Hi all!

Firstly, thank you all for being so kind and informative to us "new blood" C3 owners! Really appreciate and value all of your feedback/ advice.

Now.. onto the "nitty gritty" of this here thread

Some may remember my very recent first post / thread where I talked about getting my darling 1975 Stingray..

re: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...ery-sense.html

Well, I got her and have been "waking her up" and driving her around for the past 2 days and I'm absolutely hooked! Love the feel, handle, sound, everything about this beautiful machine - like most C3 lovers here

And also like most of you here, I've already started my "TO-DO" list of touch-ups and repairs..

I've also gone ahead and taken loads of pictures to show you guys what I'm working with here.. (and because some of you asked for 'under the hood' photos which I didn't have at the time.)

I'm going to post a few of my Stingray sitting pretty first and then close-ups of what I'll be taking on over the next few months to a year.. - if any of you have had similar fixes / updates & can offer advice on some of these repairs, I promise to bake delicious cookies & cupcakes for our next C3 meet up

- Cleaned the master cylinder today. suspected it may have had a leak so we went ahead and cleaned it out and refilled it. giving it a solid week to clean up its act or else i'm swapping it out.

- Coolant was leaking last night because this bugger popped out of place. squeezed it back in and put a clamp on it. how long do you guys think i should leave this as-is? good resolution for this coolant leak? my mechanic who used to own an '80 'vette, says the pipes look good for now and i don't need to replace them just yet.. thoughts? ..other than those pipes, everything looks pretty good. all fluids are clean and full. all other pipes were newer than expected and seemed to be in perfect working condition. his take was for me to drive it daily for the next week or so to see what cries for help.

- The hood on this beauty seems a bit "off".. as if it was either after market OR got bent out of shape somehow? It also has a couple of cracks in it. I'd like to get this either adjusted or replaced soon as it's not only a major eye sore, but it also stops the windshield wipers from functioning properly at times.

- Driver's side door rust? Re: Photos below.

- "Corvette" letters on rear bumper.. they all look and feel decent except for the "R" which feels a little wiggly / loose. Any suggestions for a permanent fix?

- Missing a couple of screws on the "chrome" bottom panel, driver's side. Suggestions on where I can find these? What they're called? Etc?

- Rear window has this stuff built up around the edges.. was wondering what it was and if any of you have had something similar happen before I attempted to clean it out.

- Piping. This will certainly be a project. My guy says he can install it for $350 - $500.. does that sound about right? Where should I buy the piping when I'm ready?

- Interior Door Panels. Clearly, they need some love. Anyone in SoCal also taking on door panels as a project? Would love to meet up and chat / work together!

- Locks. THIS has been driving me nuts - The driver side lock is a bit dodgy at times.. any advice on making it operate smoothly? it's extremely difficult to lock / unlock with the key from exterior and the handle on the lock (as pictured, interior) is loose and on its last leg. Any tips on where I can find parts / info on fixing this would be awesome!

- All gauges seem to be in good working order except the clock.. which is also missing the button / screw to adjust it.. could i find this part at a local place or should i order online? Any ideas on how to get it working again?

- Seems as if my hubcap is trying to run away from home.. I tried to pop it back in yesterday but it needs a pair of heavy duty, strong, man hands .. Really scared to drive it around until I can get this secured back in its place. Help?

- Driver's side, second rear light is out. The white one in the middle. Noticed it last night.. Could it be a lamp or a fuse? Any threads / advice on a self-repair for this?

Misc.
- Hood Release. It's a bit tight and takes a tug or two to get it to work.. anything I can do to have it operate smoothly? WD-40?
- Accelerator pedal feels a bit loose, can I simply tighten it or should I replace it?
- A/C Vents. Mine seem like they've seen the best and worst of it. Want to switch them all out.. advice on where to go and what to get?
- Any preventative steps I should be taking to keep my headlamps working as they are..? Maintenance advice to help longevity?

- Noticed a strange piece of electrical tape just above the pedals.. Couldn't figure out for the life of me what that was for?! Maybe you guys can help me figure it out..??

- Also, does anyone know what the "Left Lamps" / "Right Lamps" buttons are for..? (see photo below)


Stingray:



Interior:



Under Hood:





Body Repairs:




A Bit'o Rust?.. scary. - Mechanic said to just add a touch of WD-40 to this and it will take care of itself. True or False?



