess we could have, but we didn’t. In fact, we made our own:
Early on, he asked me what I thought about “going wide”. That sounded good to me, but I should have asked more questions. We had an engineer create CAD data to widen the car but to still keep the proper proportions. That required molds to be made and “one off” body parts to be created. These are pictures of some of the molds.
Today’s picture: the completed bird cage in its rust protective paint, ready to live again.
Yes, I am a highly skilled check writer: if the money is in the account, the bank will cash my checks EVERY TIME. I actually am good at hiring good people. While I never say “money is no object” I decided early on in this project that there was nothing cost efficient about the whole idea. I used to mess with old Volkswagen Beetles since I drove one (that I literally pushed off to start every time) in college. I was reading on a performance chat site, back in the early days of the internet, on how to increase the horse power on that anemic engine. I found lots of advice, but the piece I remember came from an older man (maybe my age now?) who said, “My best advice is, if you want to go fast, start with something besides a Volkswagen Beetle.” So to all potential restomoders out there, my best advice is, if you want to build a cost efficient, daily driver car, start with something besides a 1967 Corvette. There’s nothing cost efficient about this idea from start to finish.
It doesn't matter how you get it done , it's that you get it done and not just dream about getting results . If you have the cash to get it done and prefer to do it that way that's all that matters . I just don't like to see quitters .
Having custom body parts made involves lots of hands...and lots of pockets. First the engineering with CAD data, then on to the mold makers. Next you take the molds to the actual part builder where they camp for a while. Finally, you go back to get the parts and the molds and wait for final assembly. Everybody along the way gets a cut, including the folks who take it from A to B to C.
Left front
Left rear
Right rear, close to where he hopes to live soon.
...and months go by...
Yep, picking out colors this weekend. I suspect I’ll see yours then too. Yours is looking good so far. Unlike me, you KNEW what you were getting into, so no excuses!
It takes a fair amount of moding to go from a 1967 frame to 2017 one. I suppose we could have used stock wheels and not had nearly as much work to do, but where’s the fun in that?!
The rear floor has to go up to cover the tail of the frame
Well I think the first work was actually the “sample”, the second one was the actual mold, and now the actual part still has to be fabricated, is it not so?
Well I think the first work was actually the “sample”, the second one was the actual mold, and now the actual part still has to be fabricated, is it not so?
Your guess is as good as mine. I’ll see the builder tomorrow, so I’ll ask your question and get us both an answer.
What a challenge !
I hope you are keeping track of all the hours on this project just for S&G!
Believe me, I get spreadsheets from the builder with florid detail. He has a reasonable hourly rate, fortunately, but there is a ton of work on a project like this.
Well I think the first work was actually the “sample”, the second one was the actual mold, and now the actual part still has to be fabricated, is it not so?
Sorry, but I forgot to ask your question. The car was at the Good Guys show in Nashville today where I met with the builder. All we did today was completely change the color scheme, change how we are going to do the interior, changed the exhaust, and discussed a lot about what we plan to do with the car once it’s done. Oh, we also have a tentative completion time of September! I will get that question asked, however.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
