Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...

[stinger12]

I closed up all those holes on my firewall too, heater box, vent door hole and all other holes except for fuse box & steering column. I simply laminated sheets on a pane of glass and bonded/glassed those in.

I plan on closing all the other unneeded holes in the firewall as well - I want a clean look.

 

[stinger12]

I called Mike again tonight. He helped me design a new and much better ventilation system than any other stock corvette has. The first step is to close off the vent on the right, and then get a hold of my old non AC firewall that came off my old body. we talked for about an hour...I have a plan now. There will be ventilation, it will just take me longer.

 

[stinger12]

Today I started stripping the firewall. It was a messy job, but the majority of it is finished now. I used lacquer thinner and scotch brite to remove all the crap GM applied. took me about 7 hours to do, but it needed to be done before any glass work can begin. another day of stripping, and she will be perfectly clean.

 

[stinger12]

I started to clean up the bonding strips I removed from the firewall. I have to carefully remove all the pink crap, glass any thin areas, then rebond them back in place for a clean look. I cleaned two of them today...took forever.

 

[1Michel]

Hey Jeremy, I'd take out the rivets for the body mounts supports and blast and powder coat those suports. Might as well powder coat all the metal parts on the firewall too.

By the way I cant get over how the garage looks clean even after you did a messy job like that.

 

[stinger12]

Hey Jeremy, I'd take out the rivets for the body mounts supports and blast and powder coat those suports. Might as well powder coat all the metal parts on the firewall too.

By the way I cant get over how the garage looks clean even after you did a messy job like that.

I am going to blast them as is I think. I still have to decide whether or not I am going to powdercoat those. They are in awesome condition...that's why I can't make up my mind - if it ain't broke don't fix it (which is totally the opposite of what I always do:amused.

I clean the garage every night - if I don't keep it clean, then no work gets done...I trip over stuff, break parts, can't find tools...you get the idea. I can't stand a dirty workspace...drives me mental.

The bonding strips are almost ready for fiberglassing - I just need to clean up a few more, and the itchiness can begin. Its a ton of work correctly prepping parts!

 

[stinger12]

Finally, I am done stripping this damn thing. Time to start getting itchy. I am installing new bonding strips on the firewall, as it is not worth trying to fix the old ones - they need too much work. I'll update more when I start prepping it for 'glass...

 

[Twin_Turbo]

Looks clean, you're lucky it isn't cracked all over the place. Mine was in 2 pieces almost.

 

[stinger12]

Looks clean, you're lucky it isn't cracked all over the place. Mine was in 2 pieces almost.

Mike always makes sure I (and every other customer of his) gets good parts. He didn't have to include it with the body, but he insisted since the one on the car was bubba'd:bounce:

I finally started repairing the firewall. this area is where a thin layer of glass was pulled off by the upper cowl during removal - I ground it much deeper, and added 3 layers instead of just one. Here are some pics...

 

[stinger12]

More glass work...

 

[stinger12]

Yes - use an angle grinder with a flap wheel to do your rough work, then finish it up with 80 grit on a block. That is the way tracdogg2 taught both Zwede and I (by the way Markus, your car looks great!). More glass work (for your viewing)...

 

[stinger12]

First time seeing what these rims are gonna look like with the flares - I think I made a good choice.

 

[MYBAD79]

These wheels are simply awesome. I've always liked that design, but I am still concerned it might be too far inboard with the 4" flares. Hopefully I am wrong.

What tire are you going to run ? 295-50 or 325-50 ???

I replied to your thread in the "wanted parts" section: maybe you should get the two used rims and have them widened to 12"... IMO that would be a perfect fit for these flares AND it would be something nobody else has.....

 

[Twin_Turbo]

Always liked the mag wheels.

Karsten, where does one het a 325 sized tire in 15"? Not a drag radial, something streetable..even in the crappy weather here???

 

[stinger12]

These wheels are simply awesome. I've always liked that design, but I am still concerned it might be too far inboard with the 4" flares. Hopefully I am wrong.

What tire are you going to run ? 295-50 or 325-50 ???

I replied to your thread in the "wanted parts" section: maybe you should get the two used rims and have them widened to 12"... IMO that would be a perfect fit for these flares AND it would be something nobody else has.....

Karsten - these rims are the exact same dimensions as the rims on Stan's red car. Mine are the exact same, and they are the exact same flares. Worst case scenario, I can always have them widened, but I doubt they will need it. Me and Mike already did the math on it, and these wheels are going to work out perfect. the sectional width on them is going to be far greater than the stock sectional width, so they are going to have lots more bulge for that old school look. And, even if they don't work out, they only cost me a $100 bucks...not the end of the world. If I go with the 15X8.5's in the front, with the 3.5'' backspacing, they will act as a 9'' wheel (in terms of the standard 4'' backspacing). Stan's front wheels were acting as a 9.5'' wheel (if you look at it in stock backspacing), but I am going for a different look on the front. I want the front tires to be consistant with the rear tires (in regards to bulge/sectional width). Mike fit one of the flares to the body - he had to take a bunch of dimensions so he could measure where the wheel would actually be in relation to the flare. It took him a very long time because the body was sitting on blocks. He has the best idea of how these things are going to fit. Plus the guy has 30 years of experience.

I can't remember what size tires Mike said to go with...I have it written down here somewhere.

 

[MYBAD79]

Always liked the mag wheels.

Karsten, where does one het a 325 sized tire in 15"? Not a drag radial, something streetable..even in the crappy weather here???

I "heard" that the Nitto 555 is ok on the street. These tires look great but I expect performance to be a little worse than modern 17 or 18 inch tires.... :rain:

 

[stinger12]

Another repair finished.

 

[stinger12]

Time for another post. The bondo was put on the backside of the repair, on top of two layers of tape. Once it hardened, I glassed the frontside of the crack. The bondo was only used for support. Once it was hardened, I popped it loose.











The inside of this repair is going to be a lot thicker than stock - I'm not worried how it is going to look, as it is on the inside of the firewall. This whole edge was busted and weak. Now I need to glass the frontside of it, which you are actually going to see. I used the bondo technique on the backside to build an edge. Once it hardened, I glassed over top of it, then popped it loose. Good as new.









More holes glassed up - none of them came close to fitting the floor pan.

 

[nifty]

also my favorite wheels.... this is an old pic of a mates mint 70 LS5....
this had 10's front and back....notice the car is right hand drive... its in australia...


same car before it was painted white....

the wheels fill the gaurds perfectly, but the flares are smaller than what you are planning on fitting...

 

[stinger12]

I had the day off, and I finally was able to put a lot of hours in on the vette. Last time that happened was ages ago it feels like. Anyways, here are the pics. I am working my butt off - prep work takes forever (its an illness I have:crazy::lol.





















Me checking out my handy work - dad took this one lol.



I was just notified by Mike that Dave, the machinest, has started working on my 383 short block! I'm pooped - 11 hours of sanding and fiberglassing is enough for me.