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Great job! I assume you live in Michigan but can't tell as you don't have your profile filled out.
I had an 81 several years ago that had been professionally turned into a convertible. It got a lot of attention at the local car shows.
Just a couple of suggestions/tips. When working on my brakes, suspension and steering I was able to get my parts at Muskegon Brake in Muskegon, MI. I was only about an hour away.
There is also a place in Belding, MI called Caledonia Classic Cars that makes NOS frame parts. Good people.
Since you have it apart this far you might consider installing an overdrive transmission. Mine had the TH350 and I really wished that it had that extra gear.
If I remember correctly, the rear end on the 81 is aluminum. It may not stand up well to the torque of a 383. I built my engine into a 355 with a mild cam and aftermarket heads/intake/carb etc. I had no problem with the stock rear end though.
I could not tell from your pics but I did not see the rear spring. I had the heavy duty steel springs and REALLY did not like the ride. Replace it with a fiberglass one if at all possible.
I have a good, reasonable upholstery shop in my area (just East of Grand Rapids) if you need one.
Good luck. Wish I could help you out but my health is not what it was when I was younger. I have probably made every stupid mistake you can make with Corvettes over the years so I can certainly tell you what NOT to do. Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.
Sorry for the pre-digital age pic.
No problem on the pic, I have a few pre-digital myself. Very sharp car, I remember seeing it before when I was doing my research. I updated my info so everyone can see that, yes I am from Michigan, Dundee to be exact. Most people know it as the home of Cabela's. Thanks for the tips, I can always use them. I have done many hours of reading on Corvettes, but I am always open to opinions and suggestions, especially form owners that have experience with what works and what doesn't. I have already planned on changing out the Turbo 350 with a T56. I like to shift and that's a well documented update. As far as an engine, I was leaning toward a mild 383, only because they seem to be reasonable and easy to find, unless I can find a good deal on a 355 then I would go with that. I'm not going to be racing or tearing up the streets, so I think the stock rear end will do for now, and yes it's aluminum. I may end up changing out the gear later, but we will see how that goes. Of course now would be the time to do that, with it out of the car. Anyway, still doing a lot of research and reading, especially other builds. I shouldn't have any problems, there is a lot of good info on this site, and forum member like you that are willing to help out. Thanks again for checking in, and check back once in a while to see the progress. I hope to keep a steady pace, but we aren't going to break any build records.......Terre
So here are my starting tools of choice for cleaning up the frame. I will have to add some smaller wheels for my die grinder to get in the tight areas, but so far it looks like these will do a pretty nice job. I spent about 20 minutes cleaning up some of the frame to see how it works. My target for paint is 2 weeks, we will see how it goes. Enjoy the pics....Terre
Didn't get a chance to work on the car this week, temps here weren't to favorable for spending any time in the garage. I did get another box of needed parts today though. Picked up a complete set of wiring harnesses from another 81, so we are all set on the wiring part now.
Didn't get a chance to work on the car this week, temps here weren't to favorable for spending any time in the garage. I did get another box of needed parts today though. Picked up a complete set of wiring harnesses from another 81, so we are all set on the wiring part now.
Thanks for the encouragement jomor, just waiting for some warmer temps. I just read in the paper we have broke a 140 record for the coldest February, which I can certainly believe. So for the last couple of weeks nothing has happened. Once we get rolling I hope we can make some good progress. Look for some update coming in March.
What are the plans for the frame? Are you going to just paint it or apply an epoxy coating to it?
Hope you are doing all this work for the fun and enjoyment and not any kind of investment as an '81 is not a highly sought after Covette with a large price tag. (I have an '81 so I know).....LOL......
What are the plans for the frame? Are you going to just paint it or apply an epoxy coating to it?
Hope you are doing all this work for the fun and enjoyment and not any kind of investment as an '81 is not a highly sought after Covette with a large price tag. (I have an '81 so I know).....LOL......
The plan is to use a couple of products I have left over from other projects. It's going to be a two step process. The first step is to coat the frame with the product called Chassis Saver, which is a rust preventative coating. It claims you can spray it right over rust and it will seal it in, never to return. The only drawback is it needs a top coat to any area that would be exposed to sun light. So for the topcoat I will be using Eastwood's chassis paint, which is epoxy based.
As for the car, I have no expectations of making any money on the project, most likely I would lose money if I wanted to sell the car when I am done, but the plan is to keep it and enjoy it. It's certainly not an investment, for the reasons you already stated, but the 80-82's are my favorite model years, I just love the look. The time and money spent are more like therapy to me, it helps me keep my sanity. I feel more at home in the garage, bringing old worn out things back to like new condition. So far, of all of the projects I have done, none have made me any money, if I was lucky, I may have broke even. Most have cost me money, but the fun and enjoyment of the project is priceless. Thanks for chiming in, looking forward to warmer days and more time spent in therapy.
