reaching a milestone tomorrow

[Ridge K.]

Her equipment is AM/FM radio, posi-traction, standard vinyl bright blue interior, power steering, tinted windshield, and power windows (go figure?). As you can see from the under hood pic, she has manual brakes.
The reason the intake is clean, is we had to clean it to examine it for cracks or damage, before sending it to Jerry MacNeish for restorative work. She had her original Holley tri-powers still on

[Joseph T.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Ridge,
Keep us updated with ongoing photos of the restoration. It looks like it will be a great project ,on a sweet car ,with a interesting history. Good luck.

[Donald T.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

I think the hood makes a nice wall treatment in the bedroom. Then again, I'm guessing your wife doesn't have the same taste in interior design.

Good luck with the car! Looks like a great project!

Don

[Ridge K.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Thanks Joseph, and Donald for the encouraging words. And, yes, my wife didn't seem to appreciate the added decoration of the hood in the master bedroom. Once my baby is finished however, I think she'll love it as much as I do. Ridge.

[Rick S.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Ridge,
Just a quick caution, make sure the engine builder doesn't deck the block or tumble/blast the stamp pad so you lose the stampings or broach marks. I failed to mention about saving the broach marks and the engine rebuilder "lost" them for me. Here are before and after pictures of my stamp pad.

[Steven B.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Thanks Joseph, and Donald for the encouraging words. And, yes, my wife didn't seem to appreciate the added decoration of the hood in the master bedroom. Once my baby is finished however, I think she'll love it as much as I do. Ridge.

I don't see the problem with the hood in the bedroom, especially my favorite color! yeah, I took some heat for my restored 469 engine in our bedroom for a couple of years and my wife isn't real happy with six Blue Streaks in the guest bathroom the past three years. I am just happy that I have the selective hearing my wife tells me I have.

Best of Luck on the car and please post pictures!

p.s. I have a friend who resotres MGA's. He had a total car, frame, body panels, engine, transmission, etc., in pieces in their basement family room----at his wife's suggestion so she could help him restore the car while watching TV!!! I always bring that one up to my wife----

[Kurt B.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Congratulations and good luck.
It took me 10 years to get my 68 back to original.
I like the color of your car very much.
Is that what the hood looked like after all those years? If so, the paint held up extremely well.
Keep us posted and send more pictures of your progress.
Kurt

[Jeffrey G.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Ridge,
Congratulations! I hope it all goes as planned, looking forward to seeing the pics as it progresses.
Jeff

[Kevin M.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

You did'nt say if you could save the paint? The hood looks great and I'm sure it would gather a crowd at it's first NCRS outing for it's original stinger alone.

KM

[Ridge K.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Whew!!!!! WE got the engine and tranny out today. The engine appears to never have been out, much less ever apart. My car's birthday is in March, and the block casting was February of 1967.
The M-21 Muncie had enough grease and road grime, I hadn't been able to confirm numbers, until she came out. If felt great to see my VIN stamped on the case. Still even had it's metal tag on one of the side cover bolts.
I'll post a few pics tomorrow. Right now, I need a hot shower, and some rest.
To Donald, and Rick both: Thanks so much for the excellent tips. And thanks for those pics. Right here in my hometown of Tulsa, there's been a horror story going around about a local machine shop that destroyed the pad stamp on a numbers matching, 1969 Camaro Z/28. I'll be watching mine closely.
To Steven, Kurt, and Jeffrey: Thanks so much for the encouraging words. It feels so good to get to this point. I'm so looking forward to seeing stuff completed, and ready to go back together.
To Kevin: When I bought the car, I called a good friend, NCRS Judging Chairman Roy Sinor to come over and give it a good "once over". Roy generously gave me a couple hours of his time to give me his evaulation as to correctness, etc. Roy immediately said that some members, would polish the car, instead of repaint. As much as I fully understand the historical significance of non-restored "time capsules", my car took quite a few "rubs" while sitting in the barn of a working farm, for 27 years. In short, I would never, ever be happy seeing the scratches every single day, on the car. I love restored Corvettes, that are done, as a master would restore one. Always have, always will. The only way I will be happy with my car, and my investment, is to restore it as accurately, and as close to perfection, as humanly possible.
Thanks to all taking a glimpse. Ridge.

[Kevin M.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Ridge,

To bad you want a restored car, your choice but Roy was right should of taken his advice. I would not even taken the car apart like you have but good luck with your trailer Queen. Unrestored original cars are getting harder to find the money is going to unrestored cars but you must have known this when you started tearing yours apart. Good luck with your restoration to bad you didn't give NCRS members a look before you started, although pictures are nice nothing like first hand experience. And as far as your NOS parts there not factory I scored a Top Flight with worn factory originals in fact I was cut lot's of slack because the judges liked the fact it had it's factory original parts. One last piece of advice leave the body on you'll never get the factory fit.

"as a master would restore one. Always have, always will. The only way I will be happy with my car, and my investment, is to restore it as accurately, and as close to perfection, as humanly possible."

That's not the way they were made your creating a Corvette that did not happen that's the problem with restored cars I think it was a mistake in my book. Should have bought a restored car and left this one alone.

KM

[Ridge K.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

I understand your thoughts completely Kevin, and quite frankly hesitated before answering your initial question about my paint. I would like to think that you have enough respect for others, to in turn, respect their right to pursue their own dreams.
And the comment about "your trailer queen" is not only grossly inaccurate, but totally uncalled for. Did you hear me say anything about trailering it?. The day my car is completed, it will be driven, and since I am now retired, it will be driven daily except in bad weather. The only trailering the car will see, is while being pulled across country, to participate in my annual full length drives of Pacific Coast highway.

[Bill M.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Ridge

Love your car. I spent 6 years restoring my 65 396 car it needed it. After a couple of hundred miles the car was out at least once a week no trailer and plenty of burnouts out of my driveway. My nieghbors and friends thought i was nuts. I like my corvettes correct but i like to drive them even more. Good luck. Oh and my wife never really minded where the parts ended up as long as all was neat.

Bill

[Mike M.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow

Ridge, thank you for the kind words, this is why we are here.
Just bring the car out for judging and we will call it even.
It would have been interesting to see the car for a Bow-Tie check-off, but, understand individual preferences.
You might consult with Roy a bit further about the paint. You mentioned "scrapes", if the rest of the car looks as good as the hood, even with a little "Touch up" it may still qualify for a "Star" on the paint.
A restored car with one Star would be an interesting concept.
What's your target for completion? Maybe you could follow Roy down to Waco next year, just don't expect to keep up with THE New Blue Car.
Good Luck with your endeavor!
HaND

[Ridge K.]

Re: reaching a milestone tomorrow


Right now, if I chose to pursue any judging, or even public display, I would be loading her back on a trailer, along with bins, and bins of parts.


After a very though cleaning, that ruined a shop vacuum for good, and sitting with the top off for six months, the smell still lingers. I carefully pulled the original intake off, and three mounting bosses crumbled.. Distraught about the intake, I called Jerry MacNeish to arrange for him to work his magic, and restore my intake. Jerry called me as soon as viewing, and told me that my intake is one of the very, very few he ever sees, that is beyond restoration. He stated that the rodent urine is so acidic, it had destroyed the structural integrity of the intake manifold. He stated that it would be pointless to try an attempt any welds, or any of repairs, on an intake that had no strength at all, due to an eating away of the aluminum. Can you imagine trying to start this car up?