Hey guys,I'm just getting started on my first project,and I'm looking for some advice.

I picked up a 76 auto,coupe L-48.It was a project that never quite got finished,body is in decent shape,paint is terrible,interior is shot,and it's not running.It's been sitting in a garage for roughly 6 years in an un-completed state.So theres a good amount of rust on the rotors,and lots of dry rotted lines.I'm assuming the headlights need a rebuild,and I was told the wipers don't work.

It has the stock th350 tranny in it atm,it's leaking fluid from just about every possible place it seems,previous owner said he put in a high stall converter...but didn't do a rebuild.

Link to engine pic..


The one bright spot is the engine,allthough not running atm,it looks pretty solid.I was given a dyno sheet for it,378hp/391ftlbs,it was originally in a shelby cobra replicar,that was manufactured in Canada somewhere,the dyno sheet is from Ryan performance machine,which I assume is in Canada as well.It's got a nice parts list with it,the guy I bought it from dropped the motor in the 'vette but never got it running..I also got a super t-10(3.44,2.28,1.46,1.00),with a lakewood bellhousing,flywheel and pressure plate,thrown in on the deal.All this for $5k....motor and tranny have to be worth close to that alone.

So where do I start?Try and get it running first?Take care of brakes,u-joints,missing wheel studs?

The tranny definatly needs a rebuild....allthough,I'd really like to get the t-10 swapped in it,I have no pedals or linkage,and I'm not sure that the bellhousing I have would work,or really what kind of project it would be.

Any advice for a Corvette noob would be appreciated.

 

The starting point depends on what you want in the long run. First thing I would do is inventory everything and see what you have and figure out what you need. If a body off is what your doing then start to take everything apart, clean and tag it and get it down to the frame. If getting it running asap is what you want I would first get the braking, electrical and the important systems fixed before getting her running. Once the other stuff is up to snuff then you can get her running and get the trans fixed.

There are a million things you can do at this point, the best thing is figure out where you want to be in a year and what you want to actually do to your car and your priorities.

Post some pics and good luck!

ps, did the Cobra have the chevy motor in it or does your chevy have the mustang motor in it? lol

 

It's a 350 Chevy,that was in a "Cobra" repli-car,not a mustang.One of these...

 

Just my .02 but based on past experience, the first thing to do is make her a safe driver. It's a much more pleasant task to work on an operable automobile. There are going to be times when you want to move her around.

Get her drivable and take the rest from there.