This post began in order to share my positive experience with a particular vendor while restoring the trailing arms and differential on my 1972 Coupe. As I began to write I realized I had a lot more to say about my journey as a C3 Corvette owner I am and the reasons for my particular C3 repair/restoration choices. I hope that this information can help others in their decisions. Last, I want to express my gratitude for this Forum and its members.

About me. I have been a C3 corvette owner for the past 8 years. I am mechanically inclined. I‘m a contractor by trade and have a good amount of experience building and repairing things. I am a woodworker. I can weld, solder, and do basic machining to create custom parts, adapters, jigs, etc. In short, I am confident that I can do any work on my Corvette given enough Time and Money. Space and Tools are also needed, but are a function of Money. Like many of us on the forum, I have a limited amount of these things. And that’s what this is all about. How do I, as a C3 Corvette owner, balance Time, Money, Space, and Tools.

Here goes…

I love C3 Corvettes. I remember seeing one when I was 6-ish and thinking it looked like the Mach 1. My uncle had an 80s Corvette. I saw it for the first time when I was around 12. He came to our house for some holiday. As he pulled into our driveway, I remember thinking it was the coolest car I had ever seen. I have always wanted to own one. Go figure, I also love to drive. I’ve always wanted to be a race car driver but never had enough money. (I raced downhill mountain bikes instead). I’ve always wanted a cool sports car to drive. So I LOVE to DRIVE my C3. I bought it to drive it. When I was discussing getting one with my wife she said “When are you going to drive it?” I said “All The Time!”

Like many of us - Time is Money. I work for myself. I have a house that needs repairs and improvements. I have a family I want to spend time with. I still ride mountain bikes to stay in shape and I am the head coach for an interscholastic race team.

I am on my 2nd C3. I purchased a mostly restored red 1971 350 4 speed coupe in 2016. This car had a lot of work done by the previous 2 owners, and I did as much as I had to keep it on the road. It was totaled in 2022 when an opposing driver made a left turn in front of me. A few months later I purchased an orange 1972 from a member on the forum with the insurance money – Thanks Hagerty! This one needed a lot more work, which I have been doing for the past year and a half.

I drive my Corvette as much as I can - around 2500 miles a year. I attend car shows, cars & coffee events, and have organized several group drive events. But as much as I love to, I don’t have a lot of time, money, or space to work on the car. I’ve purchased some basic tools for repairs, but I don’t have the space or money for larger ones – i.e. 12/20 ton press. The Corvettes I have owned need constant attention: leaky heater control valve, broken spark plug insulator, leaking brake caliper, broken speedometer cable, etc. And that’s in addition to the major restoration work. I’ve installed new steering boxes on both cars, repaired/replaced front and rear suspension parts, replaced the transmission, some basic engine work, etc. Since I love to drive, I always want to get the car fixed properly and back on the road in the shortest time possible. It always comes down to Time vs. Money. It is often more efficient and/or cost effective for me to buy a replacement part than to spend the time to rebuild it.

After I had it about 2 years the engine in the ‘71 blew up. Not literally, but it “spun a bearing or 2” and needed to be rebuilt. Since I had some Money but was short on Time, as well as Space and Tools, I sought a reputable mechanic. I posted the question on the forum and someone responded about an engine builder near me named Jeff Keon. At that point Leigh1322 responded that he knew Jeff well and endorsed his work. I spoke with Leigh on the phone a few times about Jeff and my engine. I decided to bring my meek 350 to Jeff and he turned it into a 400hp 383. I am sad to say that Jeff has since passed away and he is sorely missed.

One year later ‘71 got wrecked and I purchased the orange ’72. Again, I had a huge amount of help from Leigh. He came out to Copart to assess the wreck and we decided it was worth keeping for the engine. I intended to swap it out for the stock motor in the ’72. As usual, to get this done it comes down to Money, Time, Space, and Tools. I had some Money, not a lot of anything else. Leigh connected me with another mechanic friend who could help with an engine swap. Leigh was off for the summer and ended up doing most of the work himself. In addition to the engine, he performed a thorough inspection and outlined a number of issues that needed to be resolved. Then he tuned the engine according to Lars recipe. I still have the numbers matching engine. Someday I will rebuild it and put it back in.

