Well I finally got my 82 home and trying to figure out what all parts I'll need to fix inside the fender. I do have the vac. cannister, but not the water bottle. Mainly need guidance with rebuilding the inner structure, ie. what fiberglass parts do I need to buy, any other advice, etc...





In case you're wondering, yes, the condition of the tires is directly related (along with other factors) to the condition of the fender. :\

Under the hood's not so great either, but should clean up ok...
Someone helped themselves to the distributor cap/coil and the radiator cap while it was sitting. *sigh*


My goal is just to get her back to DD status as economically as possible (but I know it won't be cheap.) There's less than 80K on the clock and it would be a shame to do otherwise.

TIA,
Bob

(note: I'm hoping the images work for everyone, if not here's a link to the shared folder: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6r...MGQwZjc0&hl=en )

 

The easiest way to fix that is buy my 82 CE.

 

Bob
Damage dont look so bad. Here in our Dallas area we have lots of good corvette glass repair places and the availibility of repair parts is great. Show us some pictures of the rest of the car.

 

Roger, unless you're selling it for like $500 it's probably out of my range!
Good to know about parts in Dallas. Any particular good suppliers you'd recommend? (or recommend against?) Feel free to PM me if that's more appropriate.
More pics as requested...


I'd love to get back to original two-tone blue paint, but that's a while away.
Interior's not too bad, mostly needs cleaning up and some reassembly. Dash is badly cracked and steering wheel funk has dripped onto seat.

I'll post more pics after I've made some serious clean-up efforts. It looks pretty daunting but I know it will be worth it.

 

Bob,

I know this is not really directly related to your original post. But curiosity forces me to ask.

How did you come to own this car? Does it have some meaning to you, ie: family members car, your graduation gift, ect.? And how did she come to be in the condition she is in now? Especially if it truely has less than 80k. Are you certain its not 180k?

I'm assuming the obvious...tire let go, busted her up, and left to decay somewhere? "Somewhere" being the key word here. Has she been sitting open on the moist ground somewhere? If so, how is the frame, birdcage? Rust? Was she running when she was parked?

I am all about bringing any Corvette back to life. But, this one is gonna be a major investment, just to bring her back to safe, and fairly dependable.

Bobby

 

Are they bullet holes in the hood, or just debris laying on it?!?!?!?!?!

 

This was originally my mom's car (I think there's a pic in my photo album.) I was with her the day she bought it in El Paso. I remember the 18K sticker price and wishing mom could afford the Special Edition. I learned to drive and got my driver's license in this car, so yeah there is sentimental value there. It's still kind of a one-owner in that respect. While in El Paso (after I moved to Dallas) I know that my brother wrecked it, she got the wack paint job and cloth upholstery and then brother wrecked it again. When I first saw it, the front clip has chips and cracks around the nose and the driver's fender was already cracked along the top glue joint.

The car had a surging idle but ran fine on the highway, but on her last road-trip from El Paso to Dallas, we stopped for gas and rest and when we woke up the car wouldn't start (I think it was bad or contaminated gas, maybe severe varnish in the tank.) Ended up towing the rest of way to Dallas and mom eventually sent me the title as a gift. So I feel ok spending a few grand (I'm guestimating 3-5k..?) to get her back into shape. She deserves it, and so do I.

At one point I had it running and was driving home in a very light rain. The engine still had a surging issue at low rpm and while attempting to get on the freeway, the surging power caused the back wheels to spin and I couldn't even feel it until the car started sliding sideways... into a lightpole, probably impacted about 10mph, hitting the fender right between the wheel and the door... luckily?

Since then I had a shop look at the frame and surging issue. They said they found a lot of varnish in the tank, flushed it out (but said there was still more..?) and the car ran great on the way home. From that time (approx '97) the car was garaged for a few years and then, due to divorce, moved to a friend's place in the country where I could only put a tarp over it. Some kids out there removed the tarp to get the engine parts and that's where all the East TX dirt came from. For the past two years it has been in another friend's yard just a few miles away.

It's a sad story of neglect and abuse for this car, but I am finally in a place where I can work on her and take care of her. There is surface rust underneath, but nothing too severe. Even the exhaust isn't rusted out (but one muffler got damaged loading onto a trailer) but everything is pretty solid and intact underneath.

I do know with 100% certainty that the odometer hasn't rolled over. Just double checked it... 74288. Mom was too busy putting 140,000 on her motorcycle to drive the vette that much. (That was the mileage I was more skeptical of, but knowing where she rode and doing the math, it adds up, supporting her mileage claims.) I remember mom driving backwards in parking lots as much as possible when the mileage started getting close to end of warranty lol
Oh and sorry I forgot to clean those stupid berries (not bullet holes lol) off the hood.

 

To me, the body damage is no big deal; just money. Hopefully one of the locals on the forum can point you to a good, local shop. You can certainly do it yourself but that's a pretty big job for a first Corvette repair. Paint matching will be important too unless you want to redo the whole paint job. Be prepared for some serious sticker shock though. Both vette body work and paiint is expensive.

