having sold my IH scout and acquiring a 1977 corvette as my new project i have followed this site for 3-4 months before jumping in. The IH community is more likely to come up with innovative ways to solve problems. If your odometer breaks on a scout someone will say "get a 1981 SOmething" and it will interchange and they cost $3. On this site a dozen people will tell you to call Eckler, Zip, Wilcox etc and they have just what you are looking for for $375 + shipping. (and why not get the Chevy dealer to install it while you are at it) It is almost like there could be 2 sites, one for the total DIY and the site for the people that pay other people retail.....am i missing something

 

a lot of Corvette owners, not all, but a lot of them, are very concerned when it comes to parts needed for their car that the parts are as accurate and "correct" as possible. If they participate in NCRS judging than the correct parts are needed for good judging scores. Even if they don't do judging many people still want to keep their Corvette as "correct" as possible so this means buying the correct authentic part or a high quality Repro part such as from one of the many vendors, some of which you mentioned.

Other people aren't as concerned with "correctness" and if a part breaks they are happy replace it with anything that works, even if it's not a correct, exact model of part.

An example is power steering - a lot of people like to add PS to their vette if it didn't come with it. some prefer to go all correct factory Corvette PS parts and that works but can get very pricey while others go for alternative options like the Jeep PS steering box which makes adding PS to your car a bit easier and less expensive.

Depends on the car, it's intended use, is it stock or modified, and the preferenses of the owner.

 

Welcome to the C3 club. Unfortunately you have not looked around here long enough. There are tons of threads of guys restoring parts both mechanical and cosmetic. There are also plenty of long threads showing owners doing full ground up restorations, resto-mods, and many more. However to your point, sometimes what someone needs to repair or replace is beyond saving, therefore we recommend our vendors for several reasons. First, they provide the parts we need and excellent service most of the time. Second, they support this site and our hobby. Third, anyone is welcome to search Ebay, Craigslist, and the sort for parts but most of our experiences have been 50/50 in many cases. Some sellers believe Corvette = Gold and have left some very sour experiences in their wake.

We are happy you came from a vehicle community that offered such bargain prices on parts. Corvettes do have many parts that are interchangeable from a drive train and suspension standpoint and can be had at very reasonable prices. However with so many changes big and small through the years many parts are not interchangeable except across a 2-4 year time span.

Let us know what you are wanting to do to your '77 and I am sure several members will chime in with suggestions and advice. Good luck!

 

i understand the correctness part. i doubt that that matters in the case of a well used 77. The good thing is that seemingly everything is available. There is more than enough savings on building a SBC over an IH 345 or 392 to offset the other stuff. I am aiming for a daily dependable driver that runs, stops and turns better than 1977 (and looks pretty good from ten feet) i.e. a DIY paint job <$1000

 

Welcome to the site emitchum.

I'd say you are right on the money. There are some Corvette owners that think like you and have either gotten run off or left on their own.
A few remain here. Most on the other hand, will label anything modified or "unoriginal" as "bubba" while they buy their Chinese made replacement original parts from a handful of retailers all selling the same parts from the same foreign manufacturers.


Bottom line, you just opened a can of worms.
Welcome to the Vette community.

 

DIY paintjob for less than $1,000??
good luck on that even if you do it all yourself. I had both my '65 and my '78 painted a few years ago ( winter of '04/'05 on the '65 and winter of '05/'06 for the '78) and in both cases just the paint supplies alone cost well more than $1,000, on each! We are talking easily almost $1500 just for the primer, basecoats, and clearcoat supplies.Prices are higher now compared to back than so if you can get paint supplies to do your car for under $1,000 it must be low quality product.

 

And awaaaaaaaay we go.


IBTL

 

you have a problem with what I said?!

 

You are. And understandably so. Part of using this forum to work on these unusual cars is knowing how to as the questions, and being able to fiddle with the site's finicky search function. This takes a bit of time and practice.

I've had many different makes over the years, and like you I try to be a DIY'r - some forums are all over that, others are about who to hire to do the work, and everything in between. There is some, not a lot, of the type of information you're seeking here.

