finallygotit

So I started the project during the Christmas break, but just now decided I would drag you along on the journey, so here we go!

I got her on the dollies, and damn if it isn't the easiest way to move a car - ever!



I got her prepped for the next day's activities...



Started lifting her with the floor jack, then put the boards under the rails to give me enough space to route the straps (HF cheapies). Then took her up a bit to test the lift



I then enlisted my helpers (nice to have kids home from college for once!) so that I had 3 sets of eyes. I had planned this in my head about 100 times...



With the lift complete, we rolled the chassis over and wheeled the body dolly in place. I made sure to build it so it would clear the shop crane's legs.



With that done, the next day I took the body to the storage locker so I could focus on the chassis





Once I got the engine and transmission out, it went a bit faster...the rear end was a pain but I got it done





So I am in Tucson, and I looked at a lot of media blasting places before settling on Elegant Iron. They are a small husband & wife business and instantly gained my confidence that they would take care of me.

So the list of things that needed done were:

• Blast it clean of all that rust
• Repair the rusted areas
• swap body mounts #2 and #3 with replacements and fabricate repairs on the #1 & #4 mounts
• Box in the engine mounts
• Repair a hasty weld from a few years ago
• Repair the front bumper support, as one of my brothers who owned the car before me apparently towed it and bent the crap out of it
• Inspect the frame for any unseen damage (hiding under all that grime)
• Powder coat the frame, and all of the suspension parts I turned in

So I dropped the stuff off...and waited...



Now as you see, the body is hurting. Years ago I got it running so my son could drive it his senior year of high school (like I did...this car has been in the family since 1982). Just to show you...this is me the day before I left for the U.S. Army in 1986. That is my car behind me.



But 2014 is the year of the Corvette (got my wife to agree to that!) so I contacted Tom Kumisca here in Tucson (if you know who he is...you know how lucky I am) to inspect the body and see if it is something he would be willing to work on. He said YES!!

So I gutted the engine bay so he can work his magic. She is getting painted the original silver to go along with the original claret interior.



Tom picks it up this Friday!!!

So Thursday night the folks at Elegant Iron delivered my frame and parts. I was floored...






So I need to hold off on reassembling the frame until Tom is done with it (he needs to put the body on the frame so he can set the doors and headlights correctly). Once I get it back, its time to reassemble!!!

Still need to order the crate engine, transmission, and more parts....

But I am on my way!!!!

If you are in Tucson and looking for a great media blaster/powder coater/fabricator I cannot recommend Elegant Iron enough. I am going to have them build me a custom dolly next so I can work on the body after Tom is done with it and not have all that wood in my way. I'll post those pics once its done.

Thanks for reading - feel free to comment or criticize.

Pat

MIKE80

Looks like you're moving along nicely. Took me about 7 years to get mine back on the road. I went with red powdercoat for mine. Keep us updated, it's looking great so far.

91turbo2

Good to know about the fabricator, I'm just a few hours away in Yuma. Cool project.

garygnu

great thread and pics ! make sure to check where the front lower A-arms mount to the frame .check for any cracking ,or tearing in the metal.consider using your current short block ,and do a 383 ,or a 396 stroker motor .from what I under stand the lock up turbo 350 is not a good piece to rebuild for high hp motor .

AGVI

Cool thread! I love my silver '80 with claret interior also!

davidchristopher

that looks great!

Any lessons learned so far? My "new" frame will be here mid-march. I have to prep and make some minor repairs to it before I can use it. I'd love to hear any thoughts/ideas/regrets...

finallygotit

Not yet...but I am sure I will have some soon.

finallygotit

Thanks - already looked all over that area and didn't see anything but I guarantee you I will look again when I reinstall them.

I had the motor worked on about 4 years ago and something still went wrong...money down the drain. I am going to tear it down as a side project but store it if I ever decide I have to part ways.

Not sure what you mean about the turbo 350. I could just have it serviced and use it - it has been solid - but I want the OD. So that tranny will go away.

diehrd

If your going o/d get those rear gears to a deeper ratio so you can enjoy it anda fun ratio would be 3.70 or so .

MrJlr

Awesome progress - and fast

Looks great! I'll be watching!

Teem66

Wish I had your initiative.............and money

finallygotit

our other discussion is still fresh in my mind

bwinterstine

Subscribed! I don't want to blink and miss something.

finallygotit

So a short update....

I put the rear impact bar back together after cleaning it up and having the little brackets on the bottom bent back into shape. Anyone know what those are for????



Figured I would get a picture of the front bumper support with that nice new PC in the sun. They also bent the front lip back down after the PO bent it up (probably from towing). Looks good!



So I dropped by TKO Auto Restoration and Tom showed me how much rust there was. It was nasty. I will try to put them in before and after order...









Took some parts over today, and then came home to straighten up the garage. Still feels like I did nothing...but in about 2 weeks I can start reassembling the chassis!

Pat

doorgunner

RATS! You're going to pass me up in another month!

Street Rat

Looks like she is going to be a nice restoration. Great pictures on your project. You have done very well so far. Keep up the good work!

finallygotit

nah...I guarantee I am going to hit a point that I just can't seem to make progress.

doorgunner

That's normal......I hit that same point 4 times already!

finallygotit

So not a lot happening in the garage other than cleaning bolts and sorting parts. However in the shop TKO is making great progress on the body.





They showed me how much work they had done to the rear bumper to have it mate flush to the body (original bumpers btw). Its damn near perfect!

Hopefully it gets primer this week and sits for a time to settle, and that means I get my frame back so I can start reassembly!!!!!

finallygotit

Sharing a bit more. Body is getting painted next week and the wooden dolly you see in the pictures did not fare so well. Since I am putting a lot of $ into this repair and paint, I wanted the body to sit on a dolly that I trusted completely. So I designed one with lots of inspiration from a dolly maker (imitation being the sincerest and cheapest form of flattery) who wanted $450 + $250 shipping.

30 minutes messing with the online free CAD tool, $100 in steel tubing, reusing the casters from the wooden one, and $150 to a welder to come to my house and do all of the welding this morning.

I am a happy camper