Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...

[TimAT]

Just the valves in the valve body. All the edges in the case and valve body mating surfaces need to be as they are.

Most of the valves in the VB don't need to be removed. Just the ones the shift kit instructions tell you to remove. Take an ice pick and make sure the rest of them are free to move.

Look at the valve you took out that was behind the vacuum modulator- notice the lands on the valve have sharp edges- those are the ones I'm talking about.

 

[stinger12]

Just the valves in the valve body. All the edges in the case and valve body mating surfaces need to be as they are.

Most of the valves in the VB don't need to be removed. Just the ones the shift kit instructions tell you to remove. Take an ice pick and make sure the rest of them are free to move.

Look at the valve you took out that was behind the vacuum modulator- notice the lands on the valve have sharp edges- those are the ones I'm talking about.

Tim, you are the MAN! I can't thank you enough for the info you have provided to me throughout this rebuild...I wouldn't be able to rebuild this thing without your help. I started cleaning each and every part today, then rebagged them in new clean bags awaiting reassembly. I also started to rebuild the pump.

 

[TimAT]

Watch the pump- the gears go in one way that's correct- they fit either way and look the same. Both gears have dots that have to be on the same side, and the ears on the ID of the rotor need to be toward the rear facing up as you install them. When you put the halves of the pump back together, there are a couple of ways to get them aligned correctly. You can set the front of the pump into the case and then set the rear in there, or you can get a large hose clamp and wrap it around the pump with a couple of pins to align it.

 

[stinger12]

Didn't get the body home today, but I was able to bring a few parts home. Thank you Mike!

 

[stinger12]

my psn is thebeast83
add me and we can play madden sometime...

I will, when I get some more free time! I have been working 10 hour shifts at work and it has been very hard. By the time I get home, I am ready to pass out from exhaustion...then no work gets done on the vette! My dad brought home more parts today, now I have too many projects!

New brake lines to replace the ones bought from another vendor. This is the second set I have bought, due to the poor quality control on the first set from a certain vendor. Once again, Mike came through. He made sure that I had lines that actually fit out of the box!



New valance panel...


Used gas tank from the chassis of my new body...


Hooker headers/sidepipes (these things are just too badass :lol




Used (rust free) radiator support


Used fuel lines (in perfect condition, and they fit perfect, unlike a set of aftermarket ones I bought from another vendor)


Custom tool made by Mike for the steering box race install. This thing perfectly aligns the bearing's races in the case, so there is no binding. This is a tool Mike designed and uses on all his rebuilds. He also machined me longer bushings for my steering box to increase its surface contact with the pitman shaft (yes, I am redoing my steering box work...not up to my standards, so I am starting again).



Used firewall for the new body...


The new front end is being stored in my uncle's garage for the time being. Too large to store in my room or basement:lol:

THANK YOU MIKE

 

[js292]

So what vendor did you get the poor parts from? There are no support vendors here so it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[boeing46]

I read allot of blogs on Corvettes and i've never ever read one as complete as this one. It's like going to a Corvette rebuilding class. You are definetly a profectionist but it will pay off in the long run. I have to give major profs for being so dilligent and to take us along for the ride. I have enjoyed this thouroly and i want to thank you for showing us all the skill and patience to do a ground up rebuild. That car will be better than new and something you can show your kids and grand kids and be proud of for the rest of your life.
I would love to help sombody do a project like this for free because i know you can't wait to get back at it every day. I have a very bad back but i would still enjoy helping somebody do somthing like this just for fun.
If there is anybody around Disneyland in Southern California taking on a project like this and could use another hand from a 57 year old guy with a bad back send me a message and we'll get with it. With my back being so bad i'm bored to death and a project like this would bring me back to life after working since i was 10 yrs old helping Dad do side Electrical jobs.

