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Bought a 63 last September sight unseen and unknown condition. Car itself isn’t too bad, paint is probably the worst, cracking and chipping all over. Lots of scrapes, dings etc. I kinda like it because I don’t have to worry about bumping into it.
What started off as replacing anything rubber, addressing any issues, or things that didn’t work etc. turned into a frame off restoration.
I drove the car maybe 15 miles before I decided to start tearing it apart. So far I’ve had the frame sand blasted, rebuilt the engine, tranny, rear diff etc. bought just about every nut, bolt, bushing, fuel, brake lines etc.
I want to drive the car and cruise around but I also know I’m sooo far from being done. One of the items that might be out of my skill set is fiberglass repair. Someone cut a hole above the rear differential and the lower fiberglass pan is cracked.
Maybe this thread will give me some motivation to keep working on it. Might picture dump in here.
Nice looking so far!
My 2¢: Hold off on any fiberglass, paint, and interior work. Get the car back together and driveable - and enjoy it this way for a year or two. This way you're not troubleshooting and adjusting mechanicals with a brand new paint job to worry about marring. Work out all the kinks before beautifying the interior and exterior.
Nice looking so far!
My 2¢: Hold off on any fiberglass, paint, and interior work. Get the car back together and driveable - and enjoy it this way for a year or two. This way you're not troubleshooting and adjusting mechanicals with a brand new paint job to worry about marring. Work out all the kinks before beautifying the interior and exterior.
Appreciate it! Paint would probably be dead last on my list. I’m contemplating tackling the fiberglass since I have the body off already and it would be easier to access. I just don’t know how good even a professional repair would look.
Wow, you should be proud, lots of work is done already and in a short time.
That will be one really fine car when it hits the road again.
We have seen Factoid, ( Mark ) on this forum do some amazing fiberglass work, he may share some tips that get you rolling on your repairs. I study his and others work also as my 66 needs many crack repairs done.
From what I have seen, there are lots of rules to follow for fiberglass work but if you do that part it applies and cleans up easy with the right tools. It will be structurally repaired also if done correctly. Everyone says it is really easy once they get into it. Still makes my knees weak as it is all brand new.
Repairs can be invisible if you use the proper methods. Shaping is time consuming and may require homemade forms. The hard part is getting texture and color match for the raw fiberglass look. Do your very best, enlist some help if needed. Note, very few 63 corvettes bodies are perfect! I would love to have one like yours! I'm in the long process of a 65 coupe that is way more work than I realized. I am doing it one block at a time as time permits. My original thought was it would take 2 to three years. New thought is FIVE! Big-K Ohio
We all move through these projects at different speeds. For less than a year, you have made great progress. You've heard the saying "Don't look back", but it can be very helpful to consider how far you've come already. Unless it's meant for judging, the car doesn't have to be anywhere near "done" (they are almost NEVER totally done) for you to start enjoying the rewards.
About the body. Get a guy who know fiberglass to give you an idea what it really needs. It may be better than you think. When paint time is close seriously consider learning to mask expertly. You don't have to have the car all apart to paint it.Some will say you do but a pro job can be done together. It'll save a lot of hassle in the long run. And yes I have done this since 1972. One more thing, remember, perfection is the enemy of good. There will be a number of opinions on this.
You are doing great! I took my 67 apart 30 years ago & then life got in the way. I had decided to wait & keep this for my retirement project, but I had it in my brothers barn & he was tearing it down to put up a Morton building. I rented a trailer & moved all the pieces & parts to my garage & decided it was time to get going on it 5 years ago even though retirement was still 10 years away. I got it 99% done last year & love driving it. When I got frustrated/overwhelmed or just stuck I would just walk away & do something else. I would take off & go walleye fishing at my buddies cabin & then maybe binge watch something & I was refreshed & ready to go. Now IDK WTF I am gonna do when I do retire in 4 years. Probably go fishing.... or get another project car. Remember how to eat an elephant?
Darin
You've received great advice above. You've already accomplished much of the hard work and a lot of costly things.
I agree about getting the car reassembled and driveable before worrying about the cosmetics. The only fiberglass work I would do before reassembling the car would be addressing the problems on the underside. That'll be easier to do with the body in the air, and I don't see a lift in your photos. The underside would also be a good place to start learning how to work with fiberglass, as it won't be visible from above, and thus minor imperfections won't annoy you forever.
You can always hire out the body and paint work later. On a well-restored SWC, you'd stand a good chance of not ending up upside-down, given their market value.
From my perspective, you've done most of the work that'd I would not enjoy doing. Now, you're at the reassembly stage, which I would find mostly enjoyable. This is also where you see progress daily. Taking it apart can seem like backward progress. Reassembly feels forward.
If you truly don't have the motivation to complete the restoration, having the car driveable will make it much easier to sell, and it'll bring more $ if you do choose to quit before it's done.
You have accomplished an amazing amount done in a fairly short time.... It took me 18 years to restore my 67 dodge after I pulled it out of a field... .... LOL...
Post some pics of the fiberglass areas of concern. Lots of experienced 'glass guys here that may offer suggestions.
I'd also try to hunt down a locka Corvette club or the local NCRS chapter and ask who in your area has experience with glass work if you are not comfortable doing it.
Buy a miata to drive around, and be happy you are making so much progress on the ultimate American car! You have come a long way in a short time already. Maybe sit down and actually make a list of what you want to the end result to be, work on getting it so it is drivable and do anything beyond that in steps so you can appreciate what you have.
You are doing some fantastic work, and you're progressing at a faster rate than many professional shops would. Take the W right now!
As for the fiberglass repair, judging from what you've already done, I'm sure you will do a great job. And, really, the areas that need repair are not incredibly high-visibility anyway.
The hole over the diff was/is an old hack to get to the diff mounting bolts. Instead of dropping the diff with the crossmember, guys cut out the floor over the diff to get to the 4 bolts. Given that was the case the diff probably was blown up which is common with 63-4's. Sounds like you got that taken care of. That is a good place to learn about glassing in a panel since it will be under the carpet and over the diff.
The positive thing is you have the car, many would buy it in a second. If you get tired of working on it, walk away for a year and come back to it. If you still don't have interest then you can sell it and recover a lot of your investment. The market is still strong for SWC.
I'll second all the advice and compliments above...you're doing a terrific job in a very short time. Maybe take a short break and come back with fresh eyes and renewed enthusiasm. These old cars are a journey...not a destination. You will get this done and you'll be "over the moon" happy when she's finished and you stayed the course
As other forum members have said, you're actually doing pretty well!
I do understand as it took me much longer to finish our '63 than I had anticipated.
After finally knuckling down and making it a habit by going out for a minimum of a few hours daily, it actually started taking shape fairly quickly. The two hours would easily extend into four and six. Put on some good music and just remain focused on the task at hand, not the entirety of the project. Take each task as a small piece of the puzzle. You will be surprised at how much you will be accomplishing.
If you need some help on a few things I'm in Northern California too. Give me a PM if you like.
Looks to me like your doing a great job, and the community is here to help. It would be fun to follow how the body repairs take shape, I always pour over these threads and learn as much as i can.
From: Middle TN by way of KY, OH, VA, IL, CA, FL, NY, SC, HI
Given your rapid progress on the work you've done so far, plus the high quality and attention to detail of your pictured work, plus your concerns about what looks like a great '63 SWC body and paint, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you're more than he average high standards perfectionist, which might help to explain your current conundrum. There are probably more of us plodders (guilty) on here than driven perfectionists on this forum, but let me say that you're killing it. But I have no insight into how to get your spark reignited. Good luck.
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Losing motivation on my rebuild
