I got back recently, and my Fiero broke. I spent three days just fixing it. The front cross member broke where the driver side upper A-arm bolt goes through. I was going to just re-weld it, but I ended up replacing it. The one I received was a later model (pre-88) and did not have the lower re-enforcement plates. I removed the plates from the old one, and welded them onto the new one to make it a "box frame".
Vette update coming up!
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 10-05-2011).]
We did some cutting of the original lower side skirt mountings so we could test the side pipes for their fit. The body had to be cut as well, luckily, we have the factory assembly manual, so the cut dimensions were already known.
The door hinges were also installed. We have not decided if we are going to paint them the same color as the car (like factory) or just go with chassis black... Chassis black is in the lead though.
The hood hinges also got mounted.
Now, we could mount the hood and see how it fits... and it does fit, but requires a lot of sanding and further adjustments.
We re-mounted the grill. We needed it so we could test fit the front bumpers.
Not all was smooth sailing on this one... Two clamps were needed to hold the bumper brackets in the correct locations. Once the bumpers are bolted on for good, the clamps will not be needed.
Also, some shims were needed to get the brackets into their correct locations.
But, they are starting to look good. The metal washer you see in the picture was to simulate the gasket washer that would be placed there when the bumpers are finally mounted after paint.
-Dave
Adding: Now I understand why the Grand Sports didn't have bumpers... They are a pain to mount and make look right.
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-22-2012).]
Thanks for the update. Looking very nice. Bumpers look good! Good to see patience in practice. End result will be stunning, to say the least. Looking forward to future updates. Keep up the great work (and the updates!)
HAGO!
Thanks! I am probably going overboard on this project...
This is actually what I am going to school to learn how to do, so I find it very interesting.
You do great work!
Cool! Study hard. Thanks again! The work is actually done by 2 people, but others help where / when we need them. It is, mostly, a father-son project. My dad is more into the aesthetics, I am more into the mechanical.
We did some cutting of the original lower side skirt mountings so we could test the side pipes for their fit. The body had to be cut as well, luckily, we have the factory assembly manual, so the cut dimensions were already known.
-Dave
I have to ask, just where did you ever get a Factory Assembly Manual? Having worked at the factory and seen just how big those were I have to ask, do you have all of them, the manuals, or just parts. Those things were thick, like a few hundred pages per assembly line and add all those together and you must have a book case full.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Are those bumpers going to get rechromed or polished? They aren't as perfect as they could be considering all the work the rest of the car is receiving.
I suspect you will have a Concourse quality car when you are finished!
Ha ha, maybe...
I just wanted to have a very nice looking car that was reliable. Since it is a Vette, It had to perform too... I am also updating the electrical and adding the modern comforts and conveniences of newer cars, Like A/C and cruise control.
I have to ask, just where did you ever get a Factory Assembly Manual? Having worked at the factory and seen just how big those were I have to ask, do you have all of them, the manuals, or just parts. Those things were thick, like a few hundred pages per assembly line and add all those together and you must have a book case full.
Steve
Three books actually, cover to cover with the mid-line updates. My father got the books from a swap meet back in the early 70's. I later scanned them into a PDF file. They were loose pages in 3 ring binders. They contained everything we needed. I posted a couple pages from it on page three, 1/4 of the way down.
Are those bumpers going to get rechromed or polished? They aren't as perfect as they could be considering all the work the rest of the car is receiving.
They are polished as far as they can be, for now. We plan to replace them, as there is some obvious signs of impacts. We plan to use them for now, but we will probably replace them eventually. They are good enough for mock up. Considering what the car has been through, they are in decent shape.
With a new front clip and all the work done to the radiator support, we were a bit concerned the support rods that hold the front headlight and grill area would not fit. Also, the rod that goes from the cross bar to the grill center was not on the car, and one of the headlight support rods was bent. So, we bought all new ones. The fit was better than we expected. They fit almost perfectly, and lined up with every bolt location.
We were looking into the clutch linkage as well, and decided that the factory way was not what we liked. The rods and pivot points were just metal on metal with pins and springs... So, we upgraded to spherical joints. We will use the factory ones for the initial road test and break in, and then switch over to the new ones.
Our A/C system also arrived. Now we can start mocking that up, eventually!
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 10-08-2011).]
Three books actually, cover to cover with the mid-line updates. My father got the books from a swap meet back in the early 70's. I later scanned them into a PDF file. They were loose pages in 3 ring binders. They contained everything we needed. I posted a couple pages from it on page three, 1/4 of the way down.
-Dave
Ayup thats what ours looked like in the 70's. But there were a lot more than 3 for our cars we were building. Showed every nut, bolt, and anything you could ever want to know about the assemly of the car. Nice find. steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 10-08-2011).]
Ayup thats what ours looked like in the 70's. But there were a lot more than 3 for our cars we were building. Showed every nut, bolt, and anything you could ever want to know about the assemly of the car. Nice find. steve
I can believe that. The vacuum system on the C3's alone would cover a book or two, considering it operated almost everything on them...
