for those that have done the whole thing...what is the best way?

[firstgear]

for those of you that have replaced the engine...painted the engine bay....redone the chrome and painted the car....what was the order in which you did everything...I am not looking to do a frame off, but rather put a ZZ4 in the car....have the engine compartment look great...as well as the chrome and the paint.....so what order worked best for everyone????

let me know....I would like to hear your experiences of what you did and what you would have done different now that you are looking back....regards, Herb

 

[Fishman]

Greetings Herb... my project plan:

1) Suspension, steering, exhaust & brakes (all at once)
2) ZZ series crate motor (350hp)
3) Interior (gutted and replaced EVERYTHING... down to each screw)
4) Engine compartment (clean and paint)
5) Paint the body (have not done this yet)

The car has been down south for it's entire life... no need for a frame off (yet).

I plan on doing a pretty expensive paint job, it may have to wait a few more years. Plus, the paint doesn't really look that bad yet.

Others may disagree, but I say paint the body last.

Later... Brian

 

[firstgear]

Greetings Herb... my project plan:

1) Suspension, steering, exhaust & brakes (all at once)
2) ZZ series crate motor (350hp)
3) Interior (gutted and replaced EVERYTHING... down to each screw)
4) Engine compartment (clean and paint)
5) Paint the body (have not done this yet)

The car has been down south for it's entire life... no need for a frame off (yet).

I plan on doing a pretty expensive paint job, it may have to wait a few more years. Plus, the paint doesn't really look that bad yet.

Others may disagree, but I say paint the body last.

Later... Brian

I was going to go with paint first...but the more I thought about craging over the top of the car and such, the more I thought it should go last as well....in terms of the suspension...did you change out to Jim Meyers type front end along with rack and pinion or did you stay with the stock version and just made sure everything was up to snuff?

from a $$$ standpoint it seems to me that it could easily be $20k for what you have outlined above....did you stay with stock seats? I am planning on going for Wise Guy Seats as they seem to have much more room for me in the car (I am 6'3") along with a smaller diameter steering wheel.....what did you do in the interior?

Got any pictures?

let me hear back from you....by the way I am between Cleveland and Toledo right near Norwalk Dragway.

Herb

 

[Evolution1980]

If you are going to be doing mods under the hood, always paint last. There's not much fun in doing major engine compartment work and having to be crazy-careful because you have new paint on the outside. You risk dripping fluids on it, dropping parts/tools on it, constantly leaning over the fender wells...
Paint is the last thing you want to do.
Even cars that look crappy on the outside but are monsters under the hood are still sweet cars... I've always been about "the Go" before "the Show". That's why I don't understand ricers...

 

[Fishman]

...in terms of the suspension...did you change out to Jim Meyers type front end along with rack and pinion or did you stay with the stock version and just made sure everything was up to snuff?

I went fairly 'stock'... GM and their OEM suppliers still makes some great parts, but I also went with the best replacement as well (it's not a NCRS car in the least bit). I could give you a parts list a mile long. We put the car on a hoist, dropped everything below the wheel well of the car, and laid all the pieces on the ground. If it looked good, sandblasted and painted. If it didn't, replace with the best quality/performance part possible.

...from a $$$ standpoint it seems to me that it could easily be $20k for what you have outlined above

I am a very fortunate man... I have a 2 and 5 year old at home so I do not have time for 'major' work on the car. But... I do have the means to pay the best Vette mechanic in the area to do it for me. I bought it for $7k and have put over $40k into the car and I haven't even painted it yet. It was repainted once, and unless you wax it, you will probably not notice all the 'flaws' that I do.

...did you stay with stock seats?

Kind of... the 78 came stock with leather inserts and vinyl sides and backs. We replaced the foam and had the seats done in 100% leather; inserts, sides and backs.

Got any pictures??

I need to updated the pictures (thanks for reminding me), but I have a page at Car Domain

I will never sell this car... it is not about the money. I want the car to look as stock as original from the outside, but perform as good as possible without making the car a 'drag' only car. It's just a BLAST to drive. And... it's a real sleeper.

 

[IH2LOSE]

Not saying you will or would,but I can say the worst thing you can do to a car is disasemble it ,then lose intrest,or funds to complete it.

So if the cars is drivable now I always suggest to some one who has not ever undertaken a major rebuild is to do it in steps so that the car is always able to be put back together within 2 week ends.(so that means all parts have been planned for,paid for, and on hand ready to be installed)

May sound crazy but I have seen it a hundred times where a car is disasembled with great intentions and no planning only to see the owner lose hope of ever completing the car and then lose that original passion that made them want to restore the car.You know I am in the midst of builing a car now.I had invested hundreds of hours in planning an action plan prior to even purchasing a car.When I look at my 62 in the garage I know its only a couple of week ends of work left until I will be driving it,I have allmost all of the parts I just have to put them on. I have been planning for them and aquiring them in advance.(I could go on about this but it would probably bore everyone and it doesnt answer your question directly)

So I always suggest the three "P"S prior to placing one wrench on the car

Planning
Pricing
Purchasing

So with all that being said.I will get back to your original question.

