txfatboy1

Hello all. I have recently purchased a friends long term project. It is a '71 Convertible non-numbers matching 454 and TH400 automatic, ac, pwr str, pwr brks. The engine has been breathed on quite a bit and sounded very healthy (through open headers). The car has had a lot of the hard work done, and really only required exhaust and a master cylinder to make it a driver. It has had a body off frame restoration/rebuild and most of the interior is done. What I can see of the wiring harness looks new. Nearly the entire body looks perfect except for the openings for the headlight covers. I suspect there was some damage/repair that is going to require attention but it was done before my friend acquired the car so I have no knowledge to what degree that may be. One thing I will say, it sure is nice working on a car that has nothing but DUST on the parts.
The project will be broken into stages with the first round (in boxes on my garage floor) consisting of a complete Ridetech suspension kit, Wilwood brakes, Borgenson steering box, hydroboost conversion, front A-arm spreader bar, 18 inch wheels. The engine is getting aluminum heads, airgap dual plane and 850 Holley and SS side pipes. I have also ordered a L88 hood.
I am a 30+ year master tech and although this is my first Corvette, I am no stranger to large projects. That being said, I am grateful to have access to the wealth of information on this forum. It certainly makes this project much more manageable. I appreciate any and all advise/constructive criticism given.

sug

Lots of nice goodies there txfatboy1, what brand of wheels are in your photos ? They look awesome . Looks like a fun project .

sug

And welcome to the forum . You have come to the right place .

CraigH

Great project, starting with a nice 71, should be fun.

txfatboy1

Thanks. It has been fun so far. Love the look of the early C3 Corvette... especially the convertible. I am stunned that you can still buy these cars for a decent price.....
The wheels are Riddler #650. I wanted to put 17's on it but they aren't available in anything wider than 8" in a 17. I really like the way they looked on older muscle cars when I googled them. I also found tire sizes that ended up with the same diameter as original.

73ls1

What is the width and backspacing? Are the centers gray or polished? I'm going to put Ridetech rear package on my 73 but I will use my Van Steel Aarms and Ridetech coilovers. I did not to change my brakes this year.Thanks Charlie.

jr9170

3JsVette

Welcome to the forum. This is a real nice project you're in the midst of. Keep the progress coming and good luck going forward.

txfatboy1

From the ebay auction page....
Centers are Gray/Gunmetal... Rim is polished, they can be purchased with an all chrome/polished or black center. They are not asuper light weight racing wheel. I wanted something that looked good, didn't cost another Kidney.... and would stand up to real world road conditions. They got pretty good reviews as well. HTH
BRAND: Ridler STYLE: 650 SIZE: Front:18x8,Rear:18x9.5 BOLT PATTERN: 5x4.75" OFFSET: Front:+0mm,Rear:+0mm HUB BORE: 83.82 BACKSPACING: Front:4.5",Rear:5.25" FINISH: Grey/Polished Lip CONDITION: Brand New QUANTITY: 4 Wheels PART NUMBER: 650-8861G-650-8961G

txfatboy1

Thanks for yours and the other compliments and warm welcome. I had been away from the hobby for a while and am glad to be back. This is most likely going to be my last hurrah so I plan on making the most of it. I can't wait to get this thing on the road. It's gonna be great.

txfatboy1

Wow, I had forgotten just how much work a major project like this can be, and, how many unexpected setbacks can arise along the way. Example.... when I finally unbolted everything from the diff, I found a nice little surprise. The mounting holes for the plate that the camber rods attach too had been... well lets just say they were "altered". Basically, at some point something happened and someone had attempted to drill the hole and install a heli-coil. They were semi-successful on 2 and WTH happened on the other two. Eventually they gave up and tried to weld a couple of bolts into the way over sized holes and make them "studs". Once I cut the studs out and cleaned up the housing, I figured I should at least attempt to save the housing. I had performed a similar repair on an aluminum cylinder head with success so I figured why not. I purchased a couple of drill guides, drilled the holes out to 27/64, used a 1/2 inch tap and cut clean straight threads. Then I used red locktite and impacted the bolts into the housing and set aside. The next night I cut the bolts off flush, used the Ridetech plate to mark and center punch where the new threads will go and proceeded to drill and tap new threads. Once done, the bolts tightened down and should be okay.

txfatboy1

Pops came to visit from Utah for a couple of weeks so progress came to a halt, but I am back at it. I have been able to hang the driver side front suspension, the front sway bar, Borgenson box, and steering linkage. I also installed the right side trailing arm. Since the front Wilwood brake hubs have 1/2 inch studs, I took the rear hubs to a machine shop and had them drill them for press-in 1/2 ARP studs. Most of the project has been straight forward, unbolt original parts and bolt on Ridetech parts.

gleninsandiego

Looks like a great project
and great work so far
I am following

derekderek

So you used home lock'n'stitch to repair the holes? Might have been better with non-grade 5 bolts. Softer bolts are closer to the hardness of the casting. If you had to drill-tap thru the border between bolt and casting it would go better.

txfatboy1

I understand what you are saying, but the hole location was determined by the bracket. I wasn't too concerned about the grade 5 bolt.... a heli-coil or time-sert are typically much harder than the material they are installed into. Thanks for the suggestion.

txfatboy1

Another update/progress report. Thankfully no real big issues to report. I have finished the front suspension and brake install (minus brake hoses) along with the reinforcement bracket for the Borgenson steering box. Everything is locktited, antisezed, and cotter pinned. I could put the wheels on the front and lower it onto the floor. The initial brake install is quite involved and requires assembly and disassembly to get everything properly shimmed so that the caliper sits over the rotor with equal dimensions side to side and in and out. Once the setup is done, you only have 2 nuts to remove and the caliper slides off. Now, on to the rear.

jr9170

txfatboy1

Moving on to the rear. I finally bolted in the differential assembly. I bolted the upper cross member to the diff and used the floor jack to raise it into position. After installing the 2 cross member bolts I installed the urethane front mount and reattached the driveshaft. Next was the drivers side trailing arm, spindle/parking brake assembly, lower camber link, and left rear shock. I did make one not so great discovery when attempting to attach the camber link to the lower hub bracket. At some point, I must have switched the hubs (side to side) and when I tried to slide the bolt in with the flat, I found I had the right side hub on the left. It would be a big deal if I was bolting the stock suspension back on obviously, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Sooooo, unless someone has a compelling reason why I need to swap them other than turning the bolt around, I am leaving the hubs as they are. I was careful to make sure the hubs and spindles stayed together so bearing clearances stay the same. I'm sure it has been said before, but so far, I am pleased with the Ridetech kit. All the components fit well and it comes with every nut, bolt, and washer needed for the install.

jr9170

doorgunner

New/clean parts and detailed photos......................