I have a 77 4spd. Its a driver and has been for 38 years. Its not that rusty underneath but to make it nice I have all the front suspension and steering out of the car and I am rebuilding and repainting everything. I already have the interior done. After the front end I will tackle restoring the rear. Motor is freshened up. Tranny is completely rebuilt. Both are in the car and have been for a few years.
So far I have been working on the car for 5 months and I am not getting very far.
When I got the car 5 months ago it was a running driving car but ratty.
I want it to be nice and clean, rebuilt and safe to drive so I started taking it apart and I may have gotten carried away!!
So far I have done the following...
Completely restored the interior to probably a 7 out of 10 condition
Rebuilt and painted the front calipers
Upper and lower control arms are stripped of all components and ready for new bushings and paint
Sway bar is stripped and ready for paint
Steering knuckles are cleaned and ready for paint
Radiator is removed and needs to be sent out and tested.
Air conditioning has been completely removed
Exhaust has been removed because I am installing headers and side pipes
I ordered many new replacement parts for the front end but none of it has been installed.
I have removed parts all over the garage and boxes with new parts stacked up everywhere. Next up on the hit list is to remove the power steering control valve, the ram and all the steering rods because I want to rebuild the valve and replace all the rod ends. The control valve is leaking. After that I can paint the front frame and crossmember. Then mask off the crossmember and paint the rest of the motor blue. Then.... THE LIST GOES ON AND ON!!! I read many posts on this forum where owners seem to go from a ratty car to showroom condition in less time that I took to just get where I am which is basically a car on jackstands and part all over the place!! So... how long did it take you to restore your car back to safe and fun driving condition?

 

I'm at 10 years now and only just got the chassis back together. Still have to build an engine and redo the entire body.

 

I've owned my car about 10 years now.....it's a work in progress. I completely tear it apart, fix whatever i'm into at the time, then put it back together and drive it for a while.....then repeat. (I just finished rebuilding the trailing arms, the front suspension, and the rearend.)
Don't get into comparing yourself with others. Everyone is different, and some have nothing but time to invest in these cars, while others have families, work, and other commitments that slow progress.
The important thing is that you enjoy fixing your car, and don't let the project get in the way of more important stuff. It's a hobby, enjoy it.....

 

Don't worry about it. Work at your own pace.

 

I Think you're doing fine. It took me 2 1/2 months to completely dis-assemble, ship out TA's and diff for rebuild, clean and paint everything under the car, and re-assemble. And I'm retired! The good news is, with winter coming soon, you want feel as much pressure to get it on the road. The worst time for me was the weather got good in the spring and my car was in pieces. You need to set a target to have the car road ready by the end of March. Make a timeline for each task and make sure you stay on task. My lesson was to start projects at beginning of the winter, to insure car can be enjoyed in spring and summer.

 

I'm in the 10 year club too. I'll pick a project, drive for a season and then move to the next project. I've just about been through the entire car. Next on the list is to have rear end rebuilt with 3.73 gears and upgrade the steering to Borgeson unit. Then I finally get to tackle the bottom end of the motor and build a 383 stroker. My main hurdle is $$$, but I just do a little every year. Good luck with your project and move at a pace that suits you!!!

 

With any project it's time + Energy + skill = a finished car. Some guys can put that 2-3 hours a night and 16 hours on the weekend. us . Guys with kids are lucky if we can find 4 hours a week. Also the **** factor comes into play. I personally like a good looking driver that performs perfect. I have absolutely no time to sand and paint a sway bar but I will find time to replace end links if needed.
To each his own. I rather enjoy driving my car and when time allows, then I'll go back and paint if I feel the urge.

 

I just bought a '71 about a month ago that is decent, but needs bodywork, paint, fix a few things in the interior, etc. I got it running after the previous owner let it sit for 31 years. Now that it is running I am driving it and enjoying it until I can afford to do the next item on the list. Like others said, work at your own pace and it will be done one day. Good luck!

 

I see some builds go fast and some go slowly, I also know some cats work really quickly and some of us drag it out due to various reasons,
In my case my 69 was as you call it "ratty" or for me "batty" condition when I bought it in '09
My plan was a "driver" I could tinker on while I drove it, since modding it was my intention stock numbers game didn't count making the rebuild easier.
What I want is a car that is good or in mines case better than it was in 69 new but not one of the top shelf no money spared builds by a long shot.
One thing led to another and in the time since '09 the car has had a chassis swap out, 3 different engines etc etc, the car is now at Mikes shop and I am really believing it will be running and driving ( but still needing tinkering ) by Turkey rod run.
I do have some pillar rust that I am gonna tackle but I want to try to do it so it doesn't keep the car down for weeks or months.
I am not in the decade to build club but close, in my case several things mix together to slow things down, the chassis swap fellow said it would take him about a week and it was 9 months that wasn't what I wanted at all, I was at his ball dropping mercy...reason 101 it's better to just do it yourself.
My health issues mix well with my lack of facilities and skinny budget, you guys who boast about buying 2nd lifts for your multi car shops with ac and heat tend to take your blessing for granted.
I had a buddy who would say "what's your hurry" when people would ask about when his car would be done, but I'm bored working on it, I wanna drive it again so I am really pushing things to make that happen asap.
I do a lot of research and when I do work on the car it tends to really come together fast.
So build time for me...7 years ( and counting )

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...m-project.html

 

I have had mine 20 years now. 5 different variations of motor. Currently LS3. Rebuilt the Muncie a few times then went to a TKO now I have a T56. I have had the body painted twice and have had probably 6 or 8 different suspensions under the car. Stock gauges to a custom set now. So rebuild time ha been forever but I have driven it a lot also. They are never done. Always looking to improve it.

 

I spend tons more time researching everyone's ideas for upgrades than I do actually installing them. You know, measure twice cut once. I get my mind made up then I don't regret my choices. If I were you I'd do the Borgeson steering box upgrade then you don't need to mess with all the other leaky steering components.

 

4 yrs. from this



To this!

 

Going on three years for me complete frame off on my 76

 

Bought mine in 2006 with a rusted out frame...took me 2 years to do the chassis restoration and drop the body back on.


Been driving it since 2008 and working on it as money /time permits (usually in winter) keeps the motivation up this way instead of looking at boxes of parts

 

I'm in at least 9 years....

My build has changed direction a few times- but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel- however, took a wrong turn and just decided to do a total custom interior...
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...tock-look.html

Owned the car since High School- 1980. Took it off the road in the mid 80's and it just sort of sat. 2007 decided I was going to get back at it- stripped the paint and had it painted back to the original Nevada Silver...then it sat a few more years- bought and sold a 454 and then a 502- then decided to go w/ it's current configuration w/ a V12 and it snowballed from there!!!

Goal is to be driving it this Spring-but I didn't say what year!!!

Stripping the paint-











Fast forward many years-

DSCN4811 by Richard Hayes, on Flickr

DSCN4814 by Richard Hayes, on Flickr

 

My 81 was an 8 month restoration, got it for my 50th birthday 5 years ago. Has 25,200 actual miles a blast to drive and show.

 

5 months for me some of that was 18 hour days because I work full time out of town
from this



75 L48 original 31K miles auto air sat for 19 years

To this



Still doing some work this winter trans front seal u joints check rear end

 

I've had mine four years. I do all the work in the winter and drive it all summer