After owning my 1973, 454 automatic Coupe for six years and collecting a warehouse full of new parts, it is time to pull the plug and officially begin my body off restomod project.
I'm still working full time, so getting started, I'll only have a few hours a week to devote to the build.
I am the third owner of my '73 which came from the factory white with dark saddle interior.
The original owner did a repaint and changed the interior to black 20 + years ago.
It has been a California only car that was well taken care of, is rust free, at least in all the areas I can see, and is pretty much all original except for some replacement items like the carburetor, ignition, brake calipers and radiator.
Almost every part and component on it will be replaced with new or the original parts will be completely rebuilt or modified before being put back on the car.
Any parts coming off the car will be offered for sale in the C3 Parts For Sale Section.
Upon the completion of my project it will retain it's all original appearance going down the road or looking into the window, however if you look under the hood or crawl under it, it will be a completely different story.
Here are a few photos of what I'm starting with.

 

Good lookin car!
Cant wait to follow along on the progress.

 

Best of luck on your build!
If my car looked 1/2 as good as yours already does, I would not have touched mine (besides the mechanical issues).
Im certain yours will be a top-notch resto and most of all….PICS!! 😎

I will be watching the FS section for your parts! Lord knows my 74 needs’em! Lol

Greg

 

Looks like a great start to a body off project. I love this stuff.....and its an exciting time. Glad you shared it. Its a long road.....but worth every step, especially if you enjoy the process. I did a 4-/12 year body off on my 77, and now I have a 69 Convertible I am working on. Its easier the second time.....cause you learn from the process,....and the mistakes.

I highly recommend you replace that front rubber bumper with a solid, heavy NON-FLEX fiberglass bumper. The Trueflex stuff gets alot of recommendations, but I found that it took just as much bodywork, and ultimately, the structural integrity, and rigidity of the Truflex is not as solid as the rest of the car body......and ultimately, in the sun, I get waves, and distortions that detract from the car. I would go a step further to say that its worth laying another layer of fiberglass on the in side of the NON-flex fiberglass bumper to ensure its solid and rigid. They will ALL need bodywork to match the body lines, whether its Trueflex or the traditional NON Flex fiberglass.....so you may as well accept that and realize it will take work to get a good fit.. Don't compromise with something that after the paint is dry you regret it.

 

I already have a new fiberglass front bumper sitting on the shelf.

 

Good luck with the build 👍🏻

Ken

 

O.C.B.....your Official resto-thread! Congrats

 

OCB - Well, this will be great! Once you empty out the garage of all the new parts on the car you won't know what to do with the extra space! Looking forward to pictography as you go along. And you will probablt beat me to the finish line !! Good luck!

 

I thought for a little teaser, I would post a couple photos of the new 496 that will be going in.
It hasn't been dyno tuned yet, but we are hoping to see 600+ hp.

 

Gee...thanks for making me miserable! .

 

But Tony,
It took six years to collect the parts and postponing my retirement five years to pay for them.

 

That's an effective tease. Looking forward to seeing all those shiny parts being put to use.

 

I removed the trim rings and the center caps which marks the first parts removed as part of my restomod project.
It isn’t much but it was all I had time for.
The trim rings are aftermarket, good ones in near perfect condition.
I believe the center caps could be all original to the car.
All will be listed in the C3 parts for sale section.

 

Today I had a little time so I crawled up under the rear and removed the spare tire and tub.
Before I started I measured from the ground to the fender lip to see how much the measurement would increase once the spare and tub were removed.
I was amazed to see that the rear of the car only raised 1/4”.
I won’t be using the original spare tire rally wheel so it will be listed in the Parts For Sale section.

 

Good start!

 

I’ll follow along too. I’m excited for you! Maybe I’m mistaken but I thought at some point you were considering a front metal number.

 

When I first purchased it I did consider it to balance the chrome bumpers front and rear.
Since then I’ve found I really like the cleaner lines of the 73’s front end and the lines of the 68-73 rear.
I decided I’m either going to remove or paint the rear bumpers black to match the body to get the balance I’m looking for.

 

I believe the 73 is THE most perfect C3 Corvette look....the rear chrome and flat back rear end shortens it up visually....and the rubber / glass front bumper lengthens the front visually......making it look really cool. While I do like chrome bumper Vettes,.....the longer look of the front end on the later cars really makes the C3 special. Its a visual thing, and that long nose is made better on the late model cars......especially 80-82..

 

Hey whats the date code on that wheel? looking for a K 12 11 stem 22 for my 73. Thanks and good luck with your build I'm keeping mine stock

 

The spare wheel was already claimed by another member.
Thanks anyway.