It's been a while since I've posted any progress on my '77 but two weeks ago my PA Antique tag arrived while I was in Chicago on business. My wife went to the tag place and picked it up for me. I got home late, but all the Vette needed was the plate, so I bolted it on and after about three years of restoration, she was back on the road! It felt great to drive it on the road, but I quickly realized there were some gremlins that needed to be worked out. One MAJOR issue was the alignment. Somehow I overlooked that the passenger side had NO alignment shims in place. The first time I hit the brakes the car quickly swerved into oncoming traffic...YIKES! I also knew that the front sway bar needed new bushings so that didn't help either! Anyway, nothing fell off or blew up on the first trip, and other than the banging and creaking of the right from A-arm, it wasn't making any noises it wasn't supposed to make...HUGE RELIEF! This weekend I added shims back into the passenger side, replaced the bushing set on the sway bar, replaced the dirty fuel filter, and hooked up the kickdown cable to the carb and WOW!!!! What a car! It drives straight, doesn't dive to one side or the other when braking, and hauls *** when I tell it to! I'm very pleased with the end result and feel like I've done a pretty good job for my first restoration (especially considering what the car looked like when I picked it up three yeas ago). I'll try to post a before and after picture later.

That being said, I want to thank everyone here who has answered my questions and provided insight throughout the process. Without this forum, I wouldn't have been driving my '77 nearly as quickly as I did.

Now, on to an issue I'm working on currently; The speedometer doesn't work. It's connected to the transmission tail shaft out put, then to the box near the firewall under the hood, then to the speedo itself. Any idea why it wouldn't be moving? Thanks again! -Neal

 

As promised..a few before and an after pic. I can post more for those who are interested. It's come a long way, don't you think? The before pics were taken in the driveway as soon as I walked up to the car. That's how it sat for aver two years. The paint had been stripped off and the sun dried the resin out of the top layer of fiberglass. I blocked sanded the body, fixed the seams, and painted it. What fun that all was in the middle of summer!

 

Your '77 has an electronic speedometer head. It is driven from a signal that is sent from the distributor, through a filter can (mounted on the intake manifold next to the dizzy), then to a little circuit board behind the gauge bezel, and finally to the speedo head. The most common problem is a bad circuit board, as the thin foil circuit strips break and lose connection.

Willcox (vendor) has some info on this problem and I believe they have some instructionals on how to check that problem out. "Google" Willcox Corvette Parts and see what you can find on their web site; or send a PM to Willcox for advice. They also sell the boards, the filters, and the speedo heads if you should need any of those.

 

That’s got to feel good. I have been on my car for two years and last weekend I took it out and ran it down the street. Still in primer and with open headers but I just could not wait. Congratulation on your maiden voyage!

 

Congrats on getting it on the road, now have some fun.

 

This is sort of confusing to me as #1; I don't have a filter can or wires going to the distributor. and #2; My cable screws into the tail shaft of the trans, then screws into a box under the brake booster, then another cable screws into that box and goes through the firewall and clips right into the back of the speedometer. there are no wires going to the speedometer other than the lights for the gauges. The tack works fine since it's driven from the dist. electrically. Also, I don't see any info on Willcox's site other than drive gear info for speedos. Any insight?

 

I also did this, but only once. The people down the street called me in. Fortunately by the time the cops rolled up the vette was back in the garage and doors were closed. I'm pretty sure they didn't like the open headers idea as much as I did! Oh well, they have nothing to say now except, "Nice CAR!"

 

Awesome job!!!

 

Thanks!