Awesome car you've got there! I'll be watching this thread with great interest. As someone said above, how about some pics under the hood? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

Just curious--anybody know anyone who has put a bunch of used, worn-out parts back on a nicely restored car?

 

Yeah, do whatever you want with the car. It is yours to enjoy.

 

Nobody. The idea is to have the option to restore/ recondition the original parts if the goals for the car change. There are a lot of upgrades that make sense for a driver car that should be reversed for a show car trying to earn points.

 

First take out and save all the 'old' low performance parts and wrap them in plastic for the next guy.
Second put in some righteous roaring crate engine...383 c.i.
Third build up the drive shaft with a five or six speed manual, and a high 3. or 4. rear end.
Fourth have fun in a rocket ship of a Vette.

 

I just looked at your original post, beautiful car! Leave it original, drive it and enjoy it. Don't mess around trying to make it perfect. Too many of these cars just sit for years and then decades, mine included.

Jump in it, grab someone you want to be with, and go somewhere. Have a burger or some ice cream, see some sights and make your own memories in your blue Corvette.

 

AMEN...don't you go hiding it under a friggin' blanket or tarp in the garage, hoping that it will 'appreciate' someday.

 

JMO but an original low mileage car should be retained as original as humanly possible. Other than cleaning and detailing the car, I'd leave it exactly as it is and drive it 500 to 1,000 miles a year. That's one hell of a find. Congrats!!

 

3000+ miles on my 68 vert last summer. hopefully another 3000 this summer

 

Alright, one more from me. I do not get saving it for somebody else. You bought it, you own it, drive it wherever and whenever you want to.
It's a nice C3, you know it is but there's plenty out there.
When it comes time to sell it or really, when somebody checks in to this forum for a good price, some of these guys will be the first to say you want too much for it. It's a car--drive it. Oh ya--JMO.

 

I teeter back and fourth. For me, I have no problem modifying one that is too far gone.

For a vehicle that can be kept as original as possible I consider it an honor to be it's caretaker and want to preserve it for the next generation to enjoy as it was the day it came off the show room floor back in the day. I once put over 100,000 miles on my daily driven 64 SS chevelle...the day I sold it (last year)k it still had points and it's original canister type oil filter!!

My 78 L82 4spd s/a paint car is my normal driver. I put about 800 miles a month on it...year round!

 

So the next guy can resto-mod the car as they wish, and enjoy driving it.


Drive it to the ground if you can. Let the next guy worry about restoring the car.

 

The reason finding cars like this is an issue is that most do not survive intact and unmodified. As a guy on here once explained, "if you find a 1963 Cadillac in a barn where it has been for 30 years, odds are it is 90% original. Tires and battery are about all that is changed.

If you find a 1963 Corvette in a barn where it has been for 30 years, odds are it is 90% unoriginal. Almost everything has been changed.

Old Corvettes are one of the most modified cars in the world."


So when you find one that survived, it really is special. It isn't just a car. It is like finding a small dinosaur that stumbles out of a cave and you kill it and butcher it because you wonder what it tastes like.

Granted, this is not the last or only all-original 1968 Corvette out there, but they are few, so why would you want to destroy something like that by modifying it?

There are thousands of ones that have been modified, or restored. Why not take one of those and make your own car, rather than destroying one that survived?

Go look for the guy in the C1-C2 section that had an original 1963 FI coupe, and he made a resto-mod out of it, taking the engine and chassis out, and modifying the car. Sure, it is his car. He can do what he wants. But what an idiot.

 

[QUOTE=LT1M21Vette;1593831909]So the next guy can resto-mod the car as they wish, and enjoy driving it.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see most people buying an original classic automobile and resto-moding it. I've modified several cars in my past but never one that was original. I cut my purchase price in half and bought one with unoriginal engine, blown engine, what have you and modified it from there.

But if someone wants to pay me top dollar for my all original classic car and mod it so be it...as long as their check has cleared.

 

Well I suspect this debate has grown reasonably boring to most. Tiger Joe hasn't weighed in for several weeks so he's probably got it all figured out already.
But since I am lucky enough to have both an original FI '63 coupe and a rebuilt '69 convertible, I have to check in one more time. There is a big difference and the comparison is a little iffy. Maybe someday an original '68 will be the rare gem that the SWC is but I doubt it. That doesn't mean that I don't respect the purity of the unmolested '68 and the purist who would cherish that original.
But for those that have found a nice car, maybe even mostly original, if driving that car is the reason for the cash outlay then I say drive it. improve it, and okay, save the old parts just incase lightning strikes and it's suddenly your new 401K.

 

Good advice, that's exactly what I'm doing. I want more power out of my car and you can't get that without modifications. I'm just keeping the old parts and doing minimal changes on the outside of the donk.

 

oh no I'm still here reading just about everyday. truthfully I found it kind of funny to read all the various responses.


I guess first a little background on me. No offense to anyone, but this isn't my first rodeo with a classic car so I don't need the noob tips about tires and brake lines. This is actually my second "barn find" car. though the first was in my own barn. I also have a 1971 Chevelle that my father bought brand new. it is completely original except for maintenance items (tune up, brakes, tires) with 42k miles. was parked from 1988-2016. it sits right next to the vette now.


There wont be any crazy engine mods for speed. I have 2 chevy trucks I restored from the ground up (one with a 496 bbc), and I daily drive a duramax with 700 hp so I can satisfy my need for speed elsewhere. My dad and I are also restoring what will be our 3rd classic chevy truck right now.


please don't take any of this as bragging, I just wanted to give you guys a bit of my background with cars.


as for the vette, I have completely rebuilt the front brakes, and Monday installed a new dewitts radiator (original leaked but I did save it). I am rebuilding original components wherever possible, but if not I am replacing and retaining original.


I removed the smog pump setup, rebuilt the carb and did a full tune up. I also had to paint the intake manifold. unfortunately the previous owner attempted to paint it at some point and it looked terrible.


Monday night the engine started for the first time since I believe 1985. unfortunately I only got to run it for 10 seconds as the fuel pump is leaking. That will be fixed hopefully tomorrow.


I decided I am going to have the rear trailing rebuilt. I'm not that far away from Bair's corvette, so I think I am going to remove my arms and drop them off for rebuild. I figure one they have 40k miles on them, I read somewhere the service spec was 30k, and 2 they sat for so long all the bearings would probably need repacked anyway.


Once I get the trailing arms back I can then finish the brake system rebuild.


the only other major items the car will need is new tires, and something on the power steering system is leaking. I suspect maybe the valve. so I will need to rebuild or replace that.


Also, one interesting thing my car lists "PO1 Wheel covers" on the build sheet. from a quick google search it appears they are a pretty rare 1 year only wheel cover. unfortunately my car came with rally wheels and no signs of the wheel covers.

 

Sounds like you got this...carry on. And give us an update from time to time.

 

Finally someone on here from my neck of the woods. I'm about 40 minutes east of Bair's, I get most of my parts there. Real nice people and their work is first rate. Shoot me a pm some day and we can meet for coffee somewhere.
Jerry

 

Awesome!!