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So, as mentioned in another thread I purchased a 1975 'Vette, Steel Blue, A/T with a crate 350 motor and rebuilt transmission. Drove about 3 hours each way to trailer it home, but think it was worth the $5k I paid for it. This car was a barn find when the PO found when purchasing ranch at auction. My thoughts of Corvettes started way back when my uncle had a C3 ('74 I think) that I thought was just stunning. I waited about 46 years to get my, first and suddenly find myself with 4 (C3, C4, C6 and C7). This one is truly the hallmark for me, though. So, what do I have planned for it? I don't know completely, but here's a few things I have put to mind. One of the biggest is the paint. The PO offered a very good price to repaint the same color which would be very nice, however, since it is not a numbers matching car I guess I have room to change. I much prefer a gloss black on my vehicles and think that is the way that I will go when the time comes.
Mechanically, things that I have planned include changing the distributor cap, spark plugs and wires, draining and flushing the fluids, bleeding the brakes (they seemed very spongy) along with the e-brake, replacing the tires and fixing the gauges.
Everything else is purely for aesthetics including interior/exterior LED lights, fixing the clock, and probably a few chrome pieces here and there.
For those that haven't seen it here are a few pics of the car as it stood when I picked it up. It needs lots of TLC which has already started. I state upfront that I will likely ask some silly questions and some repeatedly asked questions all in the effort of making this a very nice car.
Looks like it has a few nice options.
The interior look pretty dirty, but that it could clean up nicely with some elbow grease.
Best of luck with your project. Nice find.
So, in the time that it has been in my garage I have completely cleaned the exterior to remove the moss looking spots on the body, cleaned and vacuumed the the interior to remove the carpet stains, replaced the headlight switch ****, cigarette lighter plug and clock ****. Spent today replacing the dome light, driver's courtesy light, cigarette lighter light, A/T shift light, HVAC and A/C control light to LED. May do the distributor, plugs and wires tomorrow. Still need to get the title and registration taken care of, so I can drive it once the mechanical issues are taken care of.
Looks like it has a few nice options.
The interior look pretty dirty, but that it could clean up nicely with some elbow grease.
Best of luck with your project. Nice find.
Thanks. We'll see how nice of a find it is once I get into some of the updates.
The color was actually called Bright Blue in '75 and '76. I once started adding chrome pieces here and there...
STA70972
At the very least I would like a clean engine bay. Yours is on whole nuther level. Reminds me of my first Hayabusa that I was only going to add a few chrome pieces to. Gives me some great ideas though. Debating about adding a/c to it.
Mr. Big,
The first thing that caught my eye was the fan. That fan is doing absolutely nothing except hunting for someone's fingers. It should be well inside the shroud.
So, either the clutch fan part is missing or maybe that year model had a shroud extension.
Next, I noticed an oil fill cap on the valve cover. So, it's unlikely the crankcase is getting any evacuation, but maybe. PCV, breather, etc.
Interior looks like it faired well considering its age. Some of the screws in the upper center fell out, buts that's all fixable. Wear a mask when removing any of the moldy carpet and you may have to lightly bleach the floorboards.
All takes time,
Good Luck
Mr. Big,
The first thing that caught my eye was the fan. That fan is doing absolutely nothing except hunting for someone's fingers. It should be well inside the shroud.
So, either the clutch fan part is missing or maybe that year model had a shroud extension.
Next, I noticed an oil fill cap on the valve cover. So, it's unlikely the crankcase is getting any evacuation, but maybe. PCV, breather, etc.
Interior looks like it faired well considering its age. Some of the screws in the upper center fell out, buts that's all fixable. Wear a mask when removing any of the moldy carpet and you may have to lightly bleach the floorboards.
All takes time,
Good Luck
That's great information. @HeadsU.P. . Particularly the part about crankcase evacuation. I'll tale a look at that. Didn't pay any attention the oil fill cap there. As I wait for parts to come in to help with the interior, I think I will take a first look at the engine and engine bay.
Today, received my new windshield wipers with spray nozzles and the hoses to connect to the reservoir, fan shroud extension, lower ignition brackets to help clean up the distributor wires and dome lens cover for the inside. Started bleeding the brakes a couple of days ago and found a ridiculous amount of air in the master cylinder. I didn't realize the brake light on the gauge cluster was indicative of pressure. I was able to get it to go out after a few pumps, but once I took my foot off the brake it would come back. I have been doing a lot of reading on the right bleeding procedure lately.
My C3 Thread
