Bel

MSGT-R - I like your sticktooitiveness. Most would loose their dream over those years. My brother has had his '66 Vette for some 44 years now, and still dreams of just getting her back on the road as a start. Me . . I waited 42 years after selling my '65 Fuelie (Yes regret), and 2 years ago purchased my '70 Vert (Road worthy and a head turner) following some clean up and new parts. Owning a Vette is a love hate relationship at times, but if you are a true Vette lover, she always brings a smile to your face and a warm comfy feeling every time you see or touch her. We that simply have Vettes dream every day with our eyes wide open. Enjoy your dream. I'm sure you'll make her a reality.

MSGT-R

I'll sure give it a try! It's old and simple to work on. I like that.
I've already had someone wanting to pay me 10k for it because of all the extra stuff I've accumulated.

Jethro Bodine

So wheres the picture of your vette ? MSGT

MSGT-R

Well, it looks pretty humble right now, so here's reality vs. a model of what I want to end up with.

Bel

That's what dreams are made of MSGT-R. I love the model look. There's the template . . . go for it. And remember patience is key. First make her mechanically road worthy . . then detail her out. Patience on the parts end will offer the best prices in the long run. And if she's to be a driver, don't be too fussy on those details. A 10 footer driver Vette "will turn heads". A trailer queen will simply sit in the garage with a cover on it. As I say at work, "I'm living the dream"! Go for yours with both eyes wide open.

MSGT-R

Thanks. No trailer queens for me.
My last restoration and performance upgrade was my 81 Goldwing and she turned heads too - all but the butthole that started his left turn right on top of me mid-block early last year.

It took me 3 years of weekends to restore that one.
My husband was on it for this picture:

427Swede

In May 2009 I sold my Camaro 1976 and Volvo P18001966 that I had owned since 1984 and 1987, both totally restored, to fund the car of my dreams since I was a kid, a Corvette.

In July of 2009 I bought this car, an early 1969 427 L36 with matching nr. engine. The gearbox was originally a 4 speed but unfortunately someone had changed it for a TH350...

The car was imported to Sweden in 1987 and then only used during the summers.
During my restoration I found the markings on the frame to be 8-5-68, August fifth 1968. I was born August third 1968 so one can say we really are meant to be together!!

Anyway, a few photos.

Regards, Daniel





And the frame dating:

MSGT-R

God that looks gorgeous!

doorgunner

Forgive me if I already posted here (brain damage courtesy Viet Nam War ''71-'73....LOL)

I've wanted one since the summer of '68......fast forward to Summer of '13...

"It's a Rescue-Puppy......................errrrr....... ....Vette!"

Jethro Bodine

Looks awsome. That old ford truck looks frigin cool too! For A FORD.. LOL

69427

Got the Corvette bug in grade school. A friend of my dad's loaned him his silver '63 FI SWC overnight, and my parents, my sister and I went for a cruise that evening (my sister and I sat in the back). One ride and I was hooked.
Our family moved to Alaska a couple years later, and in the summer ('72) before my senior year of high school I bought a '61. Loved the car and had tons of fun in it on the winding mountain roads there. Reality struck one day when I tried to keep up with a couple of C3s on those roads. I quickly realized that suspension technology had progressed since my '61 was built, and perhaps I should look into getting a C3 one day. Was working at a gas station in HS when a guy had earlier dropped off his '68 for a tire repair. Boss told me to bring the car into the garage to swap the tire, so I grabbed the keys and went out to get the car. As soon as I sat down in it and saw the view over the hood and the shapes of the fenders I knew I had to have one soon.
Sold the '61 in summer of '73 and bought my '69 in Anchorage in October that year (40 years this month!). The owner wanted $3600 for it (gas crunch at the time, and only fools bought a BB then). I explained that $3565 was every dime I had in the world, and would he take it. He did, and then I had to write a bad check at a local gas station to buy enough fuel to drive it the 150 miles home (I borrowed some money from family and was at the bank first thing Monday morning to cover the check before it got there). Thought I was going to total the car on the drive home. I came up to a tight corner after a reasonably fast downhill section and was certain I was going to hit the outside guard rail. To my great surprise and relief the car just steered through the corner, no big deal. I thought, holy crap, if I was still in the '61 I would have balled it up right there big time. Right there I was sold on the handling performance of that car.
For a while, at least. Over the years I went through all the suspension upgrade bandaids for the C3 but was never totally happy with the handling. After adding a used '84 (Z51) to the toy collection I realized that I am not going to get a C3 to handle as well as the newer Corvettes without a substantial suspension change. A few years ago I bought a used '69 frame and with a lot of cutting and welding I put a narrowed C4 suspension on it (so I can use stock C3 wheels on it for a stock look when driving it on the street) and transplanted the body on the "new" frame. Very happy with how it handles now. Best thing I've ever done for the car and me.

doorgunner

Off topic......but the good news is.....it has a '93 Chevy truck drive train/4 barrel/700R4/dual exhaust courtesy two spare Harley Davidson tapered chrome "mufflers".....which will be cloned onto the convertible because of the rumble!



Now......Back to the original topic!

MSGT-R

Nice engine stand!!!

Scott_M

In Australia Corvettes are not common & a good one is even harder to find. At car shows there are quite a few Camaros & Mustangs however the Vettes are scarce.
I had always wanted one as a child and dreamed that one day it would be a reality. Just like kids dream of being an astronaut I never thought it would come to fruition.

