Rear Susp. rebuild/update advice

[vettej1]

Hi everyone,
I have a numbers matching '72 roadster that I purchased in May. Non original hood, side grilles are chromed, and it was repainted red, originally ontario orange. I also have the original optional hardtop.

I have removed the the rear suspension and am in the process of upgrading and rebuilding it with a brand new 9 leaf, poly bushings, and HD trailing arms, not offsets, that I picked up at Carlilse this year. Ive just finished, today, sand blasting all the original parts except the original T arms because they were rusted too badly and are now in Corvette heaven.

I'm on the fence and need some input on a couple things. Since my Vette is "matching numbers" I'm feeling guilty about putting in HD T arms because they don't look original. Eventhough I think their better. On the other hand the last owner already made the mistake of repainting my baby the non original color. So is the numbers matching thing still valid? Should I worry about this stuff?

Any thoughts?

-john

 

[billybob]

vettej1,

I had this same personal discussion with myself, a few things you have to ask yourself are:

Do you plan on selling it?

Is it going to be a trailer queen for shows?

What do you want to do with YOUR car?

I asked myself all of these things and with the support of others I decided to make it MY car. Something that would say you betcha its a vette and I dont need no stinkin awards or public recognition to be happy with my car.

Its your car do what will make you happy with it.

BTW welcome to CAC

Bill

 

[vettej1]

No trailer queen here. This shark is driven.
Thanks Bill.

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

My opinion is make it the best car you can make it.You owe that to your Vette.Keep original what you can but also sometimes make the improvements you desire.There is no right or wrong way.

 

[jmp]

The only thing I can add to that is keep any original parts that you take off -- if/when you sell it, the next owner might really be interested in those parts. Or if you ever want to do a full restore later on...

In fact, if it is a daily driver, and you have the money, swap some of the original parts for new/better ones. That way you get a "better" driver plus you don't wear out the original parts!

 

[69MyWay]

John,

Believe it or not, my 69 aka Killer was a numbers matching car. The matching numbers engine was sitting in the dirt next to the car with weeds growing through it. When I got the trans out I verified it was the original trans, diff, etc.

Now, let me ask you this question. I think it is clear what my decision was. Look at the picture below, and tell me if making the car the way I wanted it vs. the way the factory built it was a good thing, or a bad thing. In the end, only you can answer that question. I have made my choice.

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

69 MY Way, Hey man I just want to say that your Corvette is maybe the best looking I`ve ever seen.:cry

 

[vettej1]

Thanks Chris, I'm inspired. Here's a pic of her in Sept. before I put her up on jacks.