When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Not much of an update, still haven't been able to work on this one, but I did have to move it outside to make room for a customer car. It looks much better on the ground with the new wheels and tires, but still needs to be a bit lower to look just right. At least the old girl was able to get some sun!
Somehow I missed this thread and I am happy I found it today, very motivating, I needed that,
Feeling poorly and the big move from Orlando to Eustis and fixing stuff around the new place has taken most of my time and energy.
I jumped into the nightclub/music biz at a young age never had kids didn't marry until 40 ten years ago, always had corvettes but assure you didn't take it for granted, but did make lots of stupid car mistakes.
Your wife sounds a lot like mine and mine is something of a tomboy when I hurt my back she crawled under the dash to hook up the throttle and boy did she cuss out the engineers,
Tina loves the car hobby she thinks 1/2 the cats are D-bags but,
She has been right here with helping to decide what look to go after, her tastes are like mine,
Seems like you got a really sweet car, I dig the stripped paint look, at least for the moment.
I used a 327 that sat over 20 years in my 66, it ran great but the seals had to be replaced.
Sounds like you are building something similar to my long drawn out build,
I love the old school road race look, the L-88 flares and it's super cool Corvette central sells them just over 200 an axle can't beat that, unless you are going to one off flares from scratch...
here is a set on 76rats car
I hope my car comes out 1/2 this sweet.
On the 10" wheels up front do you get any rubbing? and did it stretch that tire much to go on a 10?
If you place a measure tape on the rear fender right above the stock flare about how far do the wheels/tires hang out?
Do you plan on a scoop or something sticking out of the hood?
Somehow I missed this thread and I am happy I found it today, very motivating, I needed that,
Feeling poorly and the big move from Orlando to Eustis and fixing stuff around the new place has taken most of my time and energy.
I jumped into the nightclub/music biz at a young age never had kids didn't marry until 40 ten years ago, always had corvettes but assure you didn't take it for granted, but did make lots of stupid car mistakes.
Your wife sounds a lot like mine and mine is something of a tomboy when I hurt my back she crawled under the dash to hook up the throttle and boy did she cuss out the engineers,
Tina loves the car hobby she thinks 1/2 the cats are D-bags but,
She has been right here with helping to decide what look to go after, her tastes are like mine,
Seems like you got a really sweet car, I dig the stripped paint look, at least for the moment.
I used a 327 that sat over 20 years in my 66, it ran great but the seals had to be replaced.
Sounds like you are building something similar to my long drawn out build,
I love the old school road race look, the L-88 flares and it's super cool Corvette central sells them just over 200 an axle can't beat that, unless you are going to one off flares from scratch...
here is a set on 76rats car
I hope my car comes out 1/2 this sweet.
On the 10" wheels up front do you get any rubbing? and did it stretch that tire much to go on a 10?
If you place a measure tape on the rear fender right above the stock flare about how far do the wheels/tires hang out?
Do you plan on a scoop or something sticking out of the hood?
Thanks again for sharing....
I'm glad you found it and like it! Life can certainly be exhausting sometimes, but the nice thing about a project car is i don't HAVE to take it to work tomorrow so I can take my time!
That's cool your wife wants to help too! This hobby can be much less enjoyable without their support, and if they want to get their hands dirty too that's a bonus!
Yeah the overall plan is a street able L88 race car. Big flares, l88 hood, LeMans style gas cap, etc. Part of the delays are cause I don't have a good sized budget for the project. That being the case i will be making my own flares and putting a scoop on a long hood, etc. Getting the wheels/tires on first will help determine how far out the flares need to be. 76rats car looks awesome! I hope mine come out nice too!
I am not a fan of the rat rod theme on any car, but I kinda like the rough look of this car. I still want to paint it, but I think a beater looking car with a healthy cammed small block loud side pipes and fat tires will be fun to drive for a while!
The 10" wheels fit better than I thought they would. The tire rubs a bit on the inner lip of the mudflap at almost full lock. If I lower the car, that part of the mudflap should be lower than the largest part of the tire and probably be ok. The tread width is about 10" on the 265 and there is very little sidewall buldge. Putting the smaller tire on a wider wheel (not going too crazy) will help flatten the footprint by increasing shoulder contact. It also increase the "attack angle" in which the body ply goes from the sidewall to under the belt. These things stiffen up the tire and will work better under corner loads.
I will take a measurement of the rear for you tomorrow.
I'm glad you found it and like it! Life can certainly be exhausting sometimes, but the nice thing about a project car is i don't HAVE to take it to work tomorrow so I can take my time!
My hang up is when the health hurdles tug at me, a nervous/panic thing sort of like ptsd...I lived in the old place over 46 years had no idea a move would kick the living sh...ahem hell outta me,
So yeah, I remind myself I am not on a time line, but it's so close to running, not looking good but running.
That's cool your wife wants to help too! This hobby can be much less enjoyable without their support, and if they want to get their hands dirty too that's a bonus!
tina rocks, I cant imagine a hobby that didn't include her...time flies her daughter was 12 when me married now 22
Yeah the overall plan is a street able L88 race car. Big flares, l88 hood, LeMans style gas cap, etc. Part of the delays are cause I don't have a good sized budget for the project. That being the case i will be making my own flares and putting a scoop on a long hood, etc. Getting the wheels/tires on first will help determine how far out the flares need to be. 76rats car looks awesome! I hope mine come out nice too!