Eventually in the mid 2000's i purchased a 1989 Camaro IrocZ tune Port Injected 350 and loved it. Sadly in 2007 we had a huge flood and thousands of cars were written off. The water went over the Camaros roof ...... it was gone.

So I drove around for a couple of years in a turbo R33 Skyline but my friends kept reminding me "Friends dont let friends drive rice".

So i went looking for a project Corvette to restore when I came across a local importer who had a 1978 model. It needed a lot of work. Silver paint faded, lots of cracks in the fibreglass, interior needed a full revamp. Pretty much it was going to be a ground up rebuild. Had we been able to settle on a price I may have taken it on until he mentioned he had a 95% restored 1974 Big Block manual in his shed at home with side pipes.

I had to go and have a look right ?!? He also had a fully restored 68 convertable mustang, the baddest Camaro with a blown 468 in it along with a turbo 911 porsche.

Turned out his son liked my Skyline & offered to trade for the Corvette with a moderate cash difference his way.
Well once the shed door went up I had to have it. After hearing it start I definitely had to have it. After taking it for a drive it was a matter of going home to battle it out with the wife. After agreeing to build her a new house the deal was done.

A few days later I was driving it home. I was a bit worried about burning my legs on the side pipes. He said "Dont worry you will only do it once". well he was wrong....I burnt the back of both my legs on the side pipes pretty badly twice on the first day. A set of polished laser cut stainless heat guards has fixed that up.

I love this car. It is a beast. Its dangerously fast & snarly to drive. 468 cubes with a 4 speed muncie someone spent a lot of money on the engine. Huge cam, roller rockers, 870cfm street strip Avenger Holley, Edelbrock manifold, MSD ignition, massive Hooker headers into 4" side pipes. Even fitted with plenty of ride & braking upgrades such as bilstein suspension, carbon fibre rear mono, drilled & ventilated rotors etc I am cautious that things can go wrong very fast.

Fitted 15 x 10 x 275's under the back recently for more traction. Next project may be to import a set of the 2 inch flared moulded rear guards so it all fits under a bit neater.

I just came back from a 4 week trip to the USA & whilst there was looking at dozens of late model Camaros. However I ended up spending 2 hours at a Dodge dealership and fell in love with the new SRT8 Challenger. Best now I go and ask the wife what she wants this time !

sgtwallydog

I married a woman that had and crashed 4 stingrays. When I sold my house due to medical bills and lawsuits by the hospital, we rented a hut in ventura ca. saw an ad in the local paper for a 75 coupe. she said yesssss, I said mine.75k on all original L48 mille miglia red. so far had to replace the brakes, installed a 700r4, gymkhana springs front and rear. other than that she is a peach. made an offer to a guy that had a 75 all numbers project 7500.usd he said no. I paid 8k for the peach, now mine for life!

Stratcat70

I bought a 76 Stingray from a co-worker about 10 years. He took it completely apart, piece by piece, and planned on turning it into a drag car. He thought the frame was rotten and sold it to me cheap. I brought it home piece by piece in my truck. He was going to part it out. The shell had been sitting in a field for a couple years. I took the frame and had it media blasted and painted, and turns out it is perfect. I've been doing the family thing, raising 3 young boys, and new house, so progress is slow. I make it a goal to get SOMETHING done on it every year. Now the boys are at the age where they want to help me It's been a good year, and now have a complete rolling chassis. I can't wait to hear the engine run, since I built it up with some nice components. Next year, I should be able to drive it around the neighborhood under its own power. It will still be a couple years before it's a show car, but it will be great to be able to drive it!

1976 L-48 Stingray - Buckskin exterior (some day Torch Red), Buckskin leather interior.

Mikeatmartel

My 1968 came into my possession while touring SE Asia in the summer of 1968. My neighbor, who worked for a Chevy dealer, told my father about this car sitting in a storage area of the dealership. I had been looking for a car to purchase when returning stateside. Used my entire life savings to purchase the car, not really much of a lifetime as 21 isn't a real long life. The car was sitting in my parents drive waiting for me on my arrival home. The car and I have traveled over the much of the USA, see the USA in your Chevrolet.

It has been with me ever since, has always been a source joy, well except for the windshield wiper system which leaves a mite to be desired. Currently it is sitting in building next to my barn and is being slowly brought back into shape. The work going on with the car is why I found this site, looking for others experience and hoping not to make this any harder or more expensive than need be.

Since I am not concerned with keeping it completely stock, it seems at one time saw a conversion system that removed the wiper door cover, does anyone know lf such a thing is available? Thanks

Bob Heine

Mikeatmartel,

ACI, Corvette America, Corvette Central, Ecklers, Mid America and ZIP all sell hoods that eliminate the wiper door. I have one from Ecklers on my 72. However, these are not stock small-block hoods. Most are L-88 or custom style hoods.


It is also possible to install a 73 or later hood. I haven't done or seen this done but they are out there.

Fair Warning: The back edges of the aftermarket and 73 style hoods do not line up with the tops of your 68 fenders. The fenders have to be built up about an inch, after you remove the stainless trim plates.

Mikeatmartel

Bob Heine, thank you for the response. Have been on the corvette central website several times ordering parts in the last few weeks ordering parts and missed that completely. The pictures and warning about fit were also very helpful. Thanks again

MANUL

I bought my vet in Russia, I think you've read my story, so here is the owner told me that the car was a '79 in the same hands. In America, it was presented to her husband on the wedding anniversary to his wife, so the glass roof and painted flowers. And on the ashtray has a monogram led and managed the David and Barbara Gangemi.