Ok,

Long story short, bought this car for what I believe to be a good deal, and although most of the major engine, shocks, brakes, U joints, etc have been rebuilt or replaced, I've still got a lot of work on my hands.

Basically it seems the person who bought the car started it, got pretty far, didn't finish, slapped everything back on and sold it. Me being new to this, I'm learning EVERYTHING as I start out. Some issues I have but have found solutions to (key stuck in ignition/cylinder needs replacing, passenger door won't open, tach doesn't work, etc), however, 2 things I think I need some advice on.

(note: just bought the car, doing my research here to make a game plan on what to attack and how once spring rolls around, so not too much toying, for now I'm in the planning stages).

1st - I see a lot different way to polish the exhaust and rear bumpers. (I've got a '75 with a '73 rear end). I've got pitting that needs to be addressed. Questions are: Is there anything I can do now, over the winter in my garage to address this/stop it from getting worse, and second, what/how do you guys recommend I go about cleaning these up and making them look pretty again?





2nd - I've got a wiggly steering wheel. That is, I can turn it 1/4 right or left before it moves the wheels. (both while driving and standing still) It seems just loose and doesn't respond until I turn about 1/4 of the way. What am I looking at here? I'm completely lost and only thing I can think of is power steering issue? But what/and where do I start looking for info to fix it?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

For the rust, the damage is done so some chrome polish and aluminum foil will knock down the rust and makethe parts driver quality. It will leave fine scratches in the chrome so do not use this on good chrome.
First thing you need to check for the steering should be the steering coupler.

 

If you can safely get the car elevated, while still sitting on the wheels, and check underneath as someone turns the steering wheel should be able to see where the slack is - check from wheel to wheel...

good luck, have fun...

 

Hi Pete,
New Corvette... NICE!
You'll probably develop quite a list of things that appear to need attention. I'd like to suggest 2 books that will help you and are worth the $.
The AIM, "ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTION MANUAL", this is the book of engineering drawings that was used on the production line in St. Louis where your car was built.
And the GM "1975 CHASSIS SERVICE MANUAL". This book was used by the service techs at the dealerships.
Most of the larger vendors sell them.
I think you'll really learn to appreciate them both.
Regards,
Alan

 

Don't forget to check the Willcox site.

Ron http://willcoxcorvette.com/repairand...621136d3242276

 

Hey Petes75Vette!

I feel you my brother. I have a '75 Coupe that I found/bought on Ebay. Looked great, but had a grocery list of issues. Have you replaced the coupler? Corvette Central has a replacement for $10, which I have on the way to me.

As far as the chrome, I agree with the previous thread that it's done. Rechrome or replace are your choices.....

My Couple is the object of my affection and where I put all of my extra cash.

Please keep us posted of the progress.

 

Thanks for all the tips folks.

Any idea what some have been paying to re-chrome the exhaust and bumpers?

I've bought the Millenium Industries Assembly manual, as well as the "Wiring Diagram for Complete Chassis" off ebay. Is the Chassis service manual mentioned the same as the wiring diagram, or different?

Thanks for the heads up on the coupler. Going to research that some more and probably replace that + the ignition cylinder as soon as it warms a bit. After that, yeah, about 15 things on the to-do. We'll see how far and how quickly I take it. Trying to determine if I really need a working tach and should spend the $ to fix it right now, or put it lower on my list. Haha, I'm sure I'll have a ton of those predicaments.

 

Key stuck: dont bother with tearing it apart to rebuild it, just buy a new one at Autozone.
Wiggly steering wheel: either the rag joint is severly torn or you have to tear apart the column to tighten the four torx bolts that tighten down the upper section to the lower column section. (do a search- plenty of info here on how to do it)
PS-How much did you pay for your new Vette?

 

Get yourself a heater for that garage you have too much to do and driving weather will be here before you know it!

 

I paid $8,600.

What do you think. Good or bad deal. Here are the details:

1975 w/ '73 rear end. 61K on the original odometer, but apparently after the rebuild there's only about 2K. (short version of the story, bought it from a family member who bought it because it was "cool" but knew nothing about it, had it for a year and got bored (does this a lot, shoot, he had a Viper for 4 months before he traded it). Anyway, he didn't know much about the car so I'm putting pieces together.

New paint (2 years old, but it's a bad paint job (bubbles in some spots)), plus 2 knicks up front.

