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Whoa.... I did not expect this and I'll say I'm certainly glad I stumbled upon this post. First off, Nice work! You're clearly someone who knows how to get things done. 10X what I was expecting from the first post but what an unbelievable car you're going to have when completed. Thanks for sharing the updates with us as that is a undertaking in itself.
Your first post grabbed my attention because I recently picked up a 78 L82 4spd (very similar to your initial purchase/decision) and was asking the same questions. Entry cost vs. what I'd put into it. What's the end goal. Mine is just to have some fun so I decided to do it. I've gone through the brakes, plugs, etc and I've got her running and driving. I'm sorting out the interior and trying to decide if I'm going to take on painting her myself.
Please keep us in the loop as the project continues and although I'm light years behind your build, it's still a lot of fun to get these neglected C3s back on the road.
Whoa.... I did not expect this and I'll say I'm certainly glad I stumbled upon this post. First off, Nice work! You're clearly someone who knows how to get things done. 10X what I was expecting from the first post but what an unbelievable car you're going to have when completed. Thanks for sharing the updates with us as that is a undertaking in itself.
Your first post grabbed my attention because I recently picked up a 78 L82 4spd (very similar to your initial purchase/decision) and was asking the same questions. Entry cost vs. what I'd put into it. What's the end goal. Mine is just to have some fun so I decided to do it. I've gone through the brakes, plugs, etc and I've got her running and driving. I'm sorting out the interior and trying to decide if I'm going to take on painting her myself.
Please keep us in the loop as the project continues and although I'm light years behind your build, it's still a lot of fun to get these neglected C3s back on the road.
Thanks alot! That's a good looking '78, body seems very straight! What finally swayed me to paint mine was the quotes I received. Cheapest quote I got was $10,000. Either way you go, I wish you the best of luck!
Unfortunately, I went to tighten all of my body bolts last night, and the number 2 mount on the passenger side starting spinning, much to my disbelief. During disassembly, I was able to remove the rusted up body bolt from that mount without issue. Before dropping the body on, I visually inspected the nut certs, ran a tap through all of them, and made sure the new bolts went in by hand. Then upon installation of the new bolts, I coated everything in never seize, and about the time that bolt got "snug", I felt it let go and start spinning. Interestingly, I was able to reverse it with no spinning, and get the bolt out no problem. So I guess this weekend, the body is coming back off so I can figure out and fix whatever is going on with that mount. 2 steps forward, and 1 step back I guess. Good news is I was able to mock up my wheels and decide that I am going to run offset trailing arms, so I got those ordered, and they will be easier to replace with the body off.
I will continue updating with more pictures as it gets closer to completion. Definitely and expensive, but exciting part of the build right now!
I'm lucky I have another C3 to play with so I had to think about taking another on.... but how could you pass up a low mile rust free 4spd car (at least in the Northeast) with boxes of NOS parts for super cheap?
BTW.... I love the color you chose and here is my 81 so you can see why I'm biased.
I'm lucky I have another C3 to play with so I had to think about taking another on.... but how could you pass up a low mile rust free 4spd car (at least in the Northeast) with boxes of NOS parts for super cheap?
BTW.... I love the color you chose and here is my 81 so you can see why I'm biased.
So interesting tidbit. I borrowed a scale from work to put the body back on this weekend after fixing the #2 passenger body mount and installing offset trailing arms.
The body with inner and outer heater/evaporator box, core support, headlights w/ electric motors, and a full coating of lizard skin sound and thermal control on the underside; no doors, no glass, no bumpers, no pedals, steering column or interior weighed in at 465 lbs.
No idea what the frame with LS/T56, VB&P suspension, and Willwood calipers weighs, but I have a hard time believing this car will be much over 3,000#s when its done. I do know that me and my wife (all of 5'1) were easily able to pick up and carry the bare (powdercoated) frame.
Are you wanting to make this Corvette your OWN and be a 'keeper'??? OR...
Are you actually worrying about its resale value???
VERY IMPORTANT to know what you are thinking.
DUB
I will never get the money I have put into my Corvette.
But I enjoy driving it and getting compliments.
Interestingly, I have a 1972 Ford LTD four door that has been in my family since it was new.
I saw my Grandfather give it to my Grandmother for their 50th wedding anniversary.
