So as a little back story to this project, my dad passed away on new years day. With that happening, I inherited his 1968 Stingray. It served as his racecar for 25+years. We have photos of him racing it dating back to at least 1973, when he was just 22 years old. I grew up watching him race this car all around Michigan and cant wait to get behind the drivers seat.

Unfortunately he had health problems for the past 10 years or so and he parked the car one day and never touched it again. With that I have a pretty in depth project ahead of me. My mom and I have the undertaking of cleaning out some of his junk/project cars to clear up the yard this spring. When that happens I will take the opportunity to get this project started by getting some new tires on the rims and getting it moved into one of the stalls of my dad's, now mine, garage.

I was never really into cars until recently and the '68 will be the first project I ever get to really do. I don't know a whole lot about it at the moment other than the fact that it has a 454 cu in big block in it that I will either be swapping out for a smaller engine or dropping the combustion ratio so that is more street driving appropriate. The paint is flaking off so it will need to be redone, but will match how it looks right now including the pin striping. The "Charlie's Toy" vinyl will probably be redesigned to color match the red of the stripe. I've never been a fan of the 80's hologram vinyl that my dad went with but the car will always be his toy and labeled as such. Plus he was a Jr. and I'm the 3rd so it still fits as my toy as well.

I will be doing tons of research in the coming months. Luckily my best friend knows a ton about tearing apart and fixing cars so his help will be used quite a bit. Not sure if we will end up doing a frame on or off restoration. But luckily my dad had 40 years of collecting only c3 Corvette parts so I should have replacements for everything that may need to be replaced. I will keep this thread up to date as the project starts rolling along.

Here's a few pictures as it sits right now.

 

Now that looks like a way cool project. Sorry about your dad, but shoot, I would just get that thing roadworthy, clean it up and drive it. Love the vintage race car look. Love those wheels too. Good luck with it. Restore the little things while you drive it for awhile.

Bill

 

Yeah its gonna be hard not to want to crank it up and do a little burnout the first time it turns over. Before that happens the whole interior will have to be pulled and replaced since there is moss growing inside. Gonna be fun getting it registered since the last plates which are still on it are dated '79 lol.

 

i love the car and love love love that you are honoring and remembering your dad in this way.......you will learn a lot about urself...and even know ur dad in a new way......i agree with 69 t top...drive as u fix.....and who knows..if u paint one day...duplicate the paint..it has legit local race heritage....

 

So the paint in these pictures looks very deceptive. It was lightly misting out when I snapped those so it really make the paint look like its in decent shape. Unfortunately if you look behind the removable hard top you can see how bad the paint is flaking up.

 

You still already have a good start with the flares.

 

Sorry about your dad. I really like that car. Those vintage tires look way cool. The wheels are awesome. I would get it running and safe, clean it up and use it as is. Those flares just call for a race car theme, and its already got it!

 

If that 454 is the original motor (probably unlikely) or if it originally came with a 454, I don't think I'd swap it down in power. You'd have less power and value at the same time, not a good combo.

 

My condolences for you and your family. Beautiful car, more so because it was your Fathers. Do your best to keep it and try to stay with the same colors. Your Dad will be there with you as you build it.
The stance on that thing is freakin awesome.

 

people strive for that look or recreate vintage road race cars....you car is the real deal.......maybe. build..find a mild 396..so it is a bolt in

 

Order of operations:

Make it stop.
Make it go.
Make it go reliably.
Make it go fast.
Make it pretty.

What a killer project car!
Carter

 

What a beast! Your pops really put something bad-*** together on this Corvette! As others mentioned, love the stance and the heavy-metal appearance of a race car, ready to go to war. This will be a great learning experience for you and you've got to know, that your Dad will be right behind you in spirit, watching and cheering you on. All the things he touched and put together are yours now.

The moss growing inside the car really worries me as well as it sitting outside in a bunch of wet leaves! I'm glad you're getting it inside, the sooner the better! Once it's inside, because it sat for ten years, I'd be inspecting the bird cage and making sure that's intact and relatively rust free. Keep us posted on the project.

 

Way cool story. If it were mine, with the sentimental value it has, I would redo the paint just as your dad had intended. While I'm generally not into flares and customized cars, but I'd definitely make an exception for this one!

Don't tone it down too much with respect to power. It probably won't be your daily driver, so the expense for a little high octane fuel isn't that much for the occasional weekend blast. You may find you like it just as it is. Just make sure it's safe to drive with respect to brakes, etc.

Nice project!

 

Yeah I'm a little worried about potential rust on the frame. That's why I think a body off restoration may end up happening. The potentially good news is that there are some frames in the basement of the garage if this one is unsalvageable. I know one is a brand new '73 frame that never had a body on it. Not sure what the other frames are or if there is a difference between a '73s frame and a '68s frame.

 

Always good to have spare parts.

 

If the frame is good, make it safe, shine it up and enjoy. That's a bada$$ stomper with great history.

 

I am pretty sure that 68-74 frames are almost identical. That is what my new GM replacement frame was listed for. There were a couple of extra small brackets in the back that I had to cut off for my 68 coupe. Lou.

 

That might be good to know.

So I was over at my Mom's and popped out to the garage and snapped some pics of the piles of stuff that we have to go through. I didn't even take pictures of everything lol.

'75 vert

Drag car project





There's a Corvette frame under there

 

Cool stuff your dad had there. Some good valuable stuff in there.

 

use what u can....organize sell off stuff to finance the build!