It is true that corvette folks are a bit more "purist", but some of use have active threads where we retrofit steering, brakes, engine, suspension, you name it. BUT we are the minority.

What I think I hear, reading between the lines of your post, is you have always sought effective, low budget solutions. I think your talents and experience in this end of the car hobby will be a welcome addition to the forum and you'll probably have more to contribute through your own innovations than the forum will be able to provide.

Again, welcome! I look forward to watching the work on your car unfold in the threads

 

Oh, and yes your observation is correct. Its an economic fact, that the moment you put "Corvette" in front of something, the price immediatly goes up. Drives me bonkers, but I love Corvettes.

 

I am renovating a 77 myself, I think you will find that there are enough people here and in all the usual places parting out stuff so you'll find good deals on OE parts when you need them. Welcome aboard and have fun with it!

 

Welp...
Yes I do.

$1500 just for materials? Sure you may have paid that. Maybe you did. Maybe your shop charged you handlying fees. Maybe you overpaid or maybe you spent your money on very high end product, but to state that getting supplies "for under $1000 it must be low quality product." is nonsense. Just had my car sprayed in spring of 2010. 2 stage. Dupont. primer, sealer, 3 coats color 3 coats clear...total material was under $1k.

Now we're back to the "if you don't spend lots of money, it must be crap" thread.

 

Guys, Pls don't. Esp on a new member's thread. PM each other and figure it out.

 

Yes, you are missing something.

1. There's much better aftermarket support for C3's than for an IH Scout. In fact, I'd venture a guess that there is no vintage sports car in the world with a better aftermarket than the Corvette. Thus, many people will simply tell you where to get the part you're looking for as opposed to how to fab/build/bubba up something else that works.

2. Much of this community is concerned with factory correctness. I daresay that's not as much of a concern with a Scout. I don't count myself among the NCRS ranks, but when it comes to putting on something that works and looks right v/s something that works but increases my frankenvette quotient, I'll probably opt for the prior.

3. If you think there are none here who can fabricate, modify, borrow, and adapt parts to our cars, then you are sorely mistaken and haven't been paying attention.

 

nope, used PPG materials on the '65 and Sikkens on the '78. Used "middle level" from both brands, not the most expensive and not their "cheapo, economy" level.
I purchased the materials from the paint supplier, not the painter.
This is now 6 and 7 years later and if you can get similar quality materials for under $1,000 than I'd be VERY amazed.

bottom line is simple though, NOT ONCE did I type or imply that if you don't spend lots of money than it must be crap so do not put words in my mouth that I didn't say.
I DID say that for pricing under $1,000 it WILL be lower quality materials than went on my car because it wil be, simple pricing facts but I never said it was "crap".
You came into this thread with your first post already looking for trouble saying that people like the OP have been run off, or that most people on here feel that anything short of full stock original is bubba'd or modified is bad. I completely disagree and think there is a good mix on this site of both purists that like stock "correct" cars and others that like modified cars.
I'd say it's YOUR attitude that drives off more newbies than anything else.
I'm simply trying to give the OP a realistic answer to his questions. If you have issues with that than too bad.

 

don't worry Robb, I'm done with that other p[oster, I won't be responding to him anymore for the sake of the OP and the thread.
It's a shame when people have to jump in with negative attitudes rather than actually trying to be helpful.

 

Buy your parts at NAPA. Most anything you need mechanical you can get there or they can get it from regional warehouses in 1-2 days.

 

Please don't correct other's incorrect statements? Status quo misinformation is ok here?

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on why members leave. As for there being a "mixture" of purists and not, of course. It's 9:1, but it's a mixture.

By supplying an honest answer and welcoming a new member to the site, I've offended him?

What part of stating "low quality" is not calling his budget crap? And no, you where not just "comparing". My attitude only offends the elitists that the OP is asking about.

A quality DIY paint job can easily be done for under $1K.

 

If you can do a nice paint job for less than a grand, definitely take some pics, and do a little write up on how you did it, what techniques you used, what you did to save money, etc.. I, for one, would welcome such info. Welcome to the forum, and just ignore the bickering, that's what I do.


Scott