Hopefully the surging is just garbage build up in the fuel system. Now that the tank is flushed, you should probably replace the filters and run a few gallons of gunk out through it once you have it running. The TBI (throttle body injection) system, if it works, works fine. My concern is if it doesn't. There is (was?) a TBI forum somewhere and this would be a great source of help for you if that turns out to be your issue. You would have to be extremely lucky to find a local mechanic that knows his way around that technology. It isn't all that complicated but it is an order of magnitude harder to work on than a carb.

Edit: Found a pretty good thread describing the TBI system fairly well:

http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/foru...d.php?t=101038

 

They're speed holes!

 

If you're in Dallas your best bet (imho) is Mike Dyer. He is on the forum as tracdogg2 I believe. He's a great guy who does QUALITY work. He knows these cars inside and out.

 

before you do anything... i would rip out the interior and jack up the car and take A LOT of pics and post them....

might be wise to start from the frame/mechanics and do body/interior last....

 

@RC-Cola:
@C3bdj1: Oddly enough, after sitting for 13 odd years, not a single tire is flat! Rear left is low, but... it's... wierd! My friends said they never put air in, and I've never had to. The very last time I might have done so would be late '03, but I don't recall having to do it then.
@CA-Legal: Thanks for the excellent link! I think my throttle bodies are in decent shape, but do need a good cleaning.

So yeah, I caught Mike's name today when I found Stinger's amazing frame-off resto thread. Lost half my Sunday to that thread (so far... made it to p.30 then went by 10s lol), but very informative! I'll definitely look Mike up and see what's what. First a thorough cleaning is in progress, and she's cleaning up fairly well under the hood, except for the steel parts that have surface rust. Luckily not too many of those. I know I want a pro like Mike to do the body work, but I need to do as much as possible myself as money is a limiting factor for me.

Once everything is cleaned up I'll need: a computer, as mine seems to be missing (anyone here got a good spare?), tires, battery, vac. hoses, ignition parts, steering column work, steering wheel, exhaust work, radiator flush, belts and hoses... and then maybe I can start to think about firing her up again.
As far as paint, I have no desire to match (or keep) the existing scheme... may have been ok for mom, but not my cup of tea. I see that Ecklers has the oem blue pinstripe set for 300, and I would love to go back to that eventually, but will have to see what the budget allows. If money were no object I'd probably go for a nice DEEP metallic blue with some pearlescent, nearly invisible flames that you only notice in passing. (keep dreaming Bob! ) At any rate, I'll keep y'all posted on her progress.

Drivetrain is first priority, but I do want to at least get under the dash to inspect for rust in the birdcage area (which I finally read up on today.) Here's hoping for the best for mine and everyone else's projects!

 

Go here and purchase both volumes. http://www.glas-ra.com/v3_4.html

Eckler's book is helpful if you can get a copy.


You are also going to want the assembly instruction manual (AIM) for '82 and the GM chassis service manual.

The stock panels on your '82 are SMC.

Good luck.

 

Ah sweet... I already have the Eckler's book as well as AIM and GM Shop Manual (same as chassis service manual?) as well as another book on corvette restoration and a video on 'glass. Before everything went to hell in a handbasket I was starting to acquire things I'd need for this project. This weekend I'll try to get some under dash pics and maybe undercarriage.

I think I might as well teach myself to fiberglass now, at least the out-of-sight stuff... I'll start with the wheel well and see if I feel competent enough to replace a fender. Nothing but time though... this car is currently 3rd on my vehicle priority list, as not one of mine is running!

Mom's old bike with 140K on it and my 95 Aurora with blown engine. *sigh*

 

Hi Bob, Where in Dallas are you?
M ike

 

Roger, looks like you got trumped.

Bob, great story. Good luck! Methinks your $3-5K number might be just a tad optimistic.

 

Just north of downtown, knox/henderson area. Oh... Mike... THE Mike! Howdy!

BTAL, thanks, I hope it has a happy ending! lol It's been a long, strange trip indeed, and somehow this is my Cinderella story.

I say 3-5K with a couple of things in mind:
1. I will be doing as much as possible (anything short of machine work) myself, possibly excepting the visible body work. (but reading around here I'm encouraged to try that myself too.) Largely for the cheap factor, but mostly bc it's the best way to make sure it's done right... or at least who to blame when it ain't.
2. That's just to get it rolling legal and safe, not necessarily a nice paint job and interior work I'm dreaming of. I'm sure it will accumulate over the years to exceed $10K out of my pocket... [he says with a huge grin!]
3. I just pulled it outta my **** based on prices I remember from 1997 lol.

Thinking back, I have quite a few memories with this car (mostly good to great! but a few not so good)... could devote an entire chapter to it if I ever write my memoirs lol

 

Good story, lots of sentimental value, but...

$3-5K? I honestly think that's a pipe dream....even the $10K figure I think is a gross underestimate..

I applaud you for going for it, however!

Good luck!

 

When you are ready for paint talk to John at JB's Corvette Specialist in Carrollton. Come look at my paint that's four years old, it's still dazzling in the sun. Mike did my trailling arms and I haven't been able to tear them up yet. Good luck on yours.

Bill

 

might want to check out the crossfire forum, alot of good info for only that car in there.

http://www.crossfire.homeip.net