1970 Corvette Restoration

First Show

2009-05-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

The weekend we finished, there was a big show in town... We took the Vette, and I was really surprised at the reaction we got...

Finally Home

2009-05-29T19:21:00.001-07:00

We actually finished her up and brought her home just in time for the big show down here...

Final Tune-Up

2009-05-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Finishing touches before taking her home...

Final Polish

2009-05-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

Wow. This thing is Slick. The paint is way better than I'd have ever imagined it could be when we first started this project. (Thanks Jimmy!)

Seats

2009-05-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

New upholstery. This was my first time installing new covers. We did new covers and foam. I surprised myself with how nice they came out...

Details

2009-05-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

Cleaned & detailed door jambs, catches, pins & screws

Check out the hood gaps! Lots of work to look this good...

She's Red

2009-03-25T20:36:00.001-07:00

Wheels on... It's coming together...

Re-Assembly - Back End

2009-03-25T20:33:00.001-07:00

New bumpers, taillight lenses, bezels, emblems...

Re-Assembly - Front End

2009-03-25T20:30:00.001-07:00

New Grilles, Front Bumper...

Wheels

2009-03-25T20:25:00.001-07:00

I stripped and repainted the original wheels in the correct Argent Silver. I also repainted the black on the caps and polished the trim rings.

Basecoat

2009-03-25T20:19:00.001-07:00

We decided on GM Torch Red. Although this car was originally Monza Red, we decided to go with the more vibrant Torch Red.

Body Con't.

2009-03-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

More body. We really worked on getting everything lined up and smooth.

Bodywork & Primer

2009-03-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

3 coats of Featherfill and lots of sanding. This thing is slick. Lots of work on the hood, we had to really work on the back edges where it meets the fenders. Lots of cutting/wedging/re-glassing. It now fits perfect. Notice the gaps.

It's been a while...

2009-03-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

I've really done a bad job of keeping current... Things are coming along great.

Meanwhile...

2008-05-20T21:13:00.001-07:00

I've been working on detailing the interior pieces. I've refreshed all of the dash pieces, console pieces, door panels, etc... We decided to go with a new bezel so we can put in a CD player. I've installed all new Pioneer speakers in the dash & kick panels.

New Hood

2008-05-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

We ordered a new L-88 hood from Ecklers. MUCH better fit. Here it is just set on the car. We haven't even aligned it yet and it fits 100% better.

Body Con't 2

2008-05-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

More stripping. I've stripped the majority of this car with a razor blade. The paint came off in sheets. From the doors back, the car is in very good shape...

Body Con't

2008-05-20T20:32:00.001-07:00

The hood we bought didn't fit worth a Sh*t.

Time to order another hood. (we wanted an L-88 anyway)

Stripping the Body

2008-05-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

You never know what to expect once you start stripping old paint...but I was about to find out.

The front end definitely has had some work in the past...

Finished Engine

2008-02-23T20:52:00.001-08:00

After much work, the engine came together. I detailed the entire compartment, including the A/C setup, the master cylinder, and the entire radiator & support. Additions included a new Holley carburetor, a new aluminum intake, a set of original finned aluminum valve covers,new fan shroud, and a complete GM hose kit with the correct tower clamps. We also added a correct open-element air cleaner.

Detailing the Engine Bay

2008-02-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

Besides the motor itself, the engine bay was a mess. While I had the motor apart, I decided it would be a good time to detail the whole engine bay. I stripped the firewall, inner fenders, radiator, and core support down to bare metal / fiberglass. I smoothed out all of the rough spots and painted everything in an eggshell black. The whole compartment had years of crud and coats of paint, so I spent the time cleaning everything down to original. I removed the years of paint from all of the wiring. Now the wires in the engine bay look new, and are all the original / correct colors.

Motor Tear Down

2008-02-23T20:31:00.001-08:00

I started by removing the top end of the motor, and all of the accessories (intake, water pump, fan, A/C compressor, etc.) Once it was at this point, I cleaned it thoroughly, and painted the heads and block. The exhaust manifolds were in need of attention, so I removed them. The driver side manifold had a crack. We purchased a new one from Mid-America, and I sandblasted and re-coated both exhaust manifolds with high-temp manifold coating from Eastwood.

The Motor

2007-12-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

The first thing I got into when the Vette got here was the motor and engine compartment. It was filthy. This car is originally a 300 horse car, but we decided to do it like an LT1.

The Beginning

2007-12-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

The car is in relatively good shape...dirty, but solid. Dad is in Pennsylvania, and I'm in South Carolina, so we needed to get the car down here. Before we shipped it, we had a few issues to address. The brakes needed attention. Dad sent the car to the Motorworks in Greensburg for a once-over. They went through the brakes, installed a new Magna-Flow exhaust and repaired a previously unknown cracked rear differential. Now mechanically sound, the car was ready to be shipped to South Carolina for me to start working.

The Vette

2007-12-14T19:39:00.001-08:00

This car had been sitting in a garage for about 20 years. It belonged to the brother of a friend of Dad's. After a few months of back and forth, we finally picked it up in the spring of 2006. It's a 1970 coupe with 62,000 original miles. The car is completely numbers matching, and was originally Monza Red. We started this blog to document our restoration. We intend to keep the car original "looking", but we're going to add some of the things we would have wanted if we'd have ordered the car ourselves.