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I bought a Corvette! I'm a 28 year old medical student (3rd year) in New Orleans and got the crazy idea that I needed more hobbies. So I scrounged up a few dollars (4000 to be exact) and started looking for the best car for the money ('68-'82). Everything was either too expensive, rusted to ****, or too far away. Finally I stumbled upon SIXFOOTER's thread in the for sale section:
And I was like "HEY! I can afford that, and I'm up for a challenge!" So I called the man, paid him, and had it shipped up from Florida to my garage in nola. His run down of the car is as follows:
200-4R tranny built with all the hot rod parts available
Eddlebrock Air Gap intake
New cam, lifters, pushrods
All the suspension is rebuilt with poly bushings, but no shims so alignment will be needed
New U-Joints and rear end bushings
All the rust in the birdcage removed and repairs made
Dewitts radiator
Electric fans
Might need to take a few things apart and clean/polish because its been sitting
All the CCC system is installed and works, EGR, AIR pump and its associated plumbing has been removed
New dash installed
New stereo, New Alarm with remote locks
Front and rear bumpers (fiberglass) molded in
All LED running and brake lights
So now I have this awesome car in the garage and I'm working on prioritizing projects and figuring out what needs doing. SIXFOOTER is being awesome about helping me figure out all the work he's done on the car and walking me through stuff. My first 4 projects are:
1) A/C Plumbing for R-134a conversion
2) Body Mounts (more on this in the next post)
3) Suspension Bushings (more on this in the next post)
4) Exterior trim/Weatherstripping
First bit of bad news - SIXFOOTER did a beautiful job eliminating the seams for the front and rear bumper cover, and then my a$$hole car shippers dropped the front bumper onto the lip of the truck when unloading it and cracked the sides of the fiberglass. It was late and my girlfriend didn't notice the cracks (I was unfortunately doing an away rotation away from the area when the car was delivered), so they drove off and I'm left to fix the problem.
Second issue: SIXFOOTER's frame off restoration obviously included new suspension bushings and body mounts, and he got some high quality urethane bushings to go around. Low and behold, by some horrible turn of events, they've crumbled to dust in just a few years. WTF. Polyurethane bushings are supposed to last a lifetime...??? Currently trying to track down the company and figure out what went wrong. Anyone dealt with something like that before?
Lastly a question about exterior trim - he replaced the windshield and put a quality sealant all the way around. When I'm installing these little finishing trim pieces do I need to add any more sealant? It seems like there will be a large space behind the trim piece, is that okay?
Regarding the bushings, there has been mention on here of some quality issues with the polyurethane bushings. Those are pretty bad looking. Probably not much else you can do than replace them again.
Regarding the bushings, there has been mention on here of some quality issues with the polyurethane bushings. Those are pretty bad looking. Probably not much else you can do than replace them again.
That's the plan, hoping that Eckler's stands by their product which they advertise as a "Once in a lifetime repair".
Got all the trim pieces, putting them together slowly and adding new weatherstripping along the way!
Follow up question: I found this large black cylinder deep to the master cylinder, behind the left front wheel (although you can't see it from the top, it's in the spot indicated by the big red circle, and highlighted in red in the following picture). It has a number of short hoses coming out of it (highlighted in green) that are not connected to anything. Any idea what it is/what it's for/is it necessary?
That is were the Main vacuum reservoir is on my car. Was that car converted to electric headlights? I see a hydroboost for the brakes and that would explain why all the lines are cut. You don't need vac anymore.
That is were the Main vacuum reservoir is on my car. Was that car converted to electric headlights? I see a hydroboost for the brakes and that would explain why all the lines are cut. You don't need vac anymore.
Terrific, that was my hunch. No electric headlights yet but they're on the to-do list. If I do the electric headlights and have the hydroboost brakes, is there any reason to leave that vacuum reservoir there? Or can I pull it and free up some space?
Terrific, that was my hunch. No electric headlights yet but they're on the to-do list. If I do the electric headlights and have the hydroboost brakes, is there any reason to leave that vacuum reservoir there? Or can I pull it and free up some space?
I pulled mine out and will hold onto it for a few years before selling. My understanding is that they don't make reproductions of these at all and they can be difficult to find replacements.
Follow up question: I found this large black cylinder deep to the master cylinder, behind the left front wheel (although you can't see it from the top, it's in the spot indicated by the big red circle, and highlighted in red in the following picture). It has a number of short hoses coming out of it (highlighted in green) that are not connected to anything. Any idea what it is/what it's for/is it necessary?
that red circle is in the position of the charcoal canister and the unit still has the original clamp still attached ,its used for emission control ,fuel tank breather etc. 81 models had the vacuum tank out the front kinda hanging under the nose like a big can of coffee !!
Congratulations on your new vette !
Last edited by bazza77; 10-22-2016 at 08:05 AM.
Reason: explain where vac tank is in later models
that red circle is in the position of the charcoal canister and the unit still has the original clamp still attached ,its used for emission control ,fuel tank breather etc. 81 models had the vacuum tank out the front kinda hanging under the nose like a big can of coffee !!
Congratulations on your new vette !
Ah okay thanks! I'll have to figure out how to hook that back up to the fuel tank then, as far as I can tell it's not hooked up to anything anymore.
Some of you (including SIXFOOTER) are going to scream sacrilege, but I pulled the CCC wiring yesterday. I couldn't handle the rat's nest that was inside this car. It's still hectic with the stereo and aftermarket alarm that he wired up, but it's getting better.
So now I need a new carb and distributor: I realize that the stock q-jet is 750cfm, but it seems like people tend to just go with a standard Edelbrock 1406 (600cfm). Thoughts? Anyone have a specific distributor to recommend?
If you have the original engine wiring loom then there should be plugs to connect to a standard hei unit. Why not just keep it simple and put a nice new one in.
Jeez, somewhat distressing to hear that SixFooter, Danny?, sold the car, as he/I used to talk here on his project and swap ideas, but it's been some years ago, and I lost track of him/project....I still have my '72 vert...here in Jax Florida region......
Shame about the body damage, bastards can deny it all NOW....
Yup a Hydroboost, and it may need the steering pump plumbing hooked up and yes to eliminate that air tank, years ago mine was a gas tank looking device under the left fender near the m/cyl.....and it broke/leaked badly, so I just removed it and spliced the lines.....
although the urethane in my rear suspension and lower A arms seem fine at this point, some years ago I went back to rubber for the upper A arms as the bushings went....BIG time.......
PM me if you can, I bought my '72 in '91 it was an old show car, which reverted to street use by second owner....so I am owner #3 and there is nothing stock about my car, wheels through roof, stem to stern....nothing see site below for some pix.....which are old by now, car is changed somewhat since then.....
10-15-2016, 07:03 PM
Finishing SIXFOOTER's '81 RestoMod Build