Original sellers ad: "This vehicle has been rebuilt from bottom up. All new ujoints, all new brake lines, all new hoses, all new calipers, all new rotors, all new seals, a new pan gasket all new KYB gas-charged shocks, all new carpet, all new seat covers with an all new 350 w/ an Edelbrotck Intake, a Holly 750 dualfeed/dual pump, 2300 Satall Converter, Hooker True Header side pipes and accompanied with a new 400 turbo transmission.

She runs well, but I do have a to-do list going. (the wiring in the engine looks all chopped up, I'm sure there will be a lot of time spent cleaning that out and figuring out what's going on).

 

I customized the rear bumpers on my '72 and paid $400 to have them chromed (local place). Show chrome company said $750 if they didn't need a lot of work (they were worried about the welds).

Corvette Central sells US made rear bumpers for $758 or foreign-made (China?) for $449.

The exhaust is probably big bucks to have them re-chromed but the chrome pipes sell for less than $350 a pair brand new.

Not sure about Millenium Industries. The AIM (Assembly Instruction Manual) everyone refers to is the actual set of engineering drawings used on the line at GM and sells for around $20. If the pages in your assembly manual don't look something like this, you've purchased something else:


The Chassis Service Manual has step-by-step procedures for repairing all systems on the car; brakes, suspension, engine, etc. Not sure if it's good or bad but the manual contains procedures for the whole Chevrolet line so you have to flip past the '75 Nova procedures to find the specifics for your Corvette. It's available on CD using Adobe Reader so you can search for specific items.

 

Since the wiring under the hood is 'chopped up', check that the tack wire is actually hooked into the distributer.

 

My opinion on the price of a C3 Vette:
$2000-$3000 and everything is needed to be rebuilt
$5000 either running and ugly, or new paint and not running
$8000-$10,000 new paint, new engine and minor stuff needed
$10,000+ car show ready

I think you got a good deal!

 

Thanks for the tip on the manuals Bob.

Thanks. I was also thinking it could be the board as it's stuck at just above the 5 (500 RPM). Won't move up or down. Thoughts?

Thanks. Yeah, I thought it was a good deal, and ultimately it's worth what someone's willing to pay for it, and I was willing to pay that much.

 

As for the sloppy steering, do as previously mentioned and have someone move steering wheel while you look to see where the slop is; the coupler is a common fix I have replaced my entire front suspension and coupler and adjusted steering box. It still has a little (too much, but much better now) play and my next step is to have steering box rebuilt or upgraded. My point is you may have to replace a lot of parts to get where you want to be. The coupler is a part I would not shop for cheapest -- you don't want a failure there!!! There has been a lot of discussion here on CF about rebuilding or replacing with quality vs cheap coupler. Do your homework on this one. I replaced mine with u-joint, just remember there are pros and cons with everything and you need to research and make your own decision based on your own needs.

There are some good papers out on troubleshooting the tach. I would do some basic troubleshooting before I start throwing money at it. As far as priorty list goes, I've been working on my car with no tach for 5 years now and finally bought one of the Willcox boards since I am driving much more now. Willcox designed their own board and use a 15-position pot so you can calibrate for your car which I liked!!!

 

Quick question on the tach..you say the front is a 75..the rear a 73..well that means the racy was cable driven as the car was originally a points car..it has an HEI cap on the distibutor..the tach wont work..they sell distributors with the hookup in them to run HEI and the factory cable driven tach..and the list goes on and on..

 

sorry about the repost..haven't figured out how to edit on the mobile version

 

I have had very good luck at taking minor serface rust like your bumpers are with "00" extra fine steel wool and a cleaner wax.
It leaves no scratches and will get you more time out of your crome.
re croming is the best but clean them up and save your money for other projects for now.

George

 

I believe its the rear bumper, but not necessarily the whole "rear end" so to speak. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I have, if there's any easy way to check for a '73 rear end (not the cosmetic part), please let me know.

Thanks. What exactly was your process, and what cleaner wax did you use (regular car wax or chrome polish)?

 

I got 0000 steel wool at Lowe's. It's a little finer than 00. I'm not sure I'd put chrome polish on the headers or sidepipes. It might discolor when hot.

The aluminum foil trick works for a little while, but re-chroming is the only "fix." I think I paid about $450 to rechrome my rear bumpers. I would caution that the aftermarket one's don't always fit perfectly, which could be made worse by the rear-end surgery. If you can save the bumpers you have, I would.