New speaker brackets:



Where did you get the speaker brackets?

 

i found just the interior i did on mine to be very difficult, expensive, & time consuming. especially since i'm a newbie to the vette. it won't be the last time i have it apart either. fortunately the last idiot who owned it didn't mess it up too bad

 

What a great and interesting thread. A year ago I bought a 72 convertible. The car was a decent driver but the body needed some work. I under estimated what would be involved. I hired a body guy to do this work, while I helped him. We ended up with around 250 hours in repairs and prep. Then I decided a motor would make it more fun to drive so I built a stroked 383, then decided on a 2004r trans from Bowties. I have set a goal to have it running before the carlisle weekend. The engine is out, and I am starting the engine bay this week. Along the way I have purchased a Max jax lift to help make things easier. I plan on the rear rebuild this fall. My interior is completely stripped out and I have purchased almost every piece from venders. I would guess this car to have a value of around 25k. I will have over 35k in it until finished. I plan on adding to the number of those that got started and completed!
Rodney

 

my 70 has gone from this

to this

my 71 has gone from this



to this and is driven still needs paint
got sidetracted by new toy but still a work in progress

 

That is what I keep telling myself, it's just a matter of time. When I bought the 74 in Dec of '08 it was running fine, and why not with only 10k on it. But it had a leaking LR brake caliper, so it ended up on stands and at my friend's garage which is an hour away from me. And when I started to clean the engine, he said, "why don't you pull the engine and detail it that way"? Well you know the rest one thing leads to another and another and now the Vert is apart.
Almost 2 /1/2 years and have not made the progress that I would like to have made. Between work, family functions, etc., it is not always easy to get out to the car, especially being the distance away that it is. But I have alot of parts home with me and am starting to redo them one plastic bag at a time. This way when I can't get out to the Vette, I can make progress here at home. And now that the engine is 1/2 way apart, along with the suspension removed, and now that we are setup in the garage with the home made paint booth to paint the Vette and his VW bugs in the future, it's just a matter of time.
I figure another year.

 

Having not yet given up hope I woudn't call my project a failed one, but thanks to the one-two punch of "the big D" and the economy taking an untimely dump, my plans for building up a fresh BB and doing a frame-off "restomod" have been on indefinite hold for some time now. If it were only up to doing the work, I'd be all over it. I can imagine I'm not the only one in that boat.

 

Why did I start this thread?

I once had a real nice 1969 BMW 2002. Great little driver with a decent body, interior, & engine. It was a unibody car so you can't do a frame-off but I totally stripped the car of paint, and then removed the engine and interior. That was sort of fun and gave me a false sense of accomplishment. Then instead of working on the car, I bought tools, practiced welding, redesigned my garage, cataloged & stored old parts, spent major time and money searching for new parts. Spent too much time on Roadfly (similar to Corvette Forum). In the end, I was overwelmed.

End result? I never drove that car again. A shame because I really liked and miss that car. I used have fun driving it around on weekends. Constantly got thumbs up. I should have enjoyed the car for what it was. Instead I killed it.

This time. No frame-off for me. Most cars don't need one. If it does then don't buy it. This time, I'm doing one project at a time and not starting 10 and never finishing any. My interior is almost completely redone (4 months of small mini projects). I installed a new header and side pipes. I installed new Bilsteins and a 330 mono spring. I installed a new Edelbrock 1406 carb. Replaced the windshield. Many other small projects. Today, I finished adding power locks and keyless entry. I farmed out getting my convertible top replaced (I don't have the skill to do that). Know your limitations. I try to keep my discipline up and work on one job each day.

The key for me? No job has taken my 1972 off the road for more than two days. Slowly the car is getting done. For months I drove the car without carpet, dash, door panels and with one seat while I installed Fatmat,etc. That was OK. I still had fun driving. It remained my fun weekend car and not just never ending work.

Frame off? Much harder than you expect. Much more $$$. Real life and not a TV show. Don't do it unless you are that rare person who can commit to completing the project. Like me, you most likely are not. Don't kill another imperfect but enjoyable classic car.

 

They will all be finished someday.... by somebody!
Happy Fathers Day!

 

Do I detect a note of skepticism or even sarcasm in your choice of quoted lines and comments?

Perhaps further explanation is needed.

The bodywork phase begins and ends with those two procedures and they vary very little from car to car. More layers of paint can add to the stripping time and poor body work can add to the blocking time, but these two procedures are pretty standard fare. It's what you uncover once it's stripped that fills the time in between.

Another poster working with and under the supervision of a professional bodyman stated 250 hrs. I post at Autobodystore.com forums (under Steve g) and that's not an uncommon number to hear. Steel body cars where you have rust and dents to contend with, 400 hrs is tossed around lots. Based on personal experience I would find those numbers to be very probable and justifiable.

