Power steering and heater etc.

After the front end and engine, and trans are back in, I jack up the rear and do the diff and rear suspension.

Interior and body are always last.

I make it a point to do something on the car EVERYDAY. Mo matter how small.

Eat that elephant one bit at a time

 

I wish you had been here when I removed my body mount bolts... Putting the new ones back in was a walk in the park compared to that.

Seriously, one very important factor for me in my project have been that I have a big heated garage wich means that I have a good place to work + that I really don't need the garage for anything else. This is supposed to be fun, and if the motivation is lacking I can just forget about the mess for a month, I'm not pressed by a deadline.
Also, having another Corvette to drive for those sunny days helps.

 

Agreed! I honesty think not having to deal with rusty bolts was the deciding factor in me buying a half done frame off!

 

My front suspension rebuild has an extra 2 weeks gone by just trying to remove 2 rusted bolts. Purchased an impact gun, propane cylinder, Mapp gas cylinder and several cans of PB Blaster just for these two bolts. Think how much fun you are missing by skipping the disassembly of rusty bolts

 

Oh I know all too well what Im missing this time around!

 

I haven't read the 7 pages of responses, but its also alot cheaper to dismantle crap with a few tools than it is to buy all the new replacement parts.

 

Big vote for keep the car driveable and work on it as you can. The times I've been disgusted enough to sale the car all involved long periods of down time. Friends tease my car is slowly getting a frame on restoration.

In late 2008, I decided to sale the car once it was finally running with a Lars Qjet. Once it was running discovered the brakes were toast after 8 years of sitting. Fixed the brakes, drove the car and didn't want to sell it anymore. A few months later the transmission failed. Rebuilt with a yank3200 converter and was no turing back.

Fixed the vaccum issues with Doctor products. Even got the wiper door working correctly.

Doug Hert 383 POS stroker in 2010, lasted 2000 miles but the Vette Brake Products Performance Plus suspension & brake upgrade rocked. New exhaust too.

New Dart400 set up with vintage air front runner set up & griffin radiator & spall fans. Was hard watching the car sit for almost a year and almost gave up and sold it. New hood.

Future paint the hood, touch up body, re-chrome bumpers, new wheels & tires, finally interior work...but with car on the road no temptation to sale.

 

Been working on my '80 frame off for the past 2 years. I definately needed to strip the car right down because the frame was not salvagable. Due to heavy work committments it took me exactly 1 year to completely disassemble the car.

Over the past 1 1/2 years I've rebuilt the chassis to the point where all I need to complete chassis is the rack and pinion, then engine and transmission.

I liked the comment "take a bite out of the elephant everyday", because between chassis work I've been working on the body repairs. As long as my hands are on the car at least once a week I'm happy with my progress. My wife has me on a budget: 10% of my weekly pay goes into a "Corvette" account for my restoration project. That motivates me to work extra hours, but the drawback is I work extra hours (and not in the garage).

She is right about one thing though, if I had the money to buy everything I need to complete the car ASAP, I'd probably rush thorough it and screw something up. So 4-5 years to complete a frame-off restoration is the perfect pace for me.

And I agree, planning - not the actual work on the car is the most important thing I do. And I plan it in stages; frame replacement and refurburishment - front suspension - rear suspension - brakes - fuel and brake lines - fuel tank - steering, etc. I love what I'm doing and the car looks great. Seeing where I am as compared to where I came from is the biggest motivator to keep plugging ahead.