Correct way to restore a Corvette

[Fasglas]

NCRS would be proud...


Boy, it really galls my threads when these ignoramuses go off about how the Corvette crowd is 'over-restoring' cars! I say, restored means *exactly* as the factory did it, no matter what. I spent 95 weeks last year doing an accurate and complete ground-up restoration on my '67. And, let me tell you, some of those rubber and glass pieces are *really* hard to restore after grinding them up! Thankfully, the metal pieces are easy to remelt and form.
For some folks, simply applying a bit of overspray while painting is 'good enough.' I scoff at this. I meticulously copied onto the mufflers, droplet by droplet, the exact overspray pattern that was there originally. Even the runs and sags at the bottom of the door panels were duplicated. Your average 'restorer' will just slap some new paint on, calling it 'original' if it is the same color. Jeeez. I chemically removed every vestige of *the original paint*, then broke it down, reformulated it, and re-applied it. Sure, I had to use substitute volatile carrier (thinner), but since it evaporates anyway, I claim that it was not originally 'on the car' when it left the factory gates.
Some folks think using the 'correct' fasteners is good enough. Ha! I made sure to cross-thread the left rear upper transmission crossmember bolt, just as the (sometimes inebriated) factory worker was known to. I removed the third from the right lower grille attachment screw, which a previous owner had erroneously installed, in spite of the well-documented fact that none of these were installed at the factory until after 3:43 pm on October 17th, 1966. I made sure to scratch the frame in the appropriate places, just as the handling mechanisms at the factory did. Some previous owner had removed the scratches, in an effort to make the car 'perfect.' What was he thinking? I even installed the #3 cylinder's exhaust lifter upside down, which was a rare (1 of 3 such built), but documented occurrence. Sure, it runs like hell, but hey, it's _original_!
Some folks get a new set of tires that LOOK like the originals, and call that good enough. Not me. I got THE ORIGINAL tires out of a landfill, ground them up, and restored them. I was able to find about 91.7% of the rubber which had worn off, by vacuuming the roadside dust over the roads the car had travelled, and separating out the correct molecules from the other debris with a double diathermic isopropa diaphanometer molecular identifier. NOT cheap, le me tell you. But, correct is correct. Some folks put on new valve stems and caps, and away they go. We purists know that it IS important to align the seam line on the valve cap to the correct angle, just as it left the factory ('indexed' valve caps).
Changing the oil is considered routine by some 'restorers'. They throw out the old, slap in some new, maybe even 'improved' oil, and a new filter. Not a real purist. I have the original oil broken down and re-refined. The old additives are removed, restructured, and re-added. I even recover as many molecules of the burned or dripped oil as possible, and add them back in. Of course, the filter must be dismantled, which ruins the case, so it has to be remelted and reformed into a filter. Re-using the original paint, of course.
Some bozos throw in a Sears Die-Hard, and off they go. Some so-called restorers buy a reproduction 'tar-top' battery, and call THAT good enough (*scoff*). I found my original battery and remanufactured it. No wimpy replacing the innards with new, either. I melted down the original plates, then recast them in the correct factory molds. Saving the original electrolyte, of course. Now, you might think, gee, that seems pretty far-fetched, this guy is extreme. Well, you ain't seen nothing yet. I also was able to procure the original electrons which had come with the car, and reinstall them. It seems that over the years, the car had given and recieved a few jump starts, and some of the original electrons had thus transferred to other vehicles, and... etc.

[bradc6]

[mrvette]

I know of some guys here in Jax Fl. that can fool ANY AND ALL of the NCRS/Gold types.....


which means that essentially it's all foolishness....

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by Fasglas

.......

You mean not everybody does it this way?

[Doug28450]

Originally Posted by mrvette

I know of some guys here in Jax Fl. that can fool ANY AND ALL of the NCRS/Gold types.....

Got some proof to back that statement up?

[Grey Ghost]

Points deduct for non-original air in tires.

[Datawiz]

Originally Posted by Grey Ghost

Points deduct for non-original air in tires.

[CP]

Originally Posted by Fasglas

... I spent 95 weeks last year doing an accurate and complete ground-up restoration on my '67. ...

