Alan 71

Hi Craig,
You're right.
They weren't perfect but they will still pretty nicely put together originally.

It's a pleasure to see the work you're putting into it.
Regards,
Alan

CraigH

Laid up glass and put the sectioned front apron back together





Has all been sanded smooth now but not these shots

CraigH

To get both grills to sit properly and align with the line of the bumper i needed to change the shape of the grill opening on the drivers side.

I also found an over supply of bog or VPA in the lower valence so it came out and got glassed.





Mocked up the grill to see if its close.









Very close, and once I work the new glass flat will see if i need to add any more.

Can run my eye along the grills from all angles and it aligns with bottom of bumper nicely.

In the end I needed to move the mounting glass out byp 2-5 mm in the lower corner and front to sit even.

Next step will be to modify the bumper brackets for the bumperettes as they both hit the headlights by a few mm when the swing down.

Always something else but I feel I am getting closer.

wabco40

Looking really good Craig

I think it's worth the extra effort to get it all lined up and even.

Be interested to see how much of a gap you end up with between the bottom of the bumper and bumperette. I think mine is about 10 mil or so.

CraigH

I think it will be around 10 mm Brad from my trial fit.

May have to elongate the holes in the bumperette brackets as well.

Alan 71

Hi Craig,
This fit looks especially nice!!!

On a nice car it's so important to settle these things NOW and NOT just rush to get the primer on!

Have you thought about taking a few minutes to put the wheels back on so you can put the car back on the ground?
This will give you a slightly different perspective and you might spot something you're not seeing now.
Regards,
Alan

CraigH

Thanks Alan,

Am very happy with the progress.

I will be dropping it down after I get it fully mocked up and go for a drive to settle suspension etc, then check it all again.

I agree, I was hoping to have it to painter before now but have decided to focus more on fixing a few other issues and not worry about if I get it done by the year end.

If I do great but If not.....

CraigH

Spent some time on the first bumperette. Drilled a new 16mm hole on the chin glass then adjusted to grille.





















Will add some aluminium tubing to the bolts so they tighten down but don't crush the glass on the chin. (thanks for that tip Alan re factory washer)

Will also have to make 2 new reinforcing brackets between frame and bottom bolt as existing ones are bent wrong and don't align properly.

doorgunner

CraigH.........you never would have lasted on the assembly line.......

your parts fit together properly as opposed to GM specs.

mysticpete

Haha just what I was thinking, why would someone go to so much trouble to make an imperfect thing perfect! But full marks for trying

Primoz

Craig NCRS wouldn't like you either!
That is way too pedantic if you compare to original build quality.
I know when I repainted my car the bumperettes were all over the place!

mysticpete

Adds a bit of authenticity and character to each car if you ask me

Primoz

CraigH

Authenticity is one thing but I am also trying to correct some bad work that was done on the drivers front corner in the cars previous lives.

When I first got it in 2009 and tried to fit the chin spoiler I noticed how far out the two sides were.

I did some surgery back then to lower one side but was limited in where i could cut it as it needed to be hidden by the bumperette etc.

However this time around I am trying to make both sides at least the same :-)

Be assured there are still so many faults etc with the Vette but I can live with them.

I have certainly seen my share of badly aligned front grills, bumpers and bumperette but unfortunately now I have started I can’t stop till they are at least aligned and look pleasing to my eye -

That’s the problem with being **** retentive -

Primoz

That is the way to go Craig! Keep up the good work!

caskiguy

You're setting the bar pretty high for me in my rebuild :-)
Thanks for posting all your great work.

CraigH

Happy for all comments guys and certainly no disrespect in what is said.

As I said I can see from behind the panels exactly where new parts have been fitted over time on the front drivers corner and apron.

While I was relatively happy with the appearance before, now its about to get the front painted again for another reason I was certainly not going to miss the opportunity to improve on things.

A new bumper showed that the old repair was made to fit a misshaped bumper etc etc.

It is true that I take things to extreme on occasion but the work is certainly not flawless.

I only wish I had the skills as seen in the thread mentioned by Alan that cut and sectioned the bumpers to make them fit so smoothly.

Any US car built in the 70's certainly had quality and consistency issues but there are so many points in the front to adjust the bars etc that it often becomes too much of a pain when trying to refit it all 40 years down the track and easier to say they were all misaligned and that adds character.

In the factory i assume they had jigs or alignment processes to get them all relatively similar.

I will just keep plodding away at it and welcome all views

mysticpete

My front end passenger side squeaks like billy ho non stop, even I can make it do it standing still, but it's like, awe I'll get round to it at some point, for now.... I just wanna drive!

CraigH

I understand what your saying and I was all set to get out and drive the Vette more in March this year. In fact I was so happy with the way it was driving after the last front suspension upgrades I went for another quick spin with my son to show him and “bang” damage from a moron tossing beer bottles at 80kph.
Since then I have been talking with insurer , and doing extra bits and pieces before it gets some paint repair.

Hopefully back on road by end this year or early next.

The big issue is work family etc seem to get in the way :-)

mysticpete

I know exactly where you are coming from, fortunately after my divorce I found I had a whole week of selfish Vette loving in between having my boys with me, Whoohoo! Never a good reason for a divorce tho but it did have its benefits, like more money to pour in the Vette bucket, you know the one with no bottom in!!