"CORVETTE" Letters on Rear Bumber:


Bottom Panel / Driver's Side:


Rear Window:


Piping:


Paint Repairs:

Driver Side Door:


Passenger Door:

Back Near Antenna:


Front Nose:


- I'll probably get a full body re-paint done in a couple years. Going to start saving my change now..


Interior Repairs:

Both Door Panels:




Locks:



Gauges:



Center Console:



- Missing ashtray. Woe is me.


Wheels:



Tape Above Pedals:



"Left Lamp / Right Lamp":


Totally minor but really disgusting. Any advice on how to clean this up?


Found this while cleaning.. really excited to have the original manual STILL with the car


ps. pls excuse the appearance of my hands in these photos.. as you can see I've been toying around with the car all day so they're looking a little rough lol Promise I'm not as much of a mess in real-life hahaha!

Thanks in advance guys! Can't wait to meet some / most of you SoCal C3 lovers + owners!

Looking forward to your feedback!

 

My apologies! ..just noticed I posted this in Tech / Perf by accident. Moderators, pls feel free to move this to General if you see fit.

 

Your questions are all buried between the pictures. Might be easier if you just list them and we can then refer to the pictures if necessary.

 

fixed!

 

Driver's side door rust, that is actually a spring that can be replaced cheaply, but it is a little awkward to pop the new one in, the wd 40 would work if it is binding but the spring can break,

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/body...placement.html
here is a link about replacing

 

Thank you!

 

I will try to help you with this one. These are not buttons, they are fiber optic lights that were used in 68-71 Corvettes and discontinued after that (I think). They would transfer the illumination of the light bulbs in the front of the car to the cabin to let the driver know if the lights were functioning or not. Since your car is a 75 it makes me think that the console has been replaced some where along the way. I think also it would be very difficult and expensive to get them working because the fiber optic wires were part of the cars wiring harness and not available on the 75.

 

ah! that makes a ton of sense. i'll look into this a little more now that i know what the heck they are, or were supposed to be, rather..

Thank you!!

 

- Seems as if my hubcap is trying to run away from home.. I tried to pop it back in yesterday but it needs a pair of heavy duty, strong, man hands .. Really scared to drive it around until I can get this secured back in its place. Help?

Buy a rubber mallet and wack it.

 

- Missing a couple of screws on the "chrome" bottom panel, driver's side. Suggestions on where I can find these? What they're called? Etc?

If you are talking about the exterior, it is called a rocker panel molding.
http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1970-1973.html
If you are talking about the interior it is a door sill molding.
http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1968-1977.html

 

All gauges seem to be in good working order except the clock.. which is also missing the button / screw to adjust it.. could i find this part at a local place or should i order online? Any ideas on how to get it working again?

****
https://www.paragoncorvette.com/p-35...-****-kit.aspx

I would replace the clock with a quartz movement

 

- Driver's side, second rear light is out. The white one in the middle. Noticed it last night.. Could it be a lamp or a fuse? Any threads / advice on a self-repair for this?

Only works when in reverse

 

"Cleaned the master cylinder"
Watch for brake fluid leaks on tires to ground.

"Coolant ... clamp ...good resolution for this coolant leak? "
Yes.

"hood on this beauty seems a bit "off"..."
Open hood & look in the ‘gutters’ for rectangular blocks which help position hood.

"Tape above petals"
It appears it is to help hold together the duct to driver side vent. You can get black duct tape at Auto Zone.

"Piping" evidently refers to the rubber weather strips.

"Locks" key
Get some graphite lock lube at Auto Parts or Hardware.
Interior lock ****- there is just a clip holding it- may be fine.

 

You all are amazing! Thank you!!

 

Did you look at this car before you bought it?
Theres a lot of stuff thats minor but takes a little knowledge to fix and some stuff a whole lot of work by a pro to fix.

 

She did ask a host of questions. Perhaps she could put a priority on them. And yes a lot of work has to be done. I guess the basic question is: What level of restoration does she wish to achieve? The other thread makes mention of this car being a daily driver. I doubt that that is real consideration for a C3 or perhaps she thinks so?. But she will have to tell us what her needs are for this vehicle.

I would first get an assessment of the possibility of a bent or rotten frame. Too many body parts do not fit properly.

 

Noticed "C-n-V" on the front plate...grrrr. We've had some LONG threads on this forum in the past where these guys were involved. Overall not a half bad lookin' car though-curious about the suspension, frame, T-arms, brakes, etc.,etc.

 

Front and rear.........