Back in the saddle again....

[Dewcati]

I had a couple of C2 Vettes when I was 16-17 years old. Totaled my 63' fastback and sold my 63' convertible . Bought another Vette in my late 20's, a 68' convertible 427 , then sold it to buy a house. Finally after 35+ years I purchased an 89' and liked it so well I got an 87' with the Z52 package. Today I happened upon a C4 convertible that had an engine fire. Wiring is toast, distributer is missing, the plenum has been removed (but comes with car) and the throttle body is missing. One of the rear brakes is locked up also. Top is not great but useable, hood is messed up from fire, fan and fan motor is missing, carpet is shot, seats are repairable (one looks nice but with mold and the other needs the bottom cushion redone), paint is probably terrible. I can't tell because it is covered with dust and dirt. Dash and steering wheel look good. And it has a 4+3 transmission which along with the clutch is supposed to be good. It also has the rear wing on it. I think I can get it for abut $600. It doesn't have a title, but I want to make an Autocross racer out of it not drive it on the street. What I want to know is...... should I buy it and what kind of mess will I get into converting it to a carb since the wiring to the fuel injection is completely gone.

 

[jrose7004]

Personally I'd keep looking!

 

[bill81vette]

What Jroes said...

 

[Dewcati]

I ended up not buying it. Bought an 82' Collector Edition instead. Needs quite a bit of work and lots of cleaning and detailing, but I am up to the task...... always loved those Stingrays.

 

[jrose7004]

Good luck on your project!

 

[Dewcati]

Thanks, I have detailed the interior. Everything but the seats came out pretty good. Am in the middle of detailing the engine. I pressure washed it today and blew it dry. Then painted and touched up a few items. Still more painting and touching up to do. After that is finished I will apply SC1 which will give it a final shine. I buffed and polished the old paint as best as I could. Looks good from 20 ft. After the engine is done the car will be jacked up and the underneath side, and wheel wells pressure washed. Rust will be scrubbed off the frame and suspension. Everything will then be painted black (except the calipers). Then the bushings, shocks, brakes, DOT 5 brake fluid, and tie rods I just purchased will be installed.
.

 

[Dewcati]

A few pics.

 

[Dewcati]

Here are all three in front of my house

 

[Tom Bryant]

I'm sure you will be much happier with the 82 just because it's something you can drive while fixing up. Clear coat problems are common on that color, but I've seen much worse. The one thing that worries me is the tires. I replaced the original tires on my wife's 81 with the Goodyear ST tires in the late 80s. They looked right and were nice to drive on, but I replaced them with BFG Radial T/As 3 years ago due to age. They had always been parked inside in my heated shop and had very few miles on them. We don't drive the 81 very much, just a few cruises a summer. They were starting to show some cracking along the bead and I have seen too many cases where good looking tires with great tread depth have blown taking a quarter panel of fender with them. Bottom line is that they haven't made these tires since the mid 90s so please don't do any highway speeds, especially on hot days, before you get new tires.

Tom

 

[Wayback]

Another WELCOME !