Its important to understand what effect what in a build.

A fresh paint job just give an imediate WOW for the car,really gets you motivated to do more work to raise the quailty of a car,But it would cheapen the overall apperance of the car to put old chrome back on it.So it would seem that paint and chrome should be at the same time.And with the timeing of chrome taking almost as long to get done as repainting a car it just reafirms that should be done at the same time.The problem with doing them at the same time is the money factor.Some other costs associated with a repaint is the replacement of all of the weatherstrip and polishing of the stainless.

Interiour has to be done last.no matter how hard you try to keep it clean its almost impossible.Definately do the insides last.

Engine bay area I feel should be done after painting the car.After spending hours if not days detailing an engine bay.during a car repaint its too hard to protect and also should be done after the paint.this is also true for the underside of the car. I feel its easyer to protect the paint and body.

Now all of what I am saying should be disregaurded if any thing on the car is unsafe or in disrepair,all of that should be done FIRST,Saftey and reliability should always come before the cosmedics.

Good luck and be safe

 

[firstgear]

good comments....I too am afraid to disassemble the whole thing and run into the "lost interest phase" or worse yet the over whelming feeling that it is too far to get back.....I have the money now to do the paint and chrome thing or the new engine and paint the engine bay while it is removed thing.....but not sure that I want to spend nor am I comfortable to spend the money for all of it at one time, I am figuring around $20k for all of it...maybe creeping up to $25k...but somewhere in that area....

The paint and chrome certainly have the wow factor....and is the easiest to get done and motivate over....the engine and engine bay is something that doesn't necessairly need to be done, but I have never been anywhere where Corvette people don't open the hood to show what they have, so to not have it done, well it would be embarassing.....so......I get a few more $$$ saved and then will do something......

other comments are certainly welcomed......

 

[srthom13]

Just finished with my 66 BB project and the paint will be the last thing to do. I figured I could always drive around and enjoy the car with a ok paint job but not so if I had a marginal drive train or suspension. I did the following:


1) Removed engine and transmission - Sent out both for balancing and blue printing
2) Replaced entire suspension - calipers, brake lines, bearings/races, ball joints, upper/lower bushings, u-joints, shocks, strut bushings - everthing. Before replacing everything - power washed and painted entire under carriage and engine compartment.
3) Cleaned up repaired under hood harness. Cleaned up headlights and motors.
4) Cleaned up, repaired and replaced most interior parts.
5) Installed motor,transmission and all other parts ( either rebuilt originals or NOS parts ) - water pump, battery, regulator, radiator, hoses, carb, entire clutch - everthing.

The exterior paint is good but does have cracks and spider webbing. I figured in a few years I will have it done but for now I intend to take it out and enjoy. If I can afford the gas. Damn this BB loves to eat. The entire process took me about a year and a half. Steve

 

[firstgear]

thanks Steve.....I appreciate the comments...I am leaning to pulling the engine, pulling most parts out of the engine bay, cleaning it and painting it, putting in new ZZ4 engine....then in the fall or over the winter attacking the paint and chrome as well as the interior.....seems like a lot of stuff to be done....and running tools etc over a new paint job and then moving the engine etc seems like I am asking for problems with the paint on the outside.....would prefer not to redo things anfter doing them one time...the existing paint job leaves a lot to be desired as does the chrome. I want to have a good engine to deal with, so that is why I am looking to get rid of the existing 350 cu in engine out of the car and get something very fresh in its place....

 

[srthom13]

firstgear, I found it best to take your time, enjoy what you are doing ( even though things do and will get ugly at times ) do it right the first time, ask alot of questions and put in the best parts. Believe me, the satisfaction at the time of completion will be worth the effort. When you finish there will be times when you just stand there and stare at what you have done and say to youself - wow - I did it. Steve

 

[WayneC]

1) Removed engine and transmission - Sent out both for balancing and blue printing

My caution on this would be that most engine rebuilders give a warranty period of about 6 months, so you may want to consider the possibility (in my case, certainty) that your engine warranty may expire while you are working on the rest of the car.

 

[srthom13]

WayneC, Excellent point. I my case I was able to finish the rest of the restoring before the engine was completed. My problem was that the engine was completed in December and I installed it in January. Here in the Northeast January , Febuary and sometimes March are not good times to be on the road. However, I was able to work out the particulars ( time frame for warranty ) with the machine shop. Steve