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Interior carpet was removed and will be replaced with 80/20 loop in black.
Interior panels were inspected, repaired if needed, then prepared and painted black to match. All but three items have been converted to black from brown. Upper dash is in bad shape so aftermarket has been ordered to replace it. Lower left and lower right dash pads have not yet been removed but they will be soon and painted to match.
So I moved from the interior to the engine bay for some inspection and work their only to find a bad head leaking antifreeze. So I dealt with it this week.
Engine bay was already missing the a/c compressor. I removed the valve covers and uncovered leaking antifreeze so I dug deeper. Valve covers, then carburetor, then distributor, then intake manifold, then heads, both sides.
That is when I found more than I wanted to find. But glad to have found it now.
I left the second day with the engine looking like this. I wanted to swap the two cars around on the lift so I did that on day three.
Day three car swap.
With the cars where I want them now I began by removing the exhaust manifolds followed by the exhaust system complete. This is a stainless steel dual exhaust from Corvette Central, two years old, has less than a 1,000 miles on it. In great shape. Wrong hangers, but hey, can't have everything perfect all the time.
Radiator shroud is original and complete, not broken. Nice.
Radiator turned out to be complete and original as well. Same with the condenser for the a/c. Both came out easily when I tried.
The radiator core was rusted pretty badly on the bottom area which is typical for a car that has been driven in the weather and not cleaned up regularly. Seen it many times before. I removed it (didn't photograph it) and put it aside with everything else coming off the car.
This is where the car engine bay stood after day three.
On day four I remove the water pump, drained the gasoline, drained the oil, removed the oil filter, and disconnected the power steering pump. More was done, but let me get a couple of pictures of the progress and then I will post an additional update.
I am working on my engine strategy now. More on that soon too.
A few pictures of the engine bay this morning as it is right now.
I have seen and owned and worked with much worse so I am encouraged by what I have found thus far.
I will be preparing the body for lifting off of the chassis in the next few weeks so I can plan my winter work on the chassis and get my body out for work at my favorite body shop. With the fluids out of the car I can relax now about dripping and fires. Got those risks mediated and moving forward again soon.
So that is where we stand for now folks. Moving nicely forward, but then again taking a car apart is always fun and easier than putting them back together. LOL.
I have already made a few decisions with regard to the 77 project car that I can share thus far here.
1) Interior changing from brown leather to black leather. Already in progress.
2) Exterior will change from current white back to orange original.
3) Engine will come out of the car. It has been decked and no numbers are showing so it cannot be claimed as a numbers matching, so NOM it is which means go for what I want. I may rebuild the short block with new heads, intake and carb, or I may buy a donor motor. Not sure yet.
4) I plan to keep and use the four speed. Will assess condition when body comes off.
5) I plan to swap out the rear end for a newly rebuilt 3.36 with HD yokes and caps.
6) I plan to swap out the rear half shafts for a newly restored HD pair.
7) The exhaust is new but depending upon what I do with the engine I may swap the exhaust manifolds for headers and swap the 2" exhaust system for a 2-1/2" PYPES Cross over system. Not decided yet.
8) No decision taken on the wheels yet. They may be sold off and replaced by new aftermarket aluminum wheels. Again, no decision taken on this front yet.
9) I will restore the chassis to my standards and have the fixed manual cross member updated to make it removable.
10) Lower front cross-member pad will be replaced as well per the 69 style I have finishing up now.
11) A new lower front valance, new front bumper, and new rear bumper have been purchased and will be used on this car.
12) The vacuum headlight system will be replaced with an electric system. No more vacuum lights for me thank you.
All in all a good candidate for summer 2018.
More soon.
David
Last edited by AllC34Me; 07-23-2017 at 09:36 AM.
Reason: Added some more data.
Thank you Gusto. This is my third 77 so I have a bit of experience with them now. My previous orange one was 100% stock. My previous red one was heavily modified. This one will have the best of both worlds. I stripped some of the paint off in key areas to see what was used to paint it and see what was underneath. White Lacquer paint used, minimal paint prep, so a single stage white thick lacquer. Oh boy.
The only carpet available in 77 was cut pile, you are correct. I custom ordered the 77 design carpet in black 80/20 loop as it is, in my opinion, a much nice look and feel for the car. I did the same with the rear compartment, it is 80/20 loop black carpet as well.
So this 77 will have the look of a 77, the ride of a 77, but a little more kick in the pants performance. It will be true to it's nickname, 77 Sleeper.
Sounds like your is in motion. Tearing down is always the fun part. That's a shame with the motor but better now than later. You will now know what is under the hood and am be confident about it. I finished my electric headlight conversion and they are ready to install. No more vacuum here!
Sounds like your is in motion. Tearing down is always the fun part. That's a shame with the motor but better now than later. You will now know what is under the hood and am be confident about it. I finished my electric headlight conversion and they are ready to install. No more vacuum here!
Really nice job going to electric on the headlight assemblies Tyrant. They look great!
RVZIO
That looks great Eric, nicely done. I should only hope mine looks as nice as yours. I am a ways away from that, but thank you. I now know who I can turn to for some advice on them.
Thanks again.
David
After another (seventh) day of working on the 77 I can now definitively say without reservation that the math is not going to work on this car.
All spending has ceased and all work has been discontinued on restoring this coupe.
Decisions will be taken on the various parts purchased for the restoration and on the car, frame, etc. in the next few days but no more restoration of this car is planned.
Just too many issues.
Disappointed not to be able to bring this one back.
After another (seventh) day of working on the 77 I can now definitively say without reservation that the math is not going to work on this car.
All spending has ceased and all work has been discontinued on restoring this coupe.
Decisions will be taken on the various parts purchased for the restoration and on the car, frame, etc. in the next few days but no more restoration of this car is planned.
Just too many issues.
Disappointed not to be able to bring this one back.
Best regards,
David Howard
David, wow, that is shocking and surprising. What as disappointment that is. Hopefully a better candidate will come along at some point. Best of luck in your search.
07-04-2017, 07:45 PM
