Here's my girl... 1977 L48 bought in 1997...

[pheengurs]

Bought this car when I was much younger. I'm the fourth owner. She's spent more time traveling the country on a trailer than under its own power. This year I'm attempting to refresh the entire car...

 

[pheengurs]

Here's some of the work I've been doing. Basically starting from underneath back to front. Engine has been out of the car for about a decade... I've been choosing and acquiring parts for a very long time now. At this point I've done the POR15 process on the frame and metal parts underneath that I can reach. And I've been putting stick on heat shielding under the floorpan and trans tunnel and lower firewall. I will be replacing every bushing I can for the suspension. 200r4 Trans upgrade and rear end gear change / rebuild to 3.70 gearing are done, awaiting their turn for install.

 

[pheengurs]

my to do list is quite long. I am having a great time with this car. I was in a very bad work related vehicle accident a couple years ago, and it's taken a gargantuan effort to get myself back to the point where I can have short bursts of enjoyment with physical activities... Being in pain all the time really drains all enjoyment out of life, let me tell you! But having this car on the back burner for so long has been a great motivator. And though I am quite limited in not only what I can do, but for how long I can do it -- the benefits of enjoying doing the things you love to do are frankly invaluable in terms of a therapeutic device. So enjoy and value all that you have while you have it!

TODO:

-paint all metal parts removed from car before reinstalling
-POR15 hi temp paint on headers & bottom of fuel tank
-repair fiberglass on pass cargo compartment box & spare tire carrier
-clean and repaint spare tire carrier
-send spray paint up into areas I cannot reach that are visible while underneath the car
-finish adding stick on heat shields to trans tunnel and lower firewall
-detail & paint engine bay
-fix/replace washer fluid pump & reservoir tank
-fix/replace coolant recovery tank
-install new polyurethane suspension bushings with silicone grease & ptfe tape
-lube / inspect all ujoints
-lube / inspect trailing arms
-install parking brake rebuild kit
-install SS brake lines
-flush & bleed brakes
-install new shock mount lower arms
-relocate parking brake cable bracket from side to top of trailing arm
-paint trailing arms
-install koni adjustable shocks
-install new diff crossmember bushings
-fill diff with gear oil & limited slip additive
-fill trans torque convertor with dex6 and install
-source rear sway bar setup & install
-reinstall 360lb composite monoleaf & differential with new snubber bushing
-install halfshafts
-replace lower speedo / tach cables
-determine which speedo gear color needed for my setup with the 3.70 gears in a 200r4 trans
-choose fixed or flexible trans dipstick
-install 200r4 trans with new trans bushing & 2500 stall lockup convertor & new flex plate & fluid
-install braided trans lines & trans cooler
-install rear driveshaft
-fix hard fuel line cut by PO by removing rubber line & adding couplers
-rebuild 355 cu.in. sbc
-remove pilot bushing
-install engine & headers
-install Pypes stainless exhaust kit & Flowmaster FlowFX mufflers
-install hi torque starter
-install engine accessories
-source and install dual electric fan setup with freshly rebuilt radiator
-wire it all up
-perform engine breakin procedure & confirm AOD TV cable setup
-replace seat belts
-repair & paint seat backs
-repair pass seat back button
-replace negative battery cable & add engine & frame grounds
-test all wiring circuits & accessories / options
-rebuild cruise control transducer & replace upper cables & confirm proper operation of speedo & tach
-rebuild / replace clock
-install AOD shifter gate kit
-locate Lectric Limited proper ohm head temp sending unit or buy variable resistor device & calibrate with temp gun
-fix door sag & locks & lube power window gears & confirm door grounds & wiring are good & add power door lock actuators/alarm
-test horn in engine bay & fix horn button on steering column
-buy stock looking stereo with modern upgrades
-buy & install rear deck sound bar system
-test & run rear defrost wiring and switch
-detail interior
-install front air dam
-install wiper cowl cover & modify to work

I'm sure there's more there to add, once I get to an area and find more things wrong... y'all know the drill ;-)

 

[gone]

A HUGE task but if you're determined, it'll happen...one step at a time. Good luck!

 

[Lawrence]

very cool and well worth it but huge endevor, my son and i completed a frame off rebuilt on a 74 it was time consuming to say the least.
stay the course it will be beautiful when done.

 

[pheengurs]

Here's a few more pics .. I tried POR 15 high heat paint on the headers and rear diff .. added a one way breather to the diff which I may route somewhere else higher... and a few other things...

The last pic is of my attempt at fiberglass repair on the passenger side cargo storage box area ... there is a toonie sized hole there ... and last I checked the bloody resin was still soft... its a really old can of napa long strand with a new tube of bondo brand resin compatible hardener... I'll have to learn what I did wrong there... as you can see there is a HUGE hole in the spare tire carrier, I've yet to fix...

 

[Duntov7]

Very ambitious and highly commendable activity.....nice work! My first new Corvette (of the 7 I have owned) was a 1975....a great car. and a ton of fun.

 

[Paul C7 to C8]

Thumbs up to you pheengurs ...... fine line between a labor of love (or hate) ....... but it will be worth it for sure!

 

[AGVI]

Good job and Good Luck!

 

[pheengurs]

Finally got my health levels back up to medium garage duty. Really happy to be back in there and back on the CCF to update this good old thread of mine....

Its been so long, I had to organize an entire floor to ceiling shelf unit and 4 - 40L bins of new parts ... there is so much stuff I had to separate by vehicle area to keep things straight.

Also, my sis has been visiting, so I put her to work. She fixed the bent fins on the air conditioning condensor & radiator, scrubbed and wiped a large portion of the engine bay, and helped with restoring bolts and nuts to rust free status in a few more areas, as well as replacing the washer fluid reservoir, pump and vacuum lines.

I zip-tied & rubber wrapped a one way breather valve to the fuel tank vent , fixed the previous owner's cutting of the fuel hard line just under the passenger door, replaced the coolant overflow tank, put new bushings into the diff frame cross member, assembled new adjustable control arms, bushings and hardware, removed old rear shocks, replaced old trailing arm bump stops, cleaned up the diff snout snubber bushing sleeve & assembled its pieces with a beefier diameter bolt...

Once I get the magnetic bung, I'll drill and tap the diff .. R&R the trailing arms with a cleanup, paint, new bushings, repack bearings, relocate the ebrake cable mounts from the side of the control arm to the top, R&R the parking brakes in the rotor, R&R the brake calipers, replace rear body mounts ...

Then I'll finally be able to reinstall the rear end and associated parts...

After that its back into the engine bay for the fine tooth comb cleanup and repaint. Also wiring cleanup & heat sheathe looms on vulnerable areas near header heat source areas, new foam radiator support things, 100% replacement of all vacuum lines, replace hood release cable & mounts, install wiper cowl cover & modify to fit...

Once I'm at that point I'll have to make some decisions whether to tackle replacing all bushings, tie rods, ball joints, shocks and whatever other bad news I'll find on the front suspension OR tackle the interior...

 

[pheengurs]

Managed to get the areas above the diff and the bottom of the fuel tank painted, and the diff drain plug installed. Then I filled up with 2 bottles of GM posi additive & 75w90 gear oil & bolted it up.

New bushings on the diff frame member and snubber.

Had the typical issues getting the diff frame member bushings to seat on the frame top hats ... But I think I have it cinched up there now. Once down on the paws I'll re-torque...

Next up is por15 the trailing arms and rebuild the parking brakes....