While the ‘72 was listed as a partially restored driver, it was terrifying when I got it. It was just sloppy all over the place. After fixing the major stuff, like leaking fuel line, installing the power windows, and installing seatbelts, I set to work on the handling. On the front end, I replaced the worn out power steering box with a Borgeson box - which I had done on my first car. I replaced the upper and lower control arm bushings. I installed 550lb springs on the front and a Van Steel 360lb composite spring in the rear along with QA1 single adjustable shocks all around. I did a string alignment and adjusted the toe, camber and caster on the front, toe and camber on the rear. Drive-ability increased 1000%. It now handles better than my '71 ever did. Next up - the transmission sounded like a blender with marbles in it, so I also replaced the Muncie with Super T10 that I purchased from another Forum member. I want to continue to drive the car and rebuild the original trans in the future. My next task was to tackle the rear end. The rear wheel bearings were shot, the universals were not great, and the differential gears had play and the spindles were at the end of their life. The rear end clunked on and off the gas pedal, going over bumps and any other times it felt like it. While it handled well below 60 mph, it still wandered at higher speeds.

Here is the part about the trailing arms and differential….

I knew I needed to rebuild the rear differential, or at least replace the half shaft spindles. I also knew I had to at least replace the rear wheel bearings. I know Leigh's issues rebuilding the differential on his ’71 BB. I think he purchased 4 housings before he got one that wasn't cracked. I read lots of forum posts, watched several videos. I know removing and re-installing rear wheel bearings is exacting work that can easily go wrong and result in the new bearings destroying themselves. I wanted to do the work myself. But in the end, due to the 4 factors - Time, Space, Money and Tools -, I decided to purchase new or refurbished parts instead. I looked at all the options. High end, aftermarket, performance enhancing, and racing type parts were out due to the $$$ factor. Sending my parts out to be refurbished didn't seem to be practical either due to the shipping costs and core charges. I was also afraid my core parts would be worthless. New OEM type replacements and/or refurbished seemed to be the way to go. While exploring these options I came across refurbished rear wheel bearing assemblies sold by gear412. The price was good, without being alarmingly low. I looked him up on the forum and he has positive reviews. Lastly, he is only a 5 hour drive away in Coraopolis, PA. So I contacted Harvey Jacobs to discuss my job. He was very helpful and understanding on the phone. He was not condescending in any way, which I have found from many specialty vendors in this industry and others. He also purchases core parts and gave me a fair price. We made arrangements for me to come to his shop outside of Pittsburgh to pick up refurbished rear wheel bearing assemblies and differential.

So on a Sunday in December I jacked the back of the car up in my tiny 8' x 16' garage. I loosened the exhaust. Then I removed the tires brake calipers, rotors, rear spring, half shafts, lower strut rods, shocks, and then the trailing arms themselves. I disconnected the driveshaft from the differential, and snubber bushing, then the rear cross member with the differential attached. I dropped the diff on a trolley jack and disconnected the cross member and snubber bushing mount. On the workbench I drained the oil and removed the cover plate. All total this work took me about 8 hours. I inspected the parts. One wheel bearing had about 1/8" play, the other was seized and spinning on the axle. The diff had no broken gear teeth or debris in the housing, but a decent amount of lash. The spindles had about 0.1" end play, but were not damaged on the ends. A few days earlier there was a post regarding rust in the trailing arm seams where the metal folds over itself. It expands the joint and is virtually impossible to remove. My trailing arms have expanded seams but there did not seem to be rust in the joint. I felt like solid metal. I came to the forum and asked if the seams can be separated when produced. Nope. Once they are expanded it means there is rust inside. New trailing arms. Fortunately, Harvey has these and added them to my order.

