Original Air Cleaner Wing Nut.$80.00? Isthis nuts?

[Dave S.]

Re: Original Air Cleaner Wing Nut.$80.00? Isthis n

Dick,
Very well put.
We all have to realize that this is a higher stakes hobby today wether we like it or not. These cars are quite valueable on the open market and may continue to be so in the foreseeable future. Money spent wisely on these cars is actually a reasonable investment. Add to the investment potential all the enjoyment that we have and it makes for a very positive experience.

[Collin MacDonald]

Re: Original Air Cleaner Wing Nut.$80.00? Isthis n

Thank you all for your responses, each of you has a gem in your comments that I certainly will keep. I agree with the general consenses, ENJOY YOUR CAR, and I plan too. I have been working nose to the grindstone for almost three years to make this a nice 63 Coupe and am almost there. I am hoping to get it judged at a regional this year, if its ready, and then bring it to Boston for the National. I guess what is bothering me are the choices I made when I was restoring the car. I used materials better then the original, and hate to be penalized for this, but the rules are set for NCRS. Again, repeating my earlier post, I will be the first to admit I do NOT fully understand the entire point system, I have been to busy learning about the correct parts to do my restoration, like the parking brake handle letter on a 63 are white, or the thickness of that darn wing nut. But as somebody explained to me, minimal points are taken away for parts as long as they are correct.

OK so I am going into the game, and accept the rules, I just need to understand the rules better and make wise choices, and with this forum and the experience on the board, I know I can get the help I need....

Thanks all...Collin MacDonald

[Michael W.]

Re: Original Air Cleaner Wing Nut.$80.00? Isthis n

Perhaps it was not mentioned that we're all at liberty to wander through a junkyard and look under the hoods of cars to find correct original wingnuts still sitting in situ. These wingnuts were on just about all GM cars of the era I believe. If the junkyard owner even charged you .50 cents he was ripping you off.

Of course most people would not bother making a special trip just for this, after all it's only worth one point out of 4,500.

Then there's eBay.......................

[Harold #43147]

That Book

I purchased a 70 Roadster 454 4 sp at the Bloomington Gold Mecum Auction. It will be 3 Yrs this June. The car was a peice of junk I was luckey to get it home under its own power. Ignition wire shorted out on the golf course quick fix got it home(Lucky I only live 5 miles away).I have been working on it ever since. I have been studing this Corvette thing for the same amount of time. It becomes addictive to the point that I keep going back and redoing things that I have already done. Its that Book that Book you know that book. I have a 65 Olds F 85 Convert Pro Street all in primer 2 seats and full roll cage I think that this car ugly and when people come buy my garage there all over it and never give the vett a second look. I do my own plating work(And everthing else) and re zinc plated the hood hindges and know that Book says they should have over spray on it. I have had the spray gun out twice and I just can't do it. The car color is corvette bronze which is a metalic pearl I had acylic laquer mix to the original specs buy my industrial paint supplier and I new it would be tough to get the metalic oriented right with the laquer because you can't do much color sanding with it or you will make the metalic blotchy. Back in the day we use to build clear on top of it for color sanding and buffing. I did a test panel and decided to try a sample of DuPont base clear the base clear looked so much better than the laquer so I went with the base clear $310.00 a gallon for base took 2 gals have about qt left. I was thinking the other day maybe I should do the laquer cause of that Book. I can't even count the hours I have in the paint & body work but i know I have 50 hrs just in color sand and buffing cause you know it has to be perfect it just has to be I think the Doc has pills for that. I had to have the front grill with out the lower screw holes I am to embarrassed to say what I paid for them and I had to strip them polish and re plate. I took the ones I had and had a brain storm to weld alu screw's in the bottom holes and polish and re plate and you can't tell the difference unless you look behind and see there are treaded studs rather than taper studs I won't even mention the 5 port pump or the metal head light bezels or the carb I paid $350.00 for and it could of been in the Titanic Display at the musem. If I don't get rid of that Book I will never get this car on the road.

[Mark D.]

Hey Collin..........

are you EBVette over on the Corvette Forum that posted all the negative remarks about NCRS? Certainly, asking that group about how and why NCRS operates and what its motives are gives your posts here more credibility.

Regards,

Mark Donnally

[Nick Culkowski]

Re: Original Air Cleaner Wing Nut.$80.00? Isthis n

Ops points are cheap. Line item failure is 25 points. Proficient judges realise that partial credit is allowed. That said, spending 8, let alone 80 bucks for a probably less than 1 point item, while having sick or dead (lack of use) operations deductions accumulate is to me a greater sin.

[Terry F.]

What I do to get my money back.

Been there and done all this stuff. My wife used to make fun of me, still does but not as bad. As I purchased parts over the years I finally found ebay. I started to sell my parts that I didn't want or were less then qualified to go back on the car. When it comes to buying something I really want, I consider the total cost of the project and not the individual item.

Once I went to a swap meet and purchased a $8.00 seatbelt cup holder for a 68 corvette. It was black on color. I needed a blue one and later found one. Next, I put the $8.00 one on ebay. Someone purchased it for slightly over $80.00. That is an absolute true story. Later, Terry

[bill stephenson]

Re: Original Air Cleaner Wing Nut.$80.00? Isthis n

-------Mike,,,,While your premise is correct, I think you would hard pressed to find any chrome wing-nuts in junkyards anymore. They didnt come on as many applications as you might think. Other than Corvettes and GM muscle back in the day the General left the chrome off. Junkyards up here in Michigan rarely have a car over 20 years old.
------- As far as this thread goes, I dont ever worry about judging. If a part looks good to me, is a quality piece and fulfills its use, I use it!..........Bill S

[Jack H.]

Re: Original Air Cleaner Wing Nut.$80.00? Isthis n

That's because you're in the 'steel belt' (better than saying rust belt) and land costs are high + there are steel foundries all around you to recycle. Out here in the Rocky Mtns, our scrap yards are relatively untouched and some specialize in car just, say from the 30-40 era....

But, I still have to LITERALLY get on my hands and knees and dig in the dirt to come up with these wing nuts. One of the first thing that is removed from the car when it comes into the yard is the carb. To get the carb, you have to remove the air cleaner and they routinely PITCH the wing nuts as having no value....

A few tricks a little old Detroit boy transplanted to Denver has learned over the years!