Hi fellow C3 owners. New to the forum and the world of corvette. I am just starting on this project and have found this site to be a great help so far.

My father and I just purchased our first vette. It's a 1980 4 speed car. It has been sitting for a few years and currently has no engine and some qfront fender damage. The car was an abandon project so it is missing a lot of parts under the hood.

So why the name Woodward? Well we picked up this car with an interesting plan... Three years ago I converted my 1977 Chevy K10 to diesel (gm6.2) and had been trying to sell its original low mileage 350. No one was willing to pay anything for the motor when I had it listed. So I decided to find a GM car to put it in. I always liked c3's and they fell in my low budget price range. I wanted a manual trans and after looking off and on for a few years I was able to grab this car at a decent price. The goal is to drive the car to the Woodward dream cruise this year. Unfortunately it is located 200 miles from me and work will only happen on my days off so it will be a challenge for sure.-

I plan to keep track of the build here. This will not be a restoration more of a get it back on the road project. End goal is to use all of my left over SBC parts and clean out my parents garage. Attic and yard and have a driver quality car in the end.

Any advice along the way would be great!

 

a 4 speed in a 1980 is not common. Nice find. Should be a relatively easy project to get to a drivable level but we all know how "as long as I'm in here goes". The exhaust manifolds from the truck will likely not work.

 

So my first real question is regarding my donor engine. It is a 1977 350 out of a heavy half ton. This means it is 4 bbl carved motor that came from GM with zero emissions equipment. I installed a performer intake but aside from that it is bone stock. This engine has 42,000 miles and is super clean inside. Plan is to reseal it and drop it in.

Will I need a different oil pan and pickup screen? It's currrently sporting the factory truck pan.

Obviously front accessories and motor mounts are different but what about the flywheel? Would the truck flywheel fit? I know the input spline count is diffrent so a new clutch will be needed.


Plan for now is to tackle mechanicals and interior first and repair the body last.

Any input would be great. Thanks

 

Thanks for the coments!

I actually have a set of ram horn manifolds from my ****** project I am hoping to use on this. The truck ones defiantly will not work.

 

Congrats on the new project. I'm in MA and saw that car for sale for a bit. I just pulled the trigger on my first C3 (just posted here as well) so we are both diving into the world of Corvettes.

The four speed will be fun and hopefully there shouldn't be too many issues dropping in your existing 350. How is the rest of the car in terms of trans, clutch, brakes, etc?

Definitely keep us updated as you dig in. I'm going to do the same as I go through the basics, brakes, and install a true duel exhaust system.

 

It will be interesting to see what we find. There are a lot of unknowns buying a car with no engine. Unfortunately this was a project where the owner died so a lot of parts were missing. I am head up to trailer the car to my folks place in northern MA. I work down in NY so again it will be a challenge to get this all together to drive to MI in august. I seee tons of C3's all over MA but rarely catch them driving.

 

Well best of luck and from my short experience there are some great people on this forum. I'm in Acton, MA so let me know if I can help in any way.

 

As for the oil pan, I dont think it will be a problem. I have one of those Moroso 7qt pans. It fits with no issues. I have dreamed of attending the dream cruise, I will at some point. I used to cruise Woodward as well as Telegraph back in the late 70's early 80's with my hot rodded Camaro.
But, to get your car ready for this year, Ill state the obvious, dont get too deep right now. It'll be doable. But get your engine in and running, repair your brakes!! They work well when they dont leak. That front fender looks bad. But, it can probably be put back together. Fiberglass is easy enough to work with. Other than that, it looks like a fun project.

 

the oil pan is questionable without seeing a picture of it. A Corvette oil pan needs clearance in the front for the steering linkage.
on the flywheel question, isnt that more whether the truck bell housing will fit?

 

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Got the car home and got to working on it

So far the carpet has been pulled, drivers door latch freed up, and hood opened.

Also decided to paint the engine Cummins tan.


Oh and check out that body work!! Sprung for the red duct tape to match