Hello All
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: MI
Hello All
22 years old, from MI, go to Ferris State University. I own a 1971 Stingray, 350, AT, T-Tops, removable rear window, 3.08.
I got the car when I was 17 and because it had been sitting for so long I had to do some basic tuneup and whatnot on it to get it running right. The paint was checked, the exhaust leaked like crazy and I didn't know the first thing about doing a burnout. But hey, I had a Corvette...I was cool.
A couple summer's later when I was 19 or so I decided to do something about the cracked up paint, so I began stripping the car. Fiberglass safe stripper to do the hard work and an orbital sander to get it bare. Fixed some minor cracks with Tiger Hair and some bondo over top of it and then my loving touch and you couldn't even tell. Primered, painted, sanded and buffed it to a glossy shine. It wasn't perfect but for $200 and the experience it was close.
The following summer I started to do some performance upgrades. Dynomax headers and got the exhaust fixed. Edelbrock intake and Edelbrock 750 carb, Pertronix Flame Thrower ignition conversion, K&N filter and other chrome accents to the engine. By this time it was running strong!
The next summer, last summer to be exact, I am cruising along on a back country potholed MI road when my rear tire pops, and I was just talking to my dad a few days earlier about getting some rubber for it. Well .0398 seconds after that, I am in a ditch wondering oh dear Lord please don't let my baby be wrecked. And it was. Crumpled the fiberglass like a piece of cardboard. Insurance totaled it and I bought it back for $1100, so I got a check for $9000 to fix it. Looked around for a new car and didn't find anything I liked so I decided to fix mine. Tore the whole front end off, saved what I thought I would need to save and hauled the rest out back into the weeds. Got the whole front clip 2 weeks ago and it is sitting on the frame as we speak, waiting for me to get home and finish it. While the body was off, me and my dad pulled the engine and had it rebuilt. .30 over, 10:1 compression, 270 470 Crane cam, ported and polished heads, painted and shined everything. It sounds GREAT!!
The main reason I joined was because putting the body back on is looking to be a major task, which neither me nor my dad have any experience with, though we are both excellent mechanics, just not well versed in fiberglass work. So I will be spending a lot of time in the body section and trolling about the other areas too, hoping to contribute and hopefully to learn a thing or two!
I got the car when I was 17 and because it had been sitting for so long I had to do some basic tuneup and whatnot on it to get it running right. The paint was checked, the exhaust leaked like crazy and I didn't know the first thing about doing a burnout. But hey, I had a Corvette...I was cool.
A couple summer's later when I was 19 or so I decided to do something about the cracked up paint, so I began stripping the car. Fiberglass safe stripper to do the hard work and an orbital sander to get it bare. Fixed some minor cracks with Tiger Hair and some bondo over top of it and then my loving touch and you couldn't even tell. Primered, painted, sanded and buffed it to a glossy shine. It wasn't perfect but for $200 and the experience it was close.
The following summer I started to do some performance upgrades. Dynomax headers and got the exhaust fixed. Edelbrock intake and Edelbrock 750 carb, Pertronix Flame Thrower ignition conversion, K&N filter and other chrome accents to the engine. By this time it was running strong!
The next summer, last summer to be exact, I am cruising along on a back country potholed MI road when my rear tire pops, and I was just talking to my dad a few days earlier about getting some rubber for it. Well .0398 seconds after that, I am in a ditch wondering oh dear Lord please don't let my baby be wrecked. And it was. Crumpled the fiberglass like a piece of cardboard. Insurance totaled it and I bought it back for $1100, so I got a check for $9000 to fix it. Looked around for a new car and didn't find anything I liked so I decided to fix mine. Tore the whole front end off, saved what I thought I would need to save and hauled the rest out back into the weeds. Got the whole front clip 2 weeks ago and it is sitting on the frame as we speak, waiting for me to get home and finish it. While the body was off, me and my dad pulled the engine and had it rebuilt. .30 over, 10:1 compression, 270 470 Crane cam, ported and polished heads, painted and shined everything. It sounds GREAT!!
The main reason I joined was because putting the body back on is looking to be a major task, which neither me nor my dad have any experience with, though we are both excellent mechanics, just not well versed in fiberglass work. So I will be spending a lot of time in the body section and trolling about the other areas too, hoping to contribute and hopefully to learn a thing or two!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,181
Likes: 0
From: Valrico, Florida
Wow, what a great experience!! 
I am sure you will be able to find the help you seek. It is also obvious you will be able to provide others with the benefits of your experience. Welcome to the Forum, they're great and you will also meet a lot of new friends. 
I am sure you will be able to find the help you seek. It is also obvious you will be able to provide others with the benefits of your experience. Welcome to the Forum, they're great and you will also meet a lot of new friends.
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: MI
Well the picture that I have of the green 71 is actually mine before I wrecked it and the picture that is in my profile is another shot of it. I hope to have it looking better than those pictures by the time I am done with this current project!
Thanks for all the support too! It really can be quite depressing when you are young and don't have a lot of nice things to your name and then you go and wreck the one nice thing that you do have!! And the time and effort at times can seem impossible to overcome, but encouragement always picks ya back up!
Thanks for all the support too! It really can be quite depressing when you are young and don't have a lot of nice things to your name and then you go and wreck the one nice thing that you do have!! And the time and effort at times can seem impossible to overcome, but encouragement always picks ya back up!
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Pro
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 558
Likes: 0
From: Dallas TX
Hah, the same thing just happened to me on April 28th. Car had some old tires on it, and I was on the freeway, right rear blew out and destroyed the right rear of the car, and caught some of the door. What kind of insurance coverage do you have? I'm pretty sure my insurance will total mine out too. Did they brand your title as salvage? If I get a check for $9000, I should be able to fix it myself. What did they base the value of your car on? I'm looking for a new rear clip as we speak, just preparing myself for the news from the insurance company that it's totalled.
