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I am currently attempting a frame off restoration of my 71 convertible. I have done all the work myself with the help of a stack of books and manuals that come up to my waist(as well as reading posts on this forum). Before starting this project my mechanical exprerience consisted of changing oil and brake pads. I was wondering if there was someone in the Houston area who has a mostly original 71 that I could come look at (and take pictures for reference), and/or have them come look at mine and give me advice and tips. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about my plans and any problems I come up against. I have posted a few pics to my profile section but I'm not sure if anyone else can see them.
I saw the pictures in your album listed restoration in your profile and it looks like your doing a super great job. I dont live in houston but sure some one will chime in.
I'm not doing a body off restoration but when I run into a glitch I ask a lot questions here and get great results.
I do like the picture with all the parts on the garage floor.
I'm looking at a 70 convertible this week and I may be asking you for advice.
it is an LT-1, when I bought it last year i was afraid to get more than a few miles from home due to poor condition of motor, steering and suspension. It also had frame damage on the right rear kickup, which is why I decided to do a frame off. The new motor is a crate motor so most of the components are not lt-1 correct, but i am going to have the original motor rebuilt and have slowly been collecting the carb, intake, exhaust manifolds, etc. I still need a starter, alternator, AIR pump, and TI Distributor - hope they're still out there. Right now I just want to get it back together and put 100k miles or so on it, then i'll restore it again w/ original stuff.
I took the whole thing apart last Aug (2007) - sometimes I go a few months without doing anything (run out of $, too hot, too lazy) and then I'll get alot done in spurts. When I said i've done all the work myself let me be more specific - I dissassembled the car and sent off larger items such as trailing arms, steering box, etc. then I took everything I could and sandblasted, painted, and bolted it back on. Something I've learned is that most of the parts I painted still look good and most of the parts I ordered from suppliers are already showing some surface rust. The exterior paint is descent so I'm hoping to have it back on the road by xmas. We'll see.
Hi C34,
Why don't you contact the Texas NCRS Chapter. I'd think they could put you in touch with someone to help you in your area.
Tom O'Grady 281-681-1343 is the Texas contact person.
Regards,
Alan
PS: Here's a picture of the rear portion of my 71. It's a 350/270, I only wish it were a LT-1!
Thanks Alan - your car looks great. Are you finished restoring it? I called Tom, he was very helpful and told me they are having a NCRS judging event in Waco this month that I'm going to try to make it to. Said I could get plenty of pics and hopefully meet a few people w/ C3's that could give me some help/advice. Thanks again.
Hi C34,
Yes, my 71 is finished... well almost... but it took a loooong time.
You really should try to get to Waco. It's a Regional meet which means there'll be a good number of great cars.
You also might want to think about joining the NCRS if you're at all interested in original cars.
Regards,
Alan
it is an LT-1, when I bought it last year i was afraid to get more than a few miles from home due to poor condition of motor, steering and suspension. It also had frame damage on the right rear kickup, which is why I decided to do a frame off. The new motor is a crate motor so most of the components are not lt-1 correct, but i am going to have the original motor rebuilt and have slowly been collecting the carb, intake, exhaust manifolds, etc. I still need a starter, alternator, AIR pump, and TI Distributor - hope they're still out there. Right now I just want to get it back together and put 100k miles or so on it, then i'll restore it again w/ original stuff.
When you're ready, I have an original '71 TI set up (dist, amp, harness) that I pulled from my Vette back in 1986. Don't remember the date code off hand, but will check it out when/if you're interested.
$750.00
My amp and harness are still on the car - I really just need the distributor, though I might consider buying the whole package for spare parts. Does the distributor still work? Would I need to have it rebuilt? Let me know what the date code is - if it matches up I'm certainly interested. Thanks,