 

[stinger12]

I read allot of blogs on Corvettes and i've never ever read one as complete as this one. It's like going to a Corvette rebuilding class. You are definetly a profectionist but it will pay off in the long run. I have to give major profs for being so dilligent and to take us along for the ride. I have enjoyed this thouroly and i want to thank you for showing us all the skill and patience to do a ground up rebuild. That car will be better than new and something you can show your kids and grand kids and be proud of for the rest of your life.
I would love to help sombody do a project like this for free because i know you can't wait to get back at it every day. I have a very bad back but i would still enjoy helping somebody do somthing like this just for fun.
If there is anybody around Disneyland in Southern California taking on a project like this and could use another hand from a 57 year old guy with a bad back send me a message and we'll get with it. With my back being so bad i'm bored to death and a project like this would bring me back to life after working since i was 10 yrs old helping Dad do side Electrical jobs.

Thanks. I have put thousands of hours into the vette, and its comments like these that keep me going!

Body came home yesterday. I am kicking it into overdrive now - every day I am going to be putting in hours on the vette, until it is done. I want to drive it already. And no, I will never cut on quality!

Body fit the dolly perfectly. Bolted it down in 4 of the 6 positions after I shimmed the #4 mounts (which it was designed for). Tons of room to work underneath...I can roll right under it and have a blast with cleaning it, and not be uncomfortable. Nice and strong too.













Started removing the undercoat. God this job sucks. Propane torch, putty knife with corners rounded to prevent gouging, and scotchbrite/lacquer thinner. I tell ya, this stuff is friggin nasty!













A view from underneath the dolly, showing how much room there is to work...



Bolted down...



Powdercoated brake lines...









And finally, the flares. Mike did an awesome job mocking these up for me, so that I have a starting point when it comes to the actual install. Stan, your flares are awesome - both in quality and looks!



Once again, this all would not be possible without Mike. If it weren't for him, I would be stuck with that old body of mine right now, replacing every panel. Thank you Mike!

Keep in mind, I welded that dolly before I was welding for my uncle - I weld like a pro now, and I actually wanted to redo all my welds on the dolly before I put the body on, but said to hell with it lol!

 

[stinger12]

Wire wheeled the birdcage. This thing is in really nice shape Only one piece needs to be cut out of the birdcage...shouldn't be very hard, considering I weld/grind metal daily. Half the passenger floor pan needs to be repaired - the water seeped through just behind the passenger #1 body mount. Thus, the piece I need to repair is just behind the #1 body mount on the passenger side, and the water collected on the passenger floorboard which needs repair as well.



Areas needing repair (actually, the only real piece needing repair is the floorboard, but I will put some new metal on cage behind the #1 mount just because I can lol)





Some more before shots...







And the end result...

 

[mrvette]

You DO realize you ARE crazy, I hope.....but it's cool, you do such NICE work, can I get you to do some for ME???

:yahoo:

 

[1Michel]

you do such NICE work, can I get you to do some for ME???

Gene I think the kid is going to do a lot of work for a lot of people.

Keep it up kid nice work.

 

[stinger12]

you do such NICE work, can I get you to do some for ME???

Gene I think the kid is going to do a lot of work for a lot of people.

Keep it up kid nice work.

Lol, that post made me smile. I appreciate all the feedback guys...I really do.

Round 2. Most of the undercoat is off the car now, but there are still a few areas which need cleaning. the interior is undercoated, but you are not going to see that anyways.



That job sucked!

 

[stinger12]

You DO realize you ARE crazy, I hope

Yeah, but only until the car is done, then I turn normal again!

but it's cool, you do such NICE work, can I get you to do some for ME??

Sure, just fly up to Canada

 

[JPhil]

Yeah, but only until the car is done, then I turn normal again!

Sheeee-itt!

BULL-Sheeee-ittt!

This is how it works:

A) The car is NEVER "done".

("No really darlin', I'm almost done with it. All I have left to do is _____________________." And as she kisses you and says, "Well OK honey", your brain goes: "And _________ & _________ & _________ & ......")