As for the car, I have no expectations of making any money on the project, most likely I would lose money if I wanted to sell the car when I am done, but the plan is to keep it and enjoy it. It's certainly not an investment, for the reasons you already stated, but the 80-82's are my favorite model years, I just love the look. The time and money spent are more like therapy to me, it helps me keep my sanity. I feel more at home in the garage, bringing old worn out things back to like new condition. So far, of all of the projects I have done, none have made me any money, if I was lucky, I may have broke even. Most have cost me money, but the fun and enjoyment of the project is priceless. Thanks for chiming in, looking forward to warmer days and more time spent in therapy. [/QUOTE]
What's the date on the show? Mine won't be done, but I wouldn't mind coming down and taking a look at the cars and the swap area.
Sunday, April 19th, 7:00-3:00 at the Monroe Country Fairgrounds. It's on M50, I'm sure living in Dundee you know what that is. It's the only road you guys got there!
Sunday, April 19th, 7:00-3:00 at the Monroe Country Fairgrounds. It's on M50, I'm sure living in Dundee you know what that is. It's the only road you guys got there!
Yep, been there many times attending the summer fair. I will put that one on my calendar as a must attend. I love the ones close to home.
Wow, good save on a nice '81! Love that color. Very nice and I applaud your hard work and efforts, sir.
Later,
Lee
Thanks Lee I appreciate the kind words. It's not really work when you are doing something you love. The hard part will be seeing it through to the end, there is a lot of work ahead of me, but I will enjoy every moment of time spent on it. Keep checking back from time to time to see the progress, warmer weather is on the way, so I will be spending more time on it as the temps go up! Enjoy....Terre
Very cool thread. Good to see someone saving a car that I would suspect would have wound up as a parts car. Good luck and have fun with it. Do you plan on keeping it yellow? Yellow Vettes are extremely cool. IMHO. Yellow or Frost beige are the two colors I am trying to decide on for mine.
BTW. Love your garage!
Very cool thread. Good to see someone saving a car that I would suspect would have wound up as a parts car. Good luck and have fun with it. Do you plan on keeping it yellow? Yellow Vettes are extremely cool. IMHO. Yellow or Frost beige are the two colors I am trying to decide on for mine.
BTW. Love your garage!
Thanks Persuader, I have been following your thread as well, and have picked up some good info so far, so keep posting. I actually talked to the person who was second in line to look at the car. He called me on the front bumper I had listed for sale. He said he was going to buy the car for the interior, so it would have been parted out for sure. Definitely going to keep it yellow, it's one of my favorite colors on a vette. I'm just not sure if I am going with the stock yellow or a different one. This one seems to have a little more orange in the color, so I may look for one that is more of a true yellow. I don't want a pale yellow either, it has to be nice and bright. But I guess I have plenty of time to think about it before deciding, hopefully by the end of summer we will have to decide. The garage is a work in progress, been living here for 15 years and just got the walls painted last summer, now on to the ceiling. This garage has seen it's share of projects for sure, and thanks for the compliment. Later... Terre
Friday morning was -2, today was 43, welcome to Michigan weather. So now that we can maintain some heat in the garage we are back at it again. I decided to hold off on the frame until it warms up a little more and I can paint outside, not a big fan of painting inside with the heater going. So today I decided to start rebuilding some of the parts going back on the car.
First we will start with something easy, the brake proportioning valve and a couple of fittings.
Cleaned up pretty nice, using a soft wire wheel.
Now on to some of the front suspension components.
Just going to work on these three pieces for today. The power steering control valve and cylinder will be set aside for another day, and the rest will be replaced with new.
De-greased, stripped and ready for paint.
Painted and ready to go back together.
The weather looks good this week, so the plan is to do the rebuild on the control valve and cylinder. Hopefully we are past the real cold weather so we can make some steady progress each week. Later....Terre
i am getting ready to clean up my steering stuff too. Although all of the steering stuff on mine is all either new or rebuilt. the PO never bothered to throw at least a little paint at them.
Work is continuing although pretty slow right now. I did get some more parts in the week, including a nice used windshield washer fluid tank, with pump, and a set of new windshield molding clips. Parts rebuilding has continued with the power steering cylinder. Next up is the control valve.
All projects require a source of funding and this one is no different. So I spent Saturday afternoon cleaning up my Yamaha FJR1300. This is now for sale and is one of the sources for funding this project. It's a nice bike so if you know of anyone looking for an FJR1300 this one is for sale.
02-02-2015, 09:29 PM
[QUOTE
IMHO. Yellow or Frost beige are the two colors I am trying to decide on for mine.
This garage has seen it's share of projects for sure, and thanks for the compliment. Later... Terre
