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Well after a couple silly cold months of inactivity, I build a body dolly based mostly on Alan71's plans. I also set up the hoist and straps for the lift and pulled all the body mount bolts. I must say the bolts came out easy and look pretty good for being 47+ years old. I hope the rest of this project goes as well.
Hi W71,
Looks like you're about ready to turn one car into two! Always an exciting day!!
The body mount bolts DO look to be in good shape.
For someone who is interested in original fastener finishes your bolts show some nice plating on the parts of the bolts that have been protected all these years.
I'm thinking zinc?
I really do value your photos... very interesting details in them.
Regards,
Alan
When you lift the body.... I'd be interested in just how the aluminum 'pucks' used at the LEFT side #1 and #4 body mounts are configured. Do they have a little raised (1/8" high) round 'shelf' (1" diam.) in their center that fits into the mount on the frame?
Hi W71,
Looks like you're about ready to turn one car into two! Always an exciting day!!
The body mount bolts DO look to be in good shape.
For someone who is interested in original fastener finishes your bolts show some nice plating on the parts of the bolts that have been protected all these years.
I'm thinking zinc?
I really do value your photos... very interesting details in them.
Regards,
Alan
When you lift the body.... I'd be interested in just how the aluminum 'pucks' used at the LEFT side #1 and #4 body mounts are configured. Do they have a little raised (1/8" high) round 'shelf' (1" diam.) in their center that fits into the mount on the frame?
Hi Alan, It looks like my aluminum pucks are flat and they used masking tape to hold them in position. I guess they could have been raised and corroded away??
Where did you buy your new bolts and pucks if I may ask? Or did you re-plate your originals?
So I am scraping the crud off the frame today and am amazed at how poorly these things were welded from the factory. I even found splatter and wire sticking out in some areas. I know this is normal but the perfectionist in me is really wanting to fully weld up all the seams and correct any bad welds I see. The question I have for all of you is, should I?
Another Busy weekend is behind me. I was able to get the frame stripped and ready for cleaning and Painting. I an not sure if I am going to powder coat it or paint but, I am very pleased that there isn't any rust damage.
Ok so I am a little concerned the rear differential is not original to the car. I scraped and cleaned all the areas looking of the Vin # and I don't see it. The number I did find is not close. Can someone take a look and let me know if I am wrong or this is indeed not the original Diff?
Ok after doing some reading through the many posts I found a couple that Alan71 posted that helped me answer my own question about my Differential. I was under the impression that the Vin# would be stamped into the diff housing but I guess that's not the case. I did however confirm this is the correct Diff for when this car was built in Late 1970.
Its been a few weeks since I posted any updates so here is some shots of what I have been up to. I decided to tear into the transmission after a good cleaning. Over all the gears are in good shape but the sliders and shift forks were shot so new ones are going in. Also found the drive yoke is worn pretty bad so replacing that as well.
The weather has finally warmed up enough for me to open up the garage and start stripping the old paint and uncover the raw panels. So far there aren't any surprises. I started during the winter to scrape off the paint with razor blades but as soon as I got past the top paint layer I didn't get very far. I then decided to use my old sanding method but that quickly got old. I spoke to Forum Paint and Body guru Dub and have started to strip the layers of old paint and primer with chemicals. Wow what a difference! Another good day and I should be done with the big stuff and then just need to clean up all the nooks and crannies.
What a nice clean Vette you got there! Hard to believe the NH origin.
You're going to sand blast the frame? two hours of blasting will make it cleaner and better prepared for paint than a month of sanding, wire brushing and scraping. It will look way better when done.
The careful use of a utility knife should free that windshield without breaking it. Going this far it's par for the course. Even the cleanest Vette's usually have hidden problem in the windshield frame and again it just won't look as good as removed and repainted.
What a nice clean Vette you got there! Hard to believe the NH origin.
You're going to sand blast the frame? two hours of blasting will make it cleaner and better prepared for paint than a month of sanding, wire brushing and scraping. It will look way better when done.
The careful use of a utility knife should free that windshield without breaking it. Going this far it's par for the course. Even the cleanest Vette's usually have hidden problem in the windshield frame and again it just won't look as good as removed and repainted.
Hi Junkie, The car was originally from New Jersey and has been setting in a garage since the early 90s. I am lucky so far that there hasn't been any corrosion damage aside from surface rust. As for the blasting, you are right, I have the frame and all the other steal out for powder coat as we speak. I also plan to pull the windshield soon I just set on the fence for a while deciding if I wanted to or not. I finally hopped off on the "remove it" side.
WOW! What a great project. The car was in REALLY good shape to start with.
I'm sub'd for the progress pics! Looks like you do really nice work.
Thanks ajrothm, I did get lucky with the condition of the project. The biggest issue was the mice had gotten to it so the interior had to be gutted and all the rubber front to back was hard so, I decided to just body off restore it to "close to original". I plan to do a few bolt on upgrades to the suspension. As you can tell I have the numbers matching engine that will eventually get restored but, I plan to use the crate motor that cam in with the car for now. I am going to go EFI as well while the crate motor is in it. Bottom line, I want a good driver that with a little wrench work can be put back to original without too much effort. I don't have the tank sticker or any documentation to make it a great NCRS car anyway.
Thanks ajrothm, I did get lucky with the condition of the project. The biggest issue was the mice had gotten to it so the interior had to be gutted and all the rubber front to back was hard so, I decided to just body off restore it to "close to original". I plan to do a few bolt on upgrades to the suspension. As you can tell I have the numbers matching engine that will eventually get restored but, I plan to use the crate motor that cam in with the car for now. I am going to go EFI as well while the crate motor is in it. Bottom line, I want a good driver that with a little wrench work can be put back to original without too much effort. I don't have the tank sticker or any documentation to make it a great NCRS car anyway.
Sounds like a solid build plan. You could always paint up the 502 to be "stock appearing" and have the best of both worlds. I'd definitely use it...They are strong and reliable, no reason not to use it.
I'm like you, I like stock appearing stuff with hidden goodies inside... I'll never sell mine so....I'm not concerned about resale value etc etc...
Are you going back with silver? That would be gorgeous!
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