If you have 1000 or 2000 hrs in the bodywork phase of your resto you likely need some professional guidance. We have lots of posters that come to the Autobodystore forum that have done the same job over and over because they've used wrong materials, wrong procedures etc. If you have that kind of time into your bodywork I would suspect you are also at high risk to lose interest in your project.

My observation has been that most projects that are abandoned is because people started them without knowing what they were doing. They did not research it, plan it or budget it. They got it home and started ripping it apart starting with the pieces they were most familiar with, not those that made the most sense.

The purpose of my post was not to demean anyone that has fallen victim to this, but rather assist those that may. As the op said, not everyone should take this on. But lots should and need only a little help with direction and tips. I do disagree with the op on the point of whether or not it is necessary. At 40 years old the rust is everywhere on the chassis (in most geographic locations) eating away at our valuable investment. Stopping it and refinishing the chassis and components in a way that is far superior to the way they left the factory (better paints and more thorough job for us ncrs nuts) will ensure it will likely never have to be done again. And continually chasing down little problems and fixing them one at a time seems like an endless job when compared to going over everything once and starting afresh.

But then, I'm one of those guys that enjoys the restoration process more than driving them.

Steve

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...stly-pics.html

It never ends!!!!

 

Very nice indeed. I love it when one can put their own touches on these special cars. As for failed restorations, just a few slides to show what two years of restoration work looks like on my 71. Been fun, frustrating, expensive, and did I mention fun, all wrapped up into a two year commitment. It is not done yet, but we are certainly making progress now towards the finish line. Goal, finish it on the two year anniversary of my puchase, or August 26, 2011, whichever comes first.
David
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...barn-find.html

 

The thought of a frame-off restoration may put a lot of people off, but the challenge of the job attracts others, myself included.
When I brought my 68 home from Michigan, it was already in pieces, body off, no motor, everything was so rusty, dirty etc. but after five years of reading every scrap of material I could find about the C3 and asking questions at local shops(didn't know about the Forum at the time) I was able to get the car registered and on the road. During that five years, I had married, moved, my daughter was born, and moved again, most of you know how much time and $$ that can eat up. There were many times I asked myself "why did I sell my Camaro and get this thing?" but I finished it, even though the mods continue, and there are a number of members here that have seen the result

 

Great thread! I'm 11 years in myself. Though mines not an actual restoration, sometimes it feels like it. Two great points I've seen.

Keep it driveable as much as possible.

Know your limitations.

Also, keep your priorities.
Never feel guilty about slow progress, especially if family matters intervene.

I've enjoyed every minute of my resto... at least when I wasn't half sick over it.

 

I think the easiest answer is people just got burnt out on the project and went with something they could drive and was more practical.

I have a 90 and a 82 project and would just as soon hop in my 97 Camaro and go have fun then turn a bolt on either of the vettes.

 

I stopped posting my updates due to lack of response. I'm a first timer and have actually been moving along nicely. I'll update my thread (in sig) tonight as soon as I upload some photos.

 

the question is why do so many people want to restore C3's ?
Its because of the great body style

 

I used to feel the same way, but then I realized lots of folks look and get ideas or info without ever posting.

If you dont get a million "wow thats great" comments, dont sweat it, remember you're doing it to enjoy the car, not be a forum hero

The comment from folks who see the finished car in person are worth more anyway.

Yup, and they span such a wide range of years, you can still find one to hot rod without feeling like you're tearing up a vintage classic that should be restored instead.

 

i'm doing penance for selling a 70 bb vert that i bought new after graduating! if i'd have kept that car, i could have sold it now for more that what i saved in 40 years of working!

 

I hear ya...not really looking for attaboys, I'd just rather work on the car than update threads...I'll try and be more diligent.

 

I finally felt good enough with what I had done that I'd reached a point where I could try and start the car for the first time since September 2010. I've done quite a few things to the car since I bought it in Aug 2010 and had never actually driven the car except off the trailer (reverse only) when I got it home. So like the thread says, tearing things out is the easy part, putting it all back together is where the rubber meets the road.

Since it was fathers day, I wanted to try the first start. I also had successfully bled the brakes so I thought I might have some stopping power. Well the car did start after a few minor tweaks and after adding more trans fluid, it went into gear and I took it out for my first official drive EVER. Granted it was just down the block and I drove it very gingerly, but I drove it and that's what mattered.

I've posted a video here of the not-quite official first start. I've still got a ways to go and fluid leaks to attend to, but yesterday was a critical moment in my restoration.

Here's the video: first start of my 71.

Jeff