Well, now, I hadn't planned on making this a build thread, at least not yet!


I will show you where it sits today and give a little explanation. As you can tell in the photos, I've started stripping it. The paint was bad on the front end, as was expected, it is a 40 year old paint job. I've been experimenting with different stripping methods. So far, I've tried dry razor, sandpaper, and Citrustrip followed by scraper and a little bit of razor. I'd never ever do the latter again, what a gooey mess! Sandpaper is not a whole lot of fun without power tools, so dry razor will be my go to from here on out. It works pretty dang well when you change blades very frequently.


To explain the no power tools comment, I have the vette in storage. I recently moved into a condo that my dad left to me and my brother when he passed. I decided to sell my house and move into it with no debt rather than try to sell it and still have debt on a house I wasn't sure I wanted to stay in forever. I had enough equity in my house to pay my brother off...


Anyway, long story short, I have nowhere good to work on the vette. I'd love to do a full frame-off restoration, though it is fine to drive for awhile. I couldn't help myself getting started on the paint. So, a true build thread will have to wait until I figure out my next step. I don't want to have people relying on me for entertainment when I know my progress could very well stall out for months at a time.


When I do start a true build, I will either rename this thread "Bubba the Vette" or start a new thread. I figured calling my vette Bubba was perfect for a couple reasons. One of my dad's main nicknames was Bubba or Yo Bubba, strange, I know, but it was given to him by a cute kid at the time and it stuck. Also, the vette does need some Bubba reversal.


I did find some goobery bondo on the left front fender. That, plus the fact that the headlights need work, the bumper needs replacing, and I simply like the look has me thinking about a Monza front end from Ecklers. Don't worry purists, I won't do anything that can't be undone down the road by someone who wants to restore it to original and I'll be keeping the original parts that have to be removed for anything I do.

 

I guess I should've been more careful. The more I look at this video, the more I think I'm seeing full rust/rot all the way through the frame. Anyone else? Right at the 1:09 mark, just behind the left front wheel. Obviously I'll double check it next time I head out to the storage unit. I was just trying to get some video of the sidepipes for another member and saw this when I uploaded the vid. I looked under the car before I made my offer, but this was a difficult spot and I was more worried about the frame area forward of the rear wheels. Don't mind the paint, as I've said, I've been working on stripping it.


Anyway, I guess that makes the decision easy on what's going under this car. All new! I'm not made of money, so it'll be awhile, but I was having a real difficult time trying to decide whether I wanted to freshen up what I have or put a new SRIII frame under it.

 

Ok, ok, a little update, and why I didn't want this to turn into a build thread, just yet.


I went and spent more time with the car the other day, really looking at the frame. Everything looks solid from what I can tell. I'm not sure what it was in that video that looked like rot. Best guess is that it was just 43 years of gunk and an optical illusion.


And why I didn't want this to turn into a build thread yet is this. I'm still going back and forth daily on exactly what I want to do with this car, so I apologize for the indecision and the babbling you may see here in my thread. After looking at the frame more thoroughly, thinking bout options on the market, etc., I believe the original frame will be kept unless I come across something else. I have always known that I do want to make the following as modern and well performing as possible though: brakes, suspension, steering, drivetrain. I feel most of this can be accomplished with one of the VBP kits and I'll continue pondering that. As for the drivetrain, after spending a couple hours buzzing through the foothills here, I really feel this motor is a good one. I would like to put multi-port fuel injection and a better intake in it if I do keep it in the car. My dilemma here is that it is the original drivetrain with only a claimed 63k on it. I really want this car to be a driver, but I also want it to have the capability of being converted back to original one day should someone desire. If I shelf the motor and tranny, put something different in it, I'll feel a lot better about putting many, many miles on the car. Anyway, enough rambling, still mulling it over, and still don't have a great place to work on it, so I wait, enjoy it as I can, work a little on the front end appearance, etc.


One thing I would like to do very soon is put the best aluminum radiator and fan setup in it I can. This 454 does have a tendency to heat up and that is not something I'm willing to worry about every time I drive the car. The search function on these forums doesn't seem to work very well, so I'm having a tough time finding out what the best drop-in modern replacement would be.


Thoughts?

 

I'm pretty partial to mechanical fans, no electrical B.S. to go wrong. They don't use that much H.P. to run. Just be sure to get the best radiator you can find.

 

I definitely hear you on the reliability of a mechanical fan. Isn't there something to the fact that an electric fan is always at high RPM though, creating better cooling at idle/traffic when heat is more likely to be a problem?


As for the radiator, I'm thinking a good aluminum one. Question is best size for drop-in replacement?


Thanks Richard!

 

I got mine for my 1965 Buick Riviera from USRadiator, made in California. Perfect fit. Took a couple weeks because it was made to order. Mine's copper. Opinions vary on copper vs. aluminum.

http://www.usradiator.com/chevrolet-...iator.html#OPT

 

If you like that awful radiator fan roar...

+1 for an electric fan.

+1 for an aluminum radiator. Go as big as you can. The thermostat will regulate the temperature.

 

Welcome...and nice to see another 73! Enjoy it. I would say get the bumper replaced (Recommend true flex or fiberglass) and find a painter that can match as best you can and maybe blend into the headlight area a little. First I would get some compound and a orbital buffer and bring the white out as much as possible. Good luck and have fun!

 

Thank you! I'm leaning toward fiberglass, definitely would not do urethane (personal choice). And maybe you didn't see some of the more recent pictures, but the paint on the front end is already toast, so a primed bumper won't be the ugliest thing on the front of this car. :-)

No matter, I drove the heck out of it all over the sierra foothills the other day, people staring, smiling, waving. Not sure if they were wondering what the heck I did to my car or wish they were me, but I didn't want to be anybody else for those few hours. :-)

 

That'll teach me...so it is! I have fiberglass on mine and do like it the best of the three. ...So I guess maybe blend into the doors...

 

Well, it turns out my mom was off by at least a year. She thought I had randomly bought the same year my dad had. I suspected she might've been mistaken as I have a vague recollection of him telling me once it was a '75. Can anyone confirm by the photo? Anyway, still pretty cool my dear ol' dad also had a white C3. It'd be really cool if I could find a VIN or even the plate # somewhere and locate the car. The little bundle of joy (my big brother) is the reason he got rid of it I believe. He told me once that he was contemplating installing a rear deck rack so he could strap my brother's car seat to it, but my mom had a little more sense...