Luke42_02

You know, it's a funny thing, but there is a fair amount of craftsmanship in medicine as well. For me the two go hand in hand.

NavyDoc2007

Nice job on the restoration!

Corvette Forum Editor

Nicely done! Front page news indeed!
https://www.corvetteforum.com/articl...ck-brink-junk/

Downesrick

Like, impressive isn't the word I would use...incredible might be close, however Awesome comes to mind for me!
I have been a corvette lover since I rode in my first 58 and couldn't take a 20 off the dash as my uncle whipped through the gears! I was a fan forever, and even though we all endured the cruddy generations from 4-6...the 7 is the first vette I dream of owning! I have a 1 and a 3, but the 7 just gets me all revved up again like mine do!

To see someone take the time and effort to BUILD virtually an entire car with no experience...well my friend you are my hero! I watch cars sitting in fields or yards and say to my wife that those owners need to let go if there not going to fix and keep them on the road! Such a waste to watch cars disintegrate...knowing they will be lost forever! You my friend have done what others dream about! Being a corvette advocate I have to not only say great job, but THANK YOU! Thank you for saving what would have been another lost corvette!

MickP

First and foremost, great and unbelievable job on your restoration!

Second, I have (actually 'had') a pair of shoes EXACTLY like yours. Not just the brand but the condition too!!! Well, maybe not exactly, they were probably a bit worse. And I said 'had' because I just recently tossed them, much to the relief of my wife!!!

Greg00Coupe

Tell you what Luke what you did way surpasses the sinkhole restores!!!! Museum/GM has lot of $ and lot of connections and resources. You are a one man army!!!!

Cool!!!!

in2vettes4ever

Hey Luke - I know an older gentleman with an old tornado damaged roadster that needs some help finishing it up. Want me to bring the trailer by so we can drag it over to your place? I wouldn't want to see you get bored after finishing the C7!

AttyVette

Obviously you are a smart man and you have a talent for details Congratulations on a fantastic restoration / rebuild, as you definitely brought this Corvette back to life! Your patients are undoubtedly also fortunate to have you on their respective cases, as I am sure that you also make sure that no stone is unturned on their medical care as well.

AmbulanceDriver

....if the whole medicine thing doesnt pan out, he can always make a killing restoring cars. You would never even be able to tell it was the same car!!!!

fisher auto

I did a C5 Z a few years ago and there were times I wish I didn't get involved. But in the end it teaches you alot about yourself and dedication! Nicely done, enjoy it!!!

KM177122

Awesome job!

SixAddict

Outstanding project you completed, as an old head I can definitely appreciate your drive and dedication. Congratulations and have fun enjoying your "new" ride.

dmaxx3500

some more pics of it torn down would help,and was the frame bent too?,,and what parts did you buy,new/used?,,and does the $34k include labor or did you work for free?

rsparks64

Luke42_02

Thanks everyone for their kind words, and to be on the front page... wow, what an honor! I really appreciate everything. I am planning to get a couple "how to" posts up this weekend. Where should they go? Here in the general forum, or in the tech forum?

Luke42_02

The 34k does not include labor. This was something done for fun, so I don't count the labor as a cost (maybe I should actually subtract from the 34k because of how "fun" it was?), but you're right, it was a lot of hours.

I have a post coming about the frame. There are essentially two types of parts to the C7 frame. There are the thick cast Aluminum parts of the frame that the suspension bolts into which support the engine and most of the car, and then there are the stamped thin bumper supports that weld on to the ends of the cast parts.

Chevrolet is not kidding when they say the aluminum frame is more stout than steel. They're talking about the thick cast Aluminum parts. Mine took one heck of a shot and it didn't even have a noticeable drift when I fired it up and drove down the road. There were no problems when I took it to the chevy dealer for alignment.

The thin stamped bumper supports are another matter. They are so light you can take a 1 foot section of frame rail and play catch with it like you would a football. The rear bumper did its job well, but it totally disintigrated and most of the welds broke. Its difficult to conceptualize just how easy these stamped pieces are to replace, but I'd call it the easiest frame repair that anyone could ever do. You simply cut the factory welds, pull a male piece out of a female piece, stick a new one in, and repeat the factory welds. It will make more sense when I post the pictures. I'll do the frame repair article first.

All frame parts were new, all body panels were used. The factory paints all panels before they go on the car. Knowing this, I gambled that if I bought all torch red parts, they would match when I stuck them on the car and I wouldn't need to paint it. The gamble paid off and everything was a 100% perfect match.

Most other parts were bought new, but some things like front grill and tail lights could be bought incredibly cheap because guys like to upgrade.

I bought the airbag on ebay because it was much cheaper (who knows, may live to regret that).

There are a few parts that GM refuses to sell. This is illegal, but they are rare parts and nobody needs them except me so they get away from it. For instance, I needed a couple fittings where the hoses from the eLSD connect to the differential. GM was adamant that they would not sell them and that I would only be able to get them if I bought the entire differential. Salvage yards came in handy for stuff like that.

There are a few areas where information is scarce. In 2015, there was some sort of "by the seat of your pants" re-design of the transmission cooling system. The GM engineers looked up my VIN and supposedly sent me the correct line for my car, but they did not send the right one. It was a trial and error thing to find the right part.

rkhegler

Agree!