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Hi everyone. just wanted to let you all in on the rebuild of my 78 Silver Anniversary(L82 4spd). I bought the car in summer of1993, and drove it during the summers up to 2001 or 2002, couldnt remember which. It currently has 65000 miles on the gauge. Its
been in my garage covered all those years it was stored. I would start it and run it hot(up to temp) once a year and wash it and vacuum it and then put it back away for another year. Well, always felt I didnt have time for it, as it had some issues that I didnt want to get into repairing at that point in time........... so, here I am, I retired as a Service Manager & Master Tech for a SkiDoo, SeaDoo, & CanAm dealer. We moved to Tennessee, I have an awesome garage/shop and I recently decided to stqart work on the Vette. Time has not been kind to it, so this rebuild/refresh is going to be much more extensive than I wished for. But, gotta get done. I did have it running when I started working on it. And took a compression check, My gauge is new so I havent compared it to a few of my bikes(i know what they have for compression and used a very accurate Snap-On gauge that I had at work. No mater, not really looking for peak numbers, more interested in variation cyc to cyl. Sooo...... high was 140 and low was 127, so thats right at 10% difference, was just informational. Engine has to come out anyway. Once I get the engine out and on the stand, then I'll do a leakdown test on it.
It's nice to have the time and space to get to your vette. I will be following along to see how it's going. Lets see some pictures of your shop if you would like to share.
Like I said, wish it hadn't gotten this far, but, things happen. I knew it needed attention when I stopped driving, but, as a shop manager and mechanic, last thing I wanted to do was come home and work on stuff. Was a service tech for better than 30 years and Service manager for 17 years. I guess hindsight is 20/20 and probably should have done something years and years ago......... mice can be pretty brutal to a car. Im sure I'll have lots of interior pictures of the shop :0)
Paint is original, I think it will be ok. The front & rear bumper covers need attention though, I'll probably remove the bumper covers and repaint them. If you look at the one picture of the drivers side of the car, you can see the dark spots in the front cover where the paint is very, very thin, to the point you can see black, either primer or plastic. the fiberglass is pretty good with a few minor imperfections, it looks dry and thin/shadowy up close to me, but from a few feet away when its been washed it looks decent. I talked to some body guys and they told me to apply MeGuiars #7 Mirror Glaze and let it set for a few days. The said the lacquer would drink in the oils that are in the Meguiars and should go a long way to breath some life into the finish. We can hope!!!!!
Paint is original, I think it will be ok. The front & rear bumper covers need attention though, I'll probably remove the bumper covers and repaint them. If you look at the one picture of the drivers side of the car, you can see the dark spots in the front cover where the paint is very, very thin, to the point you can see black, either primer or plastic. the fiberglass is pretty good with a few minor imperfections, it looks dry and thin/shadowy up close to me, but from a few feet away when its been washed it looks decent. I talked to some body guys and they told me to apply MeGuiars #7 Mirror Glaze and let it set for a few days. The said the lacquer would drink in the oils that are in the Meguiars and should go a long way to breath some life into the finish. We can hope!!!!!
Ha! The ol' Mirror Glaze #7 trick......been years since I have heard of anyone discussing it......#7 is some miracle ****....but it doesn't last forever.....got us through the 90's! Broke as a Joke!!! LOL!
Well, I hope it helps, this is the first ive heard of it ...... figured it was worth a try. At some point in the future depending how my mechanical and interior rebuild goes, maybe It'll get fresh paint...... cant complain about original paint on a 43 year old car. I probably did some damage/thinned it the first couple of years i had it, I put a coat of wax on every couple of weekends during the summer drive season.
Well, I hope it helps, this is the first ive heard of it ...... figured it was worth a try. At some point in the future depending how my mechanical and interior rebuild goes, maybe It'll get fresh paint...... cant complain about original paint on a 43 year old car. I probably did some damage/thinned it the first couple of years i had it, I put a coat of wax on every couple of weekends during the summer drive season.
My paint job is around 30 years old. It was done in 1990 using Glasserite (German) with UV in the clear. Has some rock chips but still shines like when it came out of the paint booth.
Well, I hope it helps, this is the first ive heard of it ...... figured it was worth a try. At some point in the future depending how my mechanical and interior rebuild goes, maybe It'll get fresh paint...... cant complain about original paint on a 43 year old car. I probably did some damage/thinned it the first couple of years i had it, I put a coat of wax on every couple of weekends during the summer drive season.
Product has been around for years. Just remember to have a dozen towels on hand. Very oily.
Like I said, wish it hadn't gotten this far, but, things happen. I knew it needed attention when I stopped driving, but, as a shop manager and mechanic, last thing I wanted to do was come home and work on stuff. Was a service tech for better than 30 years and Service manager for 17 years. I guess hindsight is 20/20 and probably should have done something years and years ago......... mice can be pretty brutal to a car. Im sure I'll have lots of interior pictures of the shop :0)
Hey...Life happens. We're glad you kept it inside that long....have fun...and post pics!
Heres a few more pictures. I have been working on it on and off depending on the weather........ Its been hotter than heck here in central Tn this summer. So, I'll go out and putter and start sweating profusely, Then, I know its time to pick up my tools and clean up for the day :o) On Stands and work disassembling well under way Disassembling and removing accessories The start of stripping the rear suspension out, First up....or off....calipers. Penetrating oil is your friend!!!! True duals..... think these were from a 74 L82. I was very worried about then not coming apart Stock OEM mufflers, pipes came apart fairly easy, Id been spraying joints for 2 weeks with penetrating oil.
78 Silver Anni Rebuild
