Found my project car...now what???

[Pete B.]

Hi all,
I found an original owner, 52k mile '71 base coupe that will be delivered in a week or so. I plan to do a frame off, being in NCRS for just 2 years, I have pretty much just done cosmetic things to my C4's ...one is headed to Waco in persuit of Mclellan.

So what I would like to hear from you all is what steps or methods did you do before you actually started your restorations? I'm sure there were mistakes you made along the way that you now know you would not do again. Or things you didnt do that you wished you would have.

This car is not a bow tie car, it recieved a lot of loving and gentle use through the years, but too many parts have been changed IMO to qualify. It has been repainted the same color, but they added a luggage rack and sport mirrors
The deceased owners son gave me 4 boxes of parts that have been changed over the years but sadly anything that might have had a core charge was missing. But we know thats the fun part!

I would love to hear your thoughts " If I was going to do it all again"...

Thanks In advance

Pete

[Tom D.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Be sure to have fun with it.

When you get to specific issues, you will find this group discussion to be the best. Be sure to search for existing answers too!

td

[Terry M.]

[Jeremy D.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

For what it's worth, if the car runs and is driveable, drive the snot out of it while you can and have fun with it. DRIVE it and ENJOY it before you cough up the ten grand or so to paint the car NCRS style so you can't drive the car anymore without the worry of getting a stone chip or a nick in the paint. Even a base motor '71 is a blast to drive, and after you body-off the car, burning rubber is NOT something you're going to want to do anymore. Who knows, the car may run good enough to where a complete rebuild may not be necessary.... My 2 cents worth.

[Donald T.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

When you get the car make sure you take LOTS of pictures, and more pics as you go through the restoration process. This will help you when you go to put everything back together as well as help document the car. Make sure you bag and tag parts to keep things organized. Another suggestion would be to get the car judged before the restoration. This will give you a lot of detailed information on what all needs to be done.

Good luck!

[Pete B.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Thanks for the responses so far....Terry, I'm too late for our local and Waco, We'll have to see if there are any other events out west. I'm sure i will have a lot of specifc questions in the future. I am in search of tips like the "photo document everything" I will post a few specif questions to get some dialog going.

But keep any tips coming..... please

Pete

[James B.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Start a documentation file. Don't toss any paperwork, including receipts. registration slips, etc. Log your restoration efforts and take plenty of pictures.

[Terry M.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Thanks for the responses so far....Terry, I'm too late for our local and Waco, We'll have to see if there are any other events out west. I'm sure i will have a lot of specifc questions in the future. I am in search of tips like the "photo document everything" I will post a few specif questions to get some dialog going.

But keep any tips coming..... please

Pete

Just like some sports teams: "There's always next year."

[Patrick H.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Thanks to the low cost factor of digital photography you can take hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs to document your car before you ever start working on your car. Take pictures now, take pictures often, and take far more than you think you will ever need. There is nothing on the car that doesn't deserve to be photographed. You will thank yourself immensely.

Your car is more original than you will ever believe. Take close notes of how it is assembled and its variations.

As noted above, drive your car now. Get used to it, what works and what doesn't. If you want, have it judged to get a baseline. In addition, take a look at every 1971 Corvette you can find and note what variations you see. Take more of those digital pictures as well so that you can compare them to your car.

Research, photograph and drive. Acquire parts and knowledge. Then once you're ready for the time and dollar commitment, restore the car.

I fully understand that the odds of you following the above instructinrs are somewhere between zero and none, but you asked what we'd recommend so I gave you my thoughts.

Patrick

[Bob D.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Pete

Bring it to Waco. Have it flight judged and get a good idea of what you should do or if you should do anything. We would love to have your car there and let the judges crawl all over it and give their assessment BEFORE you spend any money resotring anything!

[Bob D.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Pete

P.S. You are not too late for Waco!

[Dick W.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

burning rubber is NOT something you're going to want to do anymore. Who knows, the car may run good enough to where a complete rebuild may not be necessary.... My 2 cents worth.

Speak for yourself Jeremy, I drove the last car that I Duntoved quite a few miles, restoration be *$^&ed. The only problem was that it had more motor that it had driver. After I tried to stuff it through a doctor's office (lucky on that one) I decided that I did not have sense enough to have a car with that much power and sold it. BTW, it would lay rubber in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear.

I tried to take Zora a ride after flight judging one afternoon, but the belts did not want to stay on past 7,000 rpm's

[Harmon C.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

It's nice to have one project and also a good idea not to buy another one until this one is finished. I drive my projects until I get all the operations items checked and working before I start the restoration. Working on the items now you don't need to be as carefull with old paint. Lots of things don't work after a restoration but most are easy to fix if they worked before you took the body off. Make a list of the items that need repaired but will be easy to do later.

Good luck

[Pete B.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Bob, I won't have the car in Az. until a few days before I leave to take the 89 down there. I would love to take advantage of it but it would be too much for me. I have plenty of time. We have a real good group of knowledge here in Az that I might tap for some evaluations.

Patrick, thanks for the tips.....I know the document thing as this may be apart for 1-2 years.

[Alan S.]

Re: Found my project car...now what???

Hi Pete,
I did a loooong restoration on my original owner 71, 350/270, 4 speed.
I took 700 plus pictures and wish I had taken more.
Come up with a system to put EVERYTHING in bags and boxes with tags and notes. Have a system that allows you to find a part you need to refer to, even though you're not ready for that part. I broke the car down into about 50 areas (i.e. Front Bumper, Interior Fasteners, Shocks, Exterior Trim etc.), and then those areas where broken down further.
Be extra careful with bagging ALL fasteners. It's extra nice to find the right bolt at the right moment.
Be prepared to have a good place to put it all back together in a way that you can enjoy the process.
Try to get a copy of CORVETTE RESTORATION - STATE OF THE ART, by Michael Antonick. It's a book about the PROCESS David Burroughs used in restoring the Ellefsen 65/396 Convertible. It's not a how-to book but like I said it's about the process. I found it to be a real inspiration!
I think you're in for some BIG fun!!!!
Regards,
Alan