I've been putting off the inevitable for a while now...time to finish restoring the back half of the car...we are talking underbody and mechanical...the really important stuff. I've had the car for over 7 years now and tried to both enjoy driving it and working on it. It has the original paint, chrome and interior and will stay that way as long as I own it. I know there are people who are drawn towards the pretty BC/CC paint jobs and new interiors, so they can win their $15 trophies at the local ooh-aah car shows...but I am into originality, performance and reliability. Just thought I would start a thread with some pictures and hopefully encourage others to start their winter project.

The car is back up on ramps and stands. Somehow I just feel better when all that front end weight is on ramps. I may crib the rear cross member, but I don't see how it can go anywhere.

Dropped the tank and guess what was there? (I already knew, because I had reached up and broke off the top left corner years ago)


The tank sticker cleaned up a little. It is really fragile. The glue is one big blob in the middle of the sticker and I am freaking out...I don't have the courage to attempt removing and possibly destroying it. Good thing that I have the original window sticker...which is much better documentation anyhow. The overflow drain tube had evidently been disconnected for many years, allowing water and fuel to run all over the top of the tank. Did not help preserve the tank sticker one bit. The number 77 was written on the sticker, the number 177 is written up at the top of the sticker, and the number 177 was written with crayon or wax pencil on my passenger side lower firewall. My VIN is 21077...so the build number relates to the VIN in some fashion. I'll leave that up to the NCRS gurus to figure out.


My pumpkin is leaking. Hey, the car is 42 years old. What do you expect? Time to pull it, have it checked for wear and play, resealed and refilled. Good time to redo the spring.

My trailing arm bolts will hopefully come out easy. This is a low mileage northern California car and rust has not been an issue. I did the half shafts and rear calipers the last time around. Need to restore the trailing arms, new bearings and races, parking brake shoes and turn the rotors.

 

Great Pics, good finds. Being in the Sunshine state allows you do this work this time of the year. Not here, although we are enjoying a great Fall. I'm still trying to get in seat time before Ole Man Winter shows up.
Anyway, good luck and enjoy.

 

Very cool that you can document your car came with factory side exhaust.

 

I'm sure the car won't go anywhere either but I have had some old school guys tell me to never jack up the rear when the front is on ramps. Maybe just old wives tales ?

 

Sometimes old school guys know what they are talking about because they've been there and done that. This old guy is going to put it on jack stands all around...worked fine when I did the front half,,,with 4 x 4 cribbing as an added measure of safety. There will surely be a certain amount of tugging and jerking to get the rear end apart. It ain't easy doing this kinda stuff when you are 62. Drinking a few beers afterwards seems to help ease the pain.

You northerners need a heated garage in the winter or forget working on your cars. I know because I left Minnesota 31 years ago. Down here in Miami, it is near impossible to work on your car in the summer without air conditioning.

 

Good find on the tank sticker. As far as the 177 number goes, there is no relation to the serial number. When the cars start down the assembly line they do not have a serial number. They were assigned a production number I think from 1 to 999 then they started over. Just a coincidence they both ended in 77.

 

According the the 1969 Stingray Guidebook, the 'in-plant' job numbering sequence ran from 1 to 500. The number was applied to the underbody, usually written in in yellow or white crayon. In the assembled car the number appeared behind the gas tank. It also was found on the right footwell both inside and outside.

Your trim tag would likely be I07 which translates to an April 7th build date, making it a first design made just before the 10 week UAW strike which started on April 10. Ya think some disgruntled workers put your car together?

 

Bingo on the trim tag. I knew the car was built just before the strike. Better April 7th than April 9th I suppose, but doubt that anyone did a worse job than usual.

I got out of the military in 1972 and took a UAW assembly job at a Naval weapons plant. We soon went out on strike and I remember being told by the old timers to make sure and leave with my tools, because the strike would be long and I would need to find another job. I was making $3.80 per hour and all we were asking for was a 25 cent raise. The strike lasted 6 months for a lousy quarter.

Labor unions and strikes, a thing of the past. Sure am glad America straightened out all that silliness and got rid of most unions. Now factory workers, the few still left, are so much happier and better paid...right?

 

Hi FR,
I'll follow along with GREAT interest!!!!
I was proceeding just the way you have, front, middle.... when I got everything off the frame back there I finally decided to lift the body.... with the intent of leaving the original paint the way it was.
Well the chassis and running gear turned out pretty nice so I decided to paint?!?!?
My situation is different than most since I'd driven the car 46,000 miles and was interested in doing a total restoration. So I didn't miss driving it for the many, many years I spent on it!
Side Exhaust cars are SO cool!!!! You're very fortunate to have one!
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

When I drove it on the street for the first time after MANY years I shed more than a few tears. It felt, sounded, smelled, and drove just like I remembered.