I am in that boat, budget is a hold back I would love aluminum heads on my 454 but not too soon, I have the gas cap, got it from member here livrpool he has a sweet racer, the cap is one of his early proto types, I love it,
I also have the L-88 hood 125 CL score, on the flares,
IMHO not one off the rack flare out there is 100% the way I would want it, I'm just screwing on the rears I have and will buy the corvette central fronts, but making the flares from scratch that is the sweetest of all, I did that on a Camaro around 1980 metal and fiberglass turned out great, you will be able to get the size and angles just perfect to suit you.
Normally I do not care for bug catchers but both 76rat and hale have them and they are really sweet looking,
Are you going with the L-88 headlights, I don't like them but they just scream old race car, I consider them for the "look"
The 10" wheels fit better than I thought they would. The tire rubs a bit on the inner lip of the mudflap at almost full lock. If I lower the car, that part of the mudflap should be lower than the largest part of the tire and probably be ok. I will take a measurement of the rear for you tomorrow.
likely you will cut all that off when you flare so the 10's will work out very well
I've been trying to find some fiberglass used but still haven't found prices I like. $125 on a hood is a good score!
I will not be doing the headlights. I like the stock flip up, but will probably do the Mistake electric conversion. I don't like the idea of all the old vacuum lines running stuff. Replacing them can be expensive and tedious so might as well update for all the effort.
The C4 was built to compete in NASA PTA/TTA classes for road course racing. I raced it in time trials for several years and was outclassed by the race cars. I completely stripped the car and made it a full on race car and then NASA got rid of my class... They keep changing the rules each year to try and help car counts but all it has done is kept me away. I haven't run the race car in about 5 years. I want to sell it and build another C3 for vintage racing. No rule changes since 1972!
I've been trying to find some fiberglass used but still haven't found prices I like. $125 on a hood is a good score!
I will not be doing the headlights. I like the stock flip up, but will probably do the Mistake electric conversion. I don't like the idea of all the old vacuum lines running stuff. Replacing them can be expensive and tedious so might as well update for all the effort.
I will never like how the L-88 lights look but the look is old school racer, my wife hates them, doesn't like ecklers recessed with covers ( I don't either ) and she loves pop ups, I happen to have the custom quad square pop ups, so I will likely run them with modern bulbs and build my own electric lifts...
The C4 was built to compete in NASA PTA/TTA classes for road course racing. I raced it in time trials for several years and was outclassed by the race cars. I completely stripped the car and made it a full on race car and then NASA got rid of my class... They keep changing the rules each year to try and help car counts but all it has done is kept me away. I haven't run the race car in about 5 years. I want to sell it and build another C3 for vintage racing. No rule changes since 1972!
sounds like the car itself was fun, but okay c3's more fun
Good find in the car....Cute happy kid and a wonderful wife...What more could a man ask for....Good luck with the build.
Brian
Thank you! I truly am blessed. I know a lot of us complain about "this" broke or "that" isn't working again, but we are fortunate enough to have a car to play with. A lot of people dont. I have to remind myself of that a lot.
Originally Posted by The13Bats
sounds like the car itself was fun, but okay c3's more fun
It's a fun car, it just doesnt fit in a class anymore without spending big bucks. The C3 will be more fun!
Just a small update. My wife and I are expecting our 2nd kid and my wife gets very nauseous during pregnancy so she hasn't wanted to work on the car. Instead of doing the engine swap and rebuilding the transmission, I'm putting the side pipes on the stock worn out engine so we can enjoy it a bit before the snow comes. It may not be what I want but at least something is getting done. Gotta celebrate the small victories!
I don't recall giving the back story on these. I got the black headers and side tubes on a trade for some other parts im not using. Then I saw the chrome tubes at Summit in the scratch and dent section for $125. I sold the black tubes and mufflers for $150. I still need mufflers but I'm holding out for some STS baffles. I also got a Hurst shifter in the parts trade that will be going in soon.
I still need to buy the mount kit for the side tubes so they are not on for good, but look pretty good hanging there!
Looking good Kubs! Congratulations on the second blessing! So excited for all y'all! Keep counting those small victories and be content with getting it going to enjoy over the summer and then make the changes over the winter, or getting them one by one. Just enjoy it in less than show car condition!
Thanks Andy! We were told we may not be able to have any kids, so 2 is a huge blessing. I'm not a fan of the rat rod look, but paint is low on the list. Once all the mechanical stuff is sorted I'll blow it apart and spray it.
Oh what a week this has been! So I wanted to go to a car show tomorrow and my wife gave me permission to work on the car a little without her. I converted to electronic ignition by installing a Mallory MaxFire distributor, and finished installing the side pipes. I went to test fire the car last week and I had absolutely no power to whole car. I spent all week tracing electrical issues and finally got it solved yesterday. Then the Hurst shifter I installed was giving me trouble. When trying to shift into 3rd it would partially engage reverse and lock up and stall the engine (good thing I tested it on jack stands first). After messing with the linkage all day I finally got it working correctly and will be able to make the show! I'm not even much of a show person, but it was the fact I gave myself a deadline that I tried very hard to over come the issues just to go.
I also got the front and rear chrome re-done. I know I'm not ready to paint it, but I had a friend in the industry who owed me a favor so I cashed in.
Well I made it to a car show today! Surprisingly the car got a lot of attention. I went just to feel good about getting it done but a lot of people seemed to like a work in progress. Out of almost 200 Corvettes I was about 1 of 10 C3s and even fewer C2s and C1s. It's sad and kinda boring to just walk through and see all C5-C7. I still had fun though.
I parked next to my dads blue C5. He only went to hang out with me and my project.
Your car was the coolest one there...people get bored with the overbuilt show queens made for boasting rights people are more drawn to cars like yours....