We got the doors mounted and they fill the spots... Mostly. There will be some filling and sanding on these to get them right. Since all the other corrections have been made to the body, it took (overall less) shims in different areas than before to get them to line up. But, the lines are still pretty bad. The driver side fit the best along the back side, but the front needed a lot of filling. The passenger side fit equally bad all the way around. We pretty much went for the best fit. We will be using fiberglass filler and the like to correct the fit from here. The goal is to have 1/8 inch gap all the way around, even with the hood.
Driver side door:
Top:
Passenger side door:
Top:
Front of door at front vents:
With the body back as a one piece, we can finally start the tedious task of body work.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 10-19-2011).]
I went to a couple local car shows that had several C2 (63 to 67) Corvettes. None had the setup I am doing (chassis, suspension, and steering). Many were restored or had some major work done. Only 1 was all original. I took many pictures of the correct (all original one) body. It was amazing to me how out of alignment the body panels were. I can only assume the years of use were the reason.
Anyway:
We have been doing the body work. The passenger side door now fits perfectly. The gap all the way around is about 1/8 inch.
There is still a lot of work to be done on the vents, but I am happy with the results so far. Much more work to be done.
The driver side door fit better, but is also getting similar treatment.
We should be able to do the final fitting and bonding of the hood and the front wheel wells to the front clip soon.
-Dave
Adding:
Progress will be slow now... I have gone back to working on aircraft full time.
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 11-07-2011).]
Don't get the gaps too small or when the panels heat up they will expand and chip the paint/body
Thanks for the warning. 1/8th inch is my tightest gap tolerance, according to the factory assembly manual... I may sand it down a little more to get a 3/16th gap instead. The worst area was at the front of the driver side door. It was nearly 1/2 inch wide. The door edges, at the front of them, are back beveled to clear the body. Those areas allow for some tight looking lines, but no contact with the body.
The guy I used to work with who had the Vette shop had a surefire way to get the door gaps exactly how he liked them. He glassed the doors shut, then very carefully cut them out with a thin saw blade! He could make the gap anything he wanted. Generally, he made them about a paint paddle thickness. Was a painstaking process, but it's that, no matter how you do it, he just always had good results doing it that way.
Project is looking better and better all the time.
Have a great Christmas & New Year, and don't forget to update your progress after the holiday's!
The guy I used to work with who had the Vette shop had a surefire way to get the door gaps exactly how he liked them. He glassed the doors shut, then very carefully cut them out with a thin saw blade! He could make the gap anything he wanted. Generally, he made them about a paint paddle thickness. Was a painstaking process, but it's that, no matter how you do it, he just always had good results doing it that way.
I think it was hotrod tv or some show like it that showed how to do that with a trunk lid. Bump
Was thinking about this thread/build last night and contmeplated bumping, so glad to see it back up front. We're still waiting and watching for updates, and looking forward to seeing/enjoying more of your outstanding work. Takes as long as it takes, I always say. You can't rush art!
Your probably doing the right thing. I watched nearly all 40 hours of Barrett-Jackson and noticed for the most part, customized and restomod Corvettes were getting higher prices than stock ones in mint condition. That was a new one to me starting this year. Some of my friends in the local Corvette club have seen their older ones values drop like lead weights in last few years. One I know of had his 61 appraised several years ago for almost $150K. Recent one this fall was only for $60K although he totally went thru the engine from the pan up. It wasnt bad, just switched to Mobil 1 oil and everything that had gaskets sprung leaks.
Nothing noticeable has been done since the last post I made. The body work has been slow. The doors are "done" and fit better than many stock and not-so-stock ones I have seen (I am not degrading those who do some fantastic work to their cars, but it sometimes looks like they just decide it is "good enough"... Maybe I am too picky? Maybe they choose to stop where they are happy with it, and could care less what some jerk like me thinks about it?? )...
The front vents are proving to be more of a headache than I thought they would be. The passenger side was curving in to the wheel well, so that had to be corrected. That required me to pull it back apart at the front seem (loosen the wheel well front the front clip and vent), build it up, and then re-bond it. Even still, I had a lot of finishing to do.
I had thought that this thread would end up in the Archives by the time I had an opportunity to post again. Work has been 12+ hours a day for quite a while, so progress has been very slow.
One the drivers side door, at the front hinge area, I did glass it in and then cut it out. It was easier than I thought it would be. The gap was way to big to just fill and sand. I did put wax paper behind the gap to keep from going too far, as you can see at the bottom of the picture.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 03-20-2012).]
Due to various life events since the last post, nothing has been done. Work has me busier than I ever thought I would be, The wife and I bought a new house, and we are still trying to move in... Thanks to all who have followed this resto-mod. I will get back on it as soon as possible.
There is still a lot of mechanical to do. The rough body work is done. What's left is detail work, which is time consuming. The plan is to pull the body back off the frame to paint it.
A question for those in the know: The body was originally gelcoated. What process / products would be best to seal in the body fibers and prep for primer? I have my thoughts, but this is derived of much conflicting information.
A question for those in the know: The body was originally gelcoated. What process / products would be best to seal in the body fibers and prep for primer? I have my thoughts, but this is derived of much conflicting information.
-Dave
ROGER: Feel free to chime in here, He is the Corvette guru. I do know its best to stay with one brand of product once you start the bodywork/primer stuff.
Thanks for the update and dont forget that Vette.
[This message has been edited by htexans1 (edited 03-20-2012).]
(excuse me) 