 

Hey Alan
I was just over at the local vette shop this afternoon, making arrangements to work on my trailing arms with their equipment. I've helped rebuild trailing arms there before...actually quite easy when you have a special fixture and huge bench vise to mount and hold the arm, along with pullers, an acetylene torch and a glass bead blast cabinet.

I was showed a '63 up on the rack getting a frame-on restoration without making it look like it has been freshly done. Very interesting concept. For example, the cleaned and repainted frame is distressed slightly to give it an aged look (patina - ) A completely different concept than over-restoring or rattle-canning for sure. I just wish I had the ability and motivation to restore the car as completely and perfectly as you restored yours.
Dennis

 

VietNam war still going on and your union goes out on strike for 6 months. How patriotic is that?

 

Don't know your age or history, but those were not very patriotic times...at least for many Americans. I guess it wasn't very patriotic either for the wealthy military industrial complex to make huge profits off the war. Meanwhile their children, and those of the politicians, went to Harvard instead of Viet Nam. Don't get me going on this.....

Besides, by 1973 the Navy wasn't exactly shelling Viet Nam with 5 inch deck guns and shooting down MIGS with guided missiles. They forced us to work a lot of overtime before the contract was up in order to satisfy Navy shipments during the strike. Time and a half when the wage was $3.80 probably didn't even dent their profits.

 

62 year old VietNam combat veteran who's enlistment ended in '71.

 

You passed brother, we are the same age. I enlisted as well, rather than being drafted. No combat for me though. Glad to hear you made it back safe. As long as we are checking patriotic credentials, how about your father? Mine was a disabled WWII vet who flew fuel over "The Hump" to the Flying Tigers in China.

 

Hi FR
David Burroughs, (yes, Bloomington Gold), wrote a wonderful book years ago entitled: CORVETTE RESTORATION... STATE OF THE ART, about restoring a car in the manner of the 63 you saw.
I was intrigued when I read about his methods, and stunned when I saw the pictures of the 65 396 car he restored.
A book really about the philosophy of restoration, not a 'how to' book.
FR.... the book really changed 15 years of my life!
Regards,
Alan

PS; I joined the army in September 1966. I try to not remember.

 

Hi Alan
I agree. Those were not good times.

Dave Walters is one of the top, if not the best, Bloomington Survivor judge in the country...been doing it for over 30 years. He received a special recognition award in 2010. I brought the gas tank over to have him look at the sticker. He immediately got his camera out and started taking pictures, even the inside of the tank. I showed him where I just cut the old fuel hoses with a razor blade in order to get the tank out. He noticed the ribbing on the supply hose and said "I wish you hadn't done that...the hose is original. Look at the square ends on the clamps!" I told him "the hose is 42 years old and I am absolutely going to replace it for safety."

Dave refers to really original cars as being "The Truth" because they are undisturbed examples of exactly how the cars left the factory. Every year there are fewer and fewer of them. Maybe some day in the future there will be virtually none left. Who knows.
Dennis

 

Everything is out but the pumpkin and spring. Hoping all the leakage is from the rear seal, because the front pinion seal is not the problem. The rear end makes no noise and the posi does not slip.

The trailing arm nuts came right off, the bolts popped right out. I did it all by myself in less than an hour. After reading all the horror stories about sawzalls and torches I am completely shocked how lucky I am. I am going to rebuild them myself over at the local vette shop.

Tank sticker just ain't coming off and I don't see any need to destroy it. Covered it up with a sheet of plastic and sealed the edges with aluminum tape.

 

another anti union ahole. thats why the country is making 8 bucs an hr. at places like walmart. what an IDIOT. oh, by the way just because you dont like shiny cars dont put everyone that does down. yah, you got me PISSED.

 

Chill out dude. You didn't see the sarcasm in my statement? I was just responding to 69chevy's unpatriotic comment. I guess smarter people than you figured that out.

I'm not impressed by shiny cars when underneath they are a worn out rusty POS. Wasn't putting anybody down. I also don't care if you are pissed.

I don't even know why I visit this forum. Thought it was to help other people with their cars. Really don't need this kind of irritation in my life so thanks to people like you Nutsy, I think I'll just delete my photo albums and get out of here.

 

if there was sarcasm in your statement, your right, i didnt see it but if thats what it was i apologise. just seeing anti union statements gets my pressure up. i just came back from a strike and big greedy companies keep making the middle class life styles harder and harder. again, sorry. Nutsy