Early Tuesday morning I set out for Jacob's Corvette. I was running about an hour early so I had texted Harvey to let him know. When I arrived, he was standing in the driveway waiting for me. His shop is in a garage next to his home in a quiet suburban neighborhood. He immediately came over to shake my hand and invited me in to take a look at his shop. It is not a pristine, sterile shop. It is a workshop, filled with parts in all conditions and smelling of fresh paint, hot metal and oil. There are several shelves with newly reconditioned and painted parts - trailing arms, rear wheel bearing assemblies, differentials, steering boxes, etc. There are parts on the bench in process. There are parts waiting to be triaged. Since I arrived early Harvy still had to install the half shaft spindles in the differential. While he worked, we talked about the refurbishing process, how he started his business, the work that he has done, as well as my experiences. Harvey showed me my refurbished parts. The tolerances on the bearings and spindles, the lash in the differential gears. All within spec or better. Then he disassembled my differential and wheel bearing assemblies for inspection. He pointed out all the places where my parts were good, slightly worn but salvageable, or damaged beyond repair. The seized bearing spindle went right in the trash.

Here’s the thing. All my life I’ve worked, played, and studied in places that construct, build, repair, fabricate, and assemble things. I know a good mechanic from a poor one. A good mechanic has a manner of working that is confident, comfortable, and relaxed. Everything is automatic. There is no hesitation. There is an innate understanding of how things work and how to troubleshoot a problem that cannot be taught. There are tricks you learn, custom tools you develop. I have tried to teach people that do not have this aptitude. It is very frustrating. “Can’t you see – when you turn this screw, it moves that lever, that pulls the cable, that moves the derailleur so the chain is in alignment with the gear?” Nope. I once watched a “mechanic” turn the wrong screw to try to make this adjustment. For an hour. A good mechanic can hold a conversation while finding the tip of the C-clip that you need to remove - that you can’t see - under the gear - in the bell housing – because you know where it is – because you have done it a thousand times.

Harvey is a very good mechanic. I would have spent all day doing what took him a few minutes. The parts I received from him are better than new and far better than anything I could have done myself. They are a good value. It was a pleasure doing business with Harvey as well as talking and getting to know him.

So this is a shout out to Harvey Jacobs (Gear412), and a huge thank you to Leigh1322, as well as all the other forum members that have helped me in my journey so far. You have all helped me manage my Time and Money to keep my Corvettes on the road.

Scott Robinson

Dher67

 

Now that's a long read for a forum post.
But a good post none the less. And ya know, Leigh has helped me out as well!
It's a nice forum we have here. Some good people.
And yes, we all juggle the space, time, money and tools. And we all juggle it a little differently.

 

Yes, Leigh is a great guy. He is an asset to the Corvette Forum. Jeff Kwoen built a 496 for me prior to his passing. He was a super guy.

Leigh has a 72 that he is restoring. It will be a monster with the motor he has 😁. We are very lucky to have many great individuals on this forum.

Bob K.

 

I've been friends with Harvey for as long as my rapidly fading memory can recall. He's a great guy and does great work. I don't get as much call for rebuilds as I once did, but I was always happy with rebuilt/restored trailing arms and a-arms he did for me in the past. I don't recall if he ever did a rear for me, but I know he's done rears for a number of other Corvette parts vendors and shops.

 

Hi Bob, didn't realize you were so close by in Jamison. I've been trying to connect with Leigh for lunch. Maybe we can all get together? Love to see your car!

Scott

 

Scott,

Lunch sounds great. I’m currently putting a 72 Coupe back together.

Bob K.

 

When someone has as much passion for Corvettes, as Scott does, or David, or Doc, or Bob or Jeff, then I enjoy helping.
The way I see it we are all like brothers in this hobby. Sometimes we need an ear, or maybe more.
All of us have at least one area where we may have more experience, tools, or ability than others, as well as vice versa.
In my younger days in the South, we just gathered at a friends house with our musclecars, and spent hours together.
Oh that's right, that's what happened at Jeff's Speed Shop too. And David's house, and Bob's garage.

What is terrific about this forum is the way so many people are willing to help other corvette "brothers"!
Even if we can't be in the same driveway.
Kudos to you guys!

 

I'll drink to that Mate!