(Too bad Grandma and Grandpa were not into Corvettes or convertibles.)
They did make a convertible LTD that is beautiful. I have seen only one in my lifetime.
Anyway, it has little resale value, but it gets more attention than the Vette.
Why?
First, because they are not collector cars like Vettes.
They aren't seen anymore; they all went to the junk yard.
They don't have a lot of curb value.
Secondly, because everybody says the same thing when they stop and talk to me about the car.
They always, always say, "My dad had a car like that!"
They remember as children riding and playing in that big back seat.
That's a beautiful LTD, and a beautiful neighborhood!
Originally Posted by virtue4u
I will never get the money I have put into my Corvette.
But I enjoy driving it and getting compliments.
Interestingly, I have a 1972 Ford LTD four door that has been in my family since it was new.
I saw my Grandfather give it to my Grandmother for their 50th wedding anniversary.
(Too bad Grandma and Grandpa were not into Corvettes or convertibles.)
They did make a convertible LTD that is beautiful. I have seen only one in my lifetime.
Anyway, it has little resale value, but it gets more attention than the Vette.
Why?
First, because they are not collector cars like Vettes.
They aren't seen anymore; they all went to the junk yard.
They don't have a lot of curb value.
Secondly, because everybody says the same thing when they stop and talk to me about the car.
They always, always say, "My dad had a car like that!"
They remember as children riding and playing in that big back seat.
By the way, the body is coming back off again. It will be easier to do my exhaust and install the positive battery cable with it out of there. I've been hacking up my radiator to make it fit better the last few days. Nice to have a TIG machine...
Originally Posted by Khibbs
It the original factory color for 1981 - "Charcoal Metallic" with Silver/Gray interior .
Great thread! I love seeing this type of transformation. I just finished an LS swap too and I love it!
One note of caution though, since you're running a used set of VBP lower control arms. The early versions had a tendency to crack near the ball joint and spring bolt, just past the end of the square tube. (See pic) I think they added a doubler there on later versions, which is what I did when we repaired mine.
Mine came off of a parts car that we bought specifically for the suspension and differential. I blasted, inspected, and powder coated them like you did, but after about a year of driving and several autocross events, both lower control arms were cracked in the same place.
Please check yours before you go driving it too hard - Hopefully they're newer and have the reinforcement already. If not, you should probably pull them and add it. I know it sucks to have to grind off that fresh, shiny powder coating to weld on them, but it would be better than having them crack and then having to do it later when the car is all together.
Thanks for the information! Definitely scary to see a control arm cracked like that. From what I can see of your picture, I believe mine are already reinforced in that area, but I will definitely keep an eye on them. Looking at how badly that one was cracked, were you able to feel anything driving the car, or was it just luck that you spotted it before the wheel broke off?
Originally Posted by CA_WxMan
Bigge,
Great thread! I love seeing this type of transformation. I just finished an LS swap too and I love it!
One note of caution though, since you're running a used set of VBP lower control arms. The early versions had a tendency to crack near the ball joint and spring bolt, just past the end of the square tube. (See pic) I think they added a doubler there on later versions, which is what I did when we repaired mine.
Mine came off of a parts car that we bought specifically for the suspension and differential. I blasted, inspected, and powder coated them like you did, but after about a year of driving and several autocross events, both lower control arms were cracked in the same place.
Please check yours before you go driving it too hard - Hopefully they're newer and have the reinforcement already. If not, you should probably pull them and add it. I know it sucks to have to grind off that fresh, shiny powder coating to weld on them, but it would be better than having them crack and then having to do it later when the car is all together.
Well the body is back on for good, radiator and fans are mounted, and I just finished up the exhaust last night. Now on to wiring, then interior.
Exhaust is all 3" stainless, fully welded back to the mufflers. I tucked it up as tight as I felt I could, but we'll see what my ground clearance is like I guess when I get it back on the ground. I've got a little over 1 finger's width between the top of the exhaust and the bottom of the car (floorboards, and rear end).
Lol, that's hilarious, you driving a car with major pieces missing like its some kind of Flintstone mobile.
Yea, you know... Gotta do a shakedown run before I get too far complete just in case the body needs to come back off or I've got motor/tranny/rear end issues. Luckily that is not the case!
Having driven it though both motivates me to get it finished, and makes the tediousness of all of the wiring even more unbearable.
