Hi All-

I've been a member on CF for about 6 years now but I previously had a 2000 convertible that I recently sold for my new 2012 Camaro ZL1. After missing having a Corvette in my garage, I decided it would be cool to find a project car that I could work on. My dad has 5 Corvettes and it planning to help me on this project since I have never taken something this big (besides a home remodel)!

Here is what I know about the car:

It's a 1973 Coupe, Dark Blue Metallic with a Blue interior. It has power windows and locks, and A/C. The story of how I came to purchase it is:

The previous owner bought the car from a guy in Chicago about 2 months ago with the intention to restore the car. The guy in Chicago purchased the car from a salvage yard after it was recovered from a theft. During the theft, the car was completely stripped of anything of value, so it has no engine, tranny, interior, A/C, wheels, tires, exhaust system, etc. Also, the salvage yard did some minor body damage moving it around with no wheels so there are a few cracks that need to be addressed. The previous owner started buying replacement parts for the car, including a hood, seats, heater core, emblems, etc. Unfortunately, he was recently diagnosed with cancer and needs to focus on treatments instead of restoring the car. After visiting yesterday and evaluating the overall condition of the car, along with a few of my well educated Corvette friends, I decide to make an offer on the car. We agreed on $3100, including all the parts and a set of wheels and tires that he was purchasing to get it rolling.

Overall, the frame is in great shape with little rust, the birdcage is also in great shape. The body is straight and solid except for the recent forklift damage.

Luckily, my dad is doing a motor swap in his 79 Vette, and is going to give me the L82 engine and tranny for this one. Another friend of ours is an Al Knoch distributor and will sell me the interior at cost. I also have some friends that have some fiberglassing skills, so that part is also covered. There will be many parts still needed, but I have some great Corvette friends around, including my dad who are just as excited to see this project get going as I am. I am thinking this should make for a pretty fun project to take on with my dad and I'll have a pretty awesome car when it's done.

Here are a few pics to start with:















Let me know what you think!

 

Good looking project... Same color combo my '73 vert came with from the factory... Keep us posted on your progress...

Rogman

 

Looks great, congratulations. Strange but in the past few weeks 73's are showing up on the forum.

8Valve

 

Congratulations on your 73 purchase, getting back in a Vette and good luck with the project!

 

This car was on eBay for a while, I believe it "sold" a few times to dead beat bidders. I'm glad that someone from the forum got their hands on it and can restore it like it should be. Good luck with your project!

 

Good luck with your project. I'm in a similar situation. I bought a 73 project car last summer. I finally started to strip it this weekend. My experience level is minimal as well. Some people can't understand this, but for me, it's about the learning experience. I'm sure I'll enjoy the car in the end, but it's the journey that's really important. I'm going to start a restoration thread as soon as I get enough progress.

 

Your are going to enjoy the build. Looks like you have the resources to get the job done.

 

The fun begins here.......

-W

 

Thanks guys! I know it's going to be a long road to completion, but I have a ton of great people around to help out. I am really looking forward to getting it going I'm the next few weeks. Now we just need to figure out where we are going to start!

 

Looks like a fun project. Congrats and welcome to the wonderful world of the 73 Vette

 

Congrats on the new project, and welcome to the elite 73ers.

 

It doesn't matter where you start. In no time the "while I'm in there" factor will have the whole car apart anyway.

-W

 

Great point! We were trying to decide if we wanted to go body off or not, but I'm thinking that may be the best route after researching a little more. I can't wait to get started!

 

 

Hello congratulations on your purchase, and what looks like a LOT of project work ahead of you for you and your friends.

Thanks for saving another 73 from the salvage graveyard.

kdf- 1973 owner

 

Congrats! Looking forward to watching your progress.

 

Well, since there's no motor, tranny or interior ...and since you'll probably want to change out the body mounts anyway, you are just a few hours more to get the body off the frame. The only thing would be if you want to get it on the road right away, or by summers' end. If you don't, I'd take the body off and blast the frame clean and put in all new suspension bushings, ball joints and things like that. The steering will need to be gone through

 

 

FOrget driving her this summer. I agree with the others, Pull the body and do the frame suspension and steering, brakes and anything else that needs attention. Then you know your good to go without any future problems.

8Valve

 

That's pretty much the plan as I am seeing it. It just makes sense to pull the body and address everything underneath. I have no intentions of it being done this summer (or even drivable), but I am hoping we can get it done by this time next next year.

Once the car actually gets delivered, we can start figuring out the details. Hopefully that will be sometime in the next 2 weeks. The car is local, but due to me travel schedule at work I am limited to when I can be there.