B) If perchance it ever gets "done", it's only because you're bored with it. That means it's time to sell it, buy another & start again.

C) Repeat

 

[stinger12]

Yeah, but only until the car is done, then I turn normal again!

Sheeee-itt!

BULL-Sheeee-ittt!

This is how it works:

A) The car is NEVER "done".

("No really darlin', I'm almost done with it. All I have left to do is _____________________." And as she kisses you and says, "Well OK honey", your brain goes: "And _________ & _________ & _________ & ......")


B) If perchance it ever gets "done", it's only because you're bored with it. That means it's time to sell it, buy another & start again.

C) Repeat

I promised myself I would never sell this car. Too much pride and work went into it for me to sell it to someone else.

 

[Fuelie74]

Just because you get bored with it doesn't mean you will sell it. It just means that you will drag another project home.

 

[stinger12]

It just means that you will drag another project home.

Not until I have my own house and garage - I'm not restoring one of these again in my family's garage, too much work trying to coordinate a restoration and the belongings of the rest of the family.

I am still removing parts from the body. I need a bare starting point (a bare body, with everything stripped off of it - paint, rust, undercoat, parts, grease/grime...), then the real work can begin. I am pushing myself to get this body done and back on the frame. I have been putting in 5+ hours a day on the body since it came home last friday - between that and work, I am exhausted. Its like having two jobs!

 

[stinger12]

That trip to Dallas really paid off. I learned a lot when I was down there - and the way I work (or "style" if you will) has totally changed. Mike also taught me how to properly strip a vette without removing any fiberglass or material from the car. The one thing he told me was to never sand on bare fiberglass, unless you are going to be adding material, or scuffing up the surface for a primer/paint, resin/mat or bonding adhesive. I started stripping the car using his techniques, and my god, they work awesome!

You use stripper to remove the paint, then neutralize it with lacquer thinner and scotchbrite. You need to use a ton of lacquer thinner to clean the car after you use stripper on it. Get two paint cans, and fill them both with thinner. One will be for initial clean up of the glass with scotchbrite. The other will be for the final wipe-down of the panel. Use a bondo spreader to squeegee off the goo, then scrub the whole panel down with thinner and scotchbrite. Keep it saturated with thinner (keep dipping it in the paint can, this is important), and use the palm of your hand to scrub the panel (this will prevent a wavy surface...scotch brite will remove material if you try hard enough). This will also remove the primer from the car, which the stripper will not do. Keep scrubbing until all the primer is gone. Once the panel is clean, remove the dirty lacquer thinner from the car (what has not fallen off the car that is) with clean rags or paper towel. Now, get some new clean rags, and dip it in the clean thinner paint can you prepared earlier. Wipe the entire panel down again. You are essentially washing a car with lacquer thinner - this kills any residue left from the stripper. This method works awesome. Be very careful around edges when using the scotchbrite...this also is very important. It is a messy job, but look at the results - a clean fiberglass panel with no material removed.

This body is very clean. In fact, the paint I removed from the car was factory...it has not been repainted. There has been some repair work on the rear fenders, but other than that, it is a beautiful body. I like bodywork a whole lot more than mechanical work, it is way more satisfying I think (even if it is only stripping paint from a car).

 

[SmokinBBC]

Nice work. Do you put any metal prep on the birdcage?

 

[stinger12]

Do you put any metal prep on the birdcage?

I have not prepared the birdcage for paint yet. I need to sandblast it to roughen it up for paint, and I still need to sandblast the floorpans and rocker channels. I used a wire wheel to clean up as much as I could so I could get started working on it without making such a big mess with the sandblaster. I have to build a booth in the garage when it comes time to blast everything, or else I will get pissy neighborsush:

Plus, the sandblasting will go much quicker now that it is down to bare metal - I just need to roughen up the surfaces for paint, and remove some coatings from surfaces the wire wheel could not reach.