sokoloka

Made an early morning of my Wednesday and rolled the little one out of the garage and up to JD Corvette in Bellflower, CA for some body work... Tough to see her go for the next three to four weeks!

My checkbook is already cringing in fear and I haven't even gotten the estimate back.

bluestreak63

What are you plans for the little one? Not sure if you had another thread on the details of it. Are you going restomod or original?

vette427-sbc

Dont let nice bodywork keep you from driving it hard!

sokoloka

I would say that it's more restomod than anything else. The car is (was) a base model 72 coupe, nothing super special and definitely not in the greatest shape when I got it. The inspiration behind my build has been the look and simplicity of the original road race style corvettes - hope to make a nice and fun stripped down street car out of the little lady.

Replaced the brakes / suspension since I got it, but recently have gotten stymied with the pending bodywork. Noticed some birdcage rust after gutting the interior and have decided to leave it to the pros. Working in a narrow 1 car apartment garage is a bit limiting as well, so they'll be taking care of replacing the fuel lines, body mounts, and core support for me as well.

Definitely can't wait to get mine back on the road! If I have anything left over after the body shop, tranny swap and engine build are next. I actually just spent last week in Redbank, NJ - how close is that to you? Next time I head out there, need to check out yours Chris!

SGAL1

Sweet Yukon.
I have a Yukon XL 2500 and love it.
Good luck with your restoration also.

sokoloka

Thanks! Bought that thing brand new 2.5 years ago, no complaints 50,000 miles later.

Got the quote today; here's what I'm getting done for $8744.39.

New 72 front clip with 68-69 gills installed
Long L88 hood installed
Side marker lights filled
New core support installed
Windshield replaced
Body mounts replaced
Fuel lines replaced
Top / sides of frame cleaned and painted
Stripped parking brake frame mounts repaired
Luggage rack / antenna holes filled
Rear tail light panel replaced
Exhaust filler panel installed
Coils trimmed to drop front 2"
Front and rear alignment
Aluminum HVAC firewall block out plate
Birdcage rust repair

2-3 weeks and then I can decide on paint.

Seems pretty reasonable to me. Now I need to budget out $$$ for paint.

What do you guys think?

spinadog

sokoloka, please post back about the quality of work you received from J&D - I have considered them for some fiberglass work. There are few Corvette workshops around here - that's for sure!

It would be really appreciated.

Cheers

S.

TPI BOY

Where else in orange county do you take your vettes
for repair

spinadog

Steve Luvisi down in Huntington Beach is OC. J&D are in LA County. There's a few around but J&D are close to my place

TPI BOY

Anyone else know of one

sokoloka

Don't know the name off the top of my head, but there's one in the Irvine / Anaheim area right off the 5 that I pass whenever I head up to J&D.

VCuomo

Besides Luvisi's shop, there's Coast Corvette in Anaheim (this is the shop that Sokoloka referred to right off of the 5 Fwy.), Corvette Mike in Anaheim, and McJack's in Santa Ana.

TPI BOY

Do you have any info on any of them,
sounds like Coast Corvette is by me

MRANT212

My 71 has been in the body shop Since March. Pretty much getting a frame on. Body has been media blasted. All chrome is getting re-chromed, rust on the birdcage being fixed and all bodywork has been almost completed. As you dig into these cars you never know what you may find. Already ordered new seat foam, covers, carpets and dash pad from Al Knoch along with new emblems, trim pieces etc. With a little luck may go in for prime by the end of next week. I'm going with the original Bridgehampton Blue.

VCuomo

I've used Coast for a number of various repairs over the last 10 years or so - their work has been good, prices are what you'd expect from a shop that specializes in Corvettes only. They are also good for getting parts from various sources, and Chuck (the owner) has a lot of hard-to-find used parts in his warehouse.

According to a friend of mine who's used him, Corvette Mike can be hit or miss, and he tends to be a little on the pricey side.

I've never used him, but Luvisi has a very good reputation (heck, even Chip Foose used him on a couple of Overhaulin' episodes).

There's also Family Classic Cars in San Juan Capistrano - I've never used them, but have attended a couple of their once-a-month car shows and talked to some of the guys who work there. They do not "specialize" in Corvettes, but instead specialize in sales, restoration, and repair of classic cars in general.

And yes, either Coast Corvette or Luvisi are the closest to Stanton.

Daytona69

I took both my '69 and '70 to Steve LuVisi a couple of times...I highly recommend his shop. His place is called Automotive Expertise Unlimited and it's in Huntington Beach...here's a link to his info.

http://yp.ocregister.com/automotive+...518p.home.html

spinadog

So, it looks like the same shops come up. I think it's worth taking a drive and chatting to them all when it comes to bodywork and/or other specialty pieces. Coast Corvette did my trailing arm rebuilds for me and they did a nice job. They also pressed all my bushings for me too but no body work. Had plenty of Corvettes in there (one being walnut shell blasted) and they're nice guys overall. I think an 'extensive' collection of Corvette parts is an understatement! That place is great to go for a wander, if Chuck lets you.

I'll be seeing Steve I think as I have heard nothing but good things - let's find out. I'll ask him about a black 1970 or a 1976 'vert and see what happens!

GD70

Seems like a big project!
Be prepared to spend more and for it to take longer than estimated. My 70 has been in the shop since early January. It's still there, and not having as much work done as yours. The gentleman who bought the Vette wanted work done, some of which I recommended he do before the thousand mile trip from NY to Atlanta. As the shop dug into the repair, issues surfaced and added time & expenses to the job. See my thread "Update on my Vette" I've documented the work with pics so others can follow the progress.
Don't be in a rush, and have the work done properly. That's most important in the end.

Glenn

sokoloka

Glenn,

Thank you for the kind words! I've been following your vette's progress with the rear end rebuild as I think my TA pockets might need some attention in the near future...

Got back from hunting in Argentina and swung by JD for a quick update:


Front clip is stripped! Birdcage rust is being assessed...


Old front clip next to the new "custom" one being put together.


Donor windshield frame from a 1977 they'll be cutting up for mine.

Fuel lines should be getting here this week and then the real work will begin! I took all the chrome windshield trim back with me to get stripped and powdercoated black for a more stealth look.

Finally took notice of the name of that second corvette shop on the 5 - Coast Corvette.

Can't wait for mine to be done!

sokoloka

Update - one week later:

Started digging into under the front clip and surprise; BIRDCAGE ROT.





Can't say I'm opposed to lightening up the car, but this might be a little too much:



After a little graft work with the donor 77 windshield frame:





My lil' one as she sits now waiting to have the body pulled:



While I was there, I asked to see some samples of their flares. They were kind enough to pop the flares on another 70-72 to help me visualize what options I might have:





I like the overall flare, but at the same time the bottom ends are too "square" for my taste if that makes any sense. If it's possible for them to round out the bottoms, I think flares might be the way to go.

What do you guys think?