[NeedSpeed]

[Bill]

I'm glad to see someone so dedicated to preserving America's automobile heritage.

[ApexOversteer]

Originally Posted by mrvette

I know of some guys here in Jax Fl. that can fool ANY AND ALL of the NCRS/Gold types.....


which means that essentially it's all foolishness....

You know what NCRS stands for right?

Nice
Clones
Really
Score

[Cybercowboy]

Funny thing is, I know the guy who pretty much founded NRCS and Bloomington Gold - David Burroughs. He is a great guy but about as anal as they come and he would freely admit it. Last I saw him, he was restoring the last known original Stearman Biplane for the Smithsonian, and doing it in his garage. Also in his garage was the iconic blue '67 Stingray that he wrote about restoring in what is considered to be the NRCS bible. Even started it up for us.

He said as far as he knew, he was the only restoration expert to ever get to restore a plane for the Smithsonian anywhere outside the Smithsonian complex.

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by Doug28450

Got some proof to back that statement up?

Only personal conversations, and seeing the die stamps setup and the tooling......

other than that, NO I did NOT take pictures......


But you gotta admit, it's not all THAT difficult....really not....

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by ApexOversteer

You know what NCRS stands for right?

Nice
Clones
Really
Score

Not Correctly Restored Stingray......and I have the T and Sweatshirts to prove it.....

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

Funny thing is, I know the guy who pretty much founded NRCS and Bloomington Gold - David Burroughs. He is a great guy but about as anal as they come and he would freely admit it. Last I saw him, he was restoring the last known original Stearman Biplane for the Smithsonian, and doing it in his garage. Also in his garage was the iconic blue '67 Stingray that he wrote about restoring in what is considered to be the NRCS bible. Even started it up for us.

He said as far as he knew, he was the only restoration expert to ever get to restore a plane for the Smithsonian anywhere outside the Smithsonian complex.

IF ANY of you all EVER go to Wash DC to see the sights, you simply must NOT MISS the Smithsonian annex at Dulles airport....IAD right next door in a HUGE FREEKING HANGER......wanna see ~130 years of flight??? that's IT!!! mucho better than the exhibit on the mall in DC.....more ROOM, that's why.....

prepare to take TWO days.....one day is a walk through.....no chance to read and understand.....it's wonderful.....

[ApexOversteer]

What did Terry Michealis' "Last Sting Ray" get from the NCRS.

Top Flight.

I think that says it right there.

[Kneel 8250]

Is that an EBAY ad for a 65 Vette?



Kneel.

[Crowvet]

This sounds like a 2nd flight car... Bring it back next year and try again.

[ft laud mike]

Funny, but unfortunately there are some of these types waling among us. During the time I owned my '70.. I had people come up and compliment the car, give me thumbs up driving down the road..ect...
Then one day, while filling up at a 7-11, guy walks over.. doesn't say a word... starts looking at my car.. inside (t-tops off)... scowling. I figured he was admiring the car... he begins a tirade about putting a modern stereo in it was wrong, the outside paint was not correct, bwhere is the original gauge bezel? (I removed it to put in stereo). I was taken back by this dude, finally I tell him, my car I'll do as I please..guy tells me" You ruined a classic", turns and walks off.
His biggest problem seemed to be with my choice of teddy bear wheels
WTF?

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by ft laud mike

Funny, but unfortunately there are some of these types waling among us. During the time I owned my '70.. I had people come up and compliment the car, give me thumbs up driving down the road..ect...
Then one day, while filling up at a 7-11, guy walks over.. doesn't say a word... starts looking at my car.. inside (t-tops off)... scowling. I figured he was admiring the car... he begins a tirade about putting a modern stereo in it was wrong, the outside paint was not correct, bwhere is the original gauge bezel? (I removed it to put in stereo). I was taken back by this dude, finally I tell him, my car I'll do as I please..guy tells me" You ruined a classic", turns and walks off.
His biggest problem seemed to be with my choice of teddy bear wheels
WTF?

ODD, I seem to get just the opposite reactions, first question is 'what YEAR is it, I laugh and say 'what year do you like?" it's got parts on it from '65 through 94.....but it was born in '72.......