Hello,

I inherited my fathers 66 coupe, he purchased it in 71 from a guy that painted it this brown color that I'm not a fan of myself, removing the side pipes it shows it was trophy blue so it will be painted back to the original color I hope. Also the guy debadged it for some reason.

Has been in my uncles work shop at his house since the mid 70's.

No dents only stress cracks around seams, frame has been inspected and it was never in a wreck. Original Arizona car and there isn't any rust just some surface rust.

The actual issue is the car had a 427 in it but for some reason that my dad regrets (I forgive him, we do stuff we don't think would be a big deal at the time) doing this but they pulled the engine in about 72 or 73 and put in a 327 in it but never got it back running and was never driven again.

My question is I plan on rebuilding the 327 and down the road butting back in a bigger engine when I am able to do so, should I keep the big block hood and keep place badging the car with the 427 or change the hood and change the badging until I am able to put in a new engine? I'm not really sure what to do. My plan is to get her running any enjoy it.

Or if anyone would like to give me better advice or ideas where to go from here.


Thank you.

 

welcome! What part of AZ?

In case you haven't noticed, it takes a long time and costs a lot of money to fix up these old cars to make them like new. You mentioned that you want to get it running and enjoy it. If I were in your situation, I would do just that. Don't worry about paint yet. Don't worry about what hood it has, or what emblems it has. You'll be kept busy getting the brake and fuel systems working, and getting the engine that's in it running. Then getting it to where you can reliably drive it.

After you've got that far, and put some miles on it, you might have a better idea of what you want to do with the car. Keep in mind that keeping up with maintenance and the idiosyncrasies of driving an old car in the modern world is a serious challenge, not may people seem to be up to it. That means you might decide to sell the car. Or it might mean that you learn how to deal with old cars, and have a long enjoyable relationship with it.

But don't start off by taking it completely apart. If you do, the odds of it ever getting on the road again become zero. 50+ years was long enough for it to be down.

oh...we also need pictures of the engine, and the interior, so we can get a better idea of what challenges you're facing.

 

Thank you! Located in Chandler.

Great advice thank you. I come from a few mechanics in my family so I am really good at holding a flashlight (lol) and learned a good vocabulary along the way, but I rebuild older trucks pre 1990 so I have a good idea of what's going on and the costs involved but it being a classic corvette I want to do things right as opposed to just doing shade tree work on a rusty old truck. I've also owned jeep wranglers so I know the feeling of working on something every night to get it to run the next day.. Been trying to get this car for over 18 years now but finally I had the chance to do so.

I have pulled the engine and transmission (still had the 4 speed in it that matches), engine has been broken down ready to go to the shop. At the moment I am doing the whole front end and taking my time. Not a lot is missing on this car due to my uncle and father being organized so that's a plus. Interior was stripped before I got her, I have a new carpet kit and all that etc. along with a new dash harness.

Yea makes sense just to get her going and go from there, thanks again I appreciate it very much.

 

DR57 - Welcome to the Corvette Forum. As suggested, take it slow, there's a lot to take in and it all takes time.
Do take a bunch of pics, closeups, and post them and folks will be able to help out figuring what you're dealing with.
By the way, the Prescott Vette Club hosts an annual Show in late September, if you've got the time, do come on up for it,
they typically get around 350 Vettes in total, with about 40-50 of them being C1s and C2s.
And, if further down the road you decide to go back to the original color, totally a personal choice, here's a pic of my local
friends 66 Bigblock Coupe...in Trophy Blue.
Mike T - Prescott AZ

 

It should also have dark blue interior as well. Keep the BB hood on the car. If it was a real Bb car I would find a decent 454 either crate on rebuild one and paint it up to look like a L72 and most won't know the difference

 

Nice family project! Since it is apart as you described, I'd say tear into it full speed. Replace every wearable part plus fuel and brake lines. Obtaining parts will slow you down the most, so make a list and start buying.
Success!

 

Sorry to hear about your dad. Congratulations on owning a C2 Corvette.

Good advice above. I would add the nose and rear deck emblems. They are cheap and common to all engines. Plus, she should wear her livery proudly!

Can we see several pictures:

1. engine bay brake master cylinder
2. engine bay fuel line on the passenger side where it bends towards the engine fuel pump
3. rear sway bar
4. differential where it connects to the half shafts (rear axles)
5. instrument cluster

These will help us give you the best advice.