My 1980 Corvette is getting closer to completion and I've taken digital pictures as worked progressed. The first picture was taken after the GM Performance 330 HP 350 Crate Engine and new Transmission were installed.
Rebirth of a Corvette
- Thread starter impala
- Start date
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Another early shot.
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In the garage sanded, taped and primered on jackstands.
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A second in the garage primer shot.
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The T-Tops and both Hoods ready for the Dark Blue Metallic paint. In the background you can see my Brother-in-laws 1955 Corvette. He bought it in the early 1960's for $1,820 from a local Chevy dealer. He still has the origianal 265 / Auto but is currently running a ZZ4 Fastburn and a squarecut gear Rockcrusher left over from his racing days.
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Painted in the garage.
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Painted in the garage rear shot.
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Painted in driveway.
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Second shot of painted in driveway.
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Third shot of painted in driveway.
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Fourth and last shot of painted in driveway.
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Comparison of the original 1980 L48 exhaust pipe and the 1982 exhaust pipe I used to open up the system.
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A shot of the installed crate engine.
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A comparison shot of the origianl 1980 converter and the free flowing converter from Ecklers. The weight savings was 22 lbs and the heat radiated into the passenger area has to be greatly reduced.
D
Dave L.
Guest
Nice job impala!!
impala- looks great!I like the way you kept the original air induction system intact.It looks like the original stock dual snorkel air cleaner?What intake did you use on those vortec heads?Will you have enough hood clearance?Sorry for all the questions.I am going to be doing a similar engine change down the road.
Dave
impala- looks great!I like the way you kept the original air induction system intact.It looks like the original stock dual snorkel air cleaner?What intake did you use on those vortec heads?Will you have enough hood clearance?Sorry for all the questions.I am going to be doing a similar engine change down the road.
Dave
mmvette80
Well-known member
Very nice paint. I have a question, how come you didnt take the front and rear clips off. Im asking because I plan on doing the paint on mine next fall. Did you sand down to the original primer or to the fiberglass. Very nice job.
K
klb76
Guest
Looks great! I love looking at pics of a project, always gets me excited about my project! Looks like good work to me!
klb
klb
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BURGLAR,
The stock low rise hood would not have cleared the Vortec Intake manifold that came on the engine. I had read that although the Intake GM uses has a GM Part Number and Logo it is actually made by Edelbrock for GM and is the same as their Performer. Fortunately the manifold is setup so the original Q-jet carburator can be used. Because I live in southeastern Wisconsin I have to pass emissions so I dumped the 650 Holly that came on the engine and had the Q-jet reworked so all the original vacuum line connections are available. The carb shop said the Q-jet will now flow at 850 cfm. Probably too much carb but this winter the heads will come off to be reworked. These iron Vortec heads actually flow better out of the box than the aluminum ZZ4 heads. With a little head tweaking and a hotter cam I should be able to get 375 HP.
mmvette80,
The body had never been hit but had a deep gouge in the passenger piller post where the original owner had a mishap with a T-top. Besides the original paint was starting to show it's age so we just 320 grit then 220 grit hand block sanded to give the new paint something to stick to. I truely beleive that the primer the factory lays down is better than anything I could have done.
The rear cap had the typical dark cover mounting point waves so a fiberglas rear cap was installed. The front looked pretty straight so it was left alone. Because it's metallic paint I didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to get the front and rear caps aligned on stands to exactly replicate their normal position on the car. I've seen too many cars where parts were not properly aligned and the metallic paint ended up looking like a different shade.
Eugene
The stock low rise hood would not have cleared the Vortec Intake manifold that came on the engine. I had read that although the Intake GM uses has a GM Part Number and Logo it is actually made by Edelbrock for GM and is the same as their Performer. Fortunately the manifold is setup so the original Q-jet carburator can be used. Because I live in southeastern Wisconsin I have to pass emissions so I dumped the 650 Holly that came on the engine and had the Q-jet reworked so all the original vacuum line connections are available. The carb shop said the Q-jet will now flow at 850 cfm. Probably too much carb but this winter the heads will come off to be reworked. These iron Vortec heads actually flow better out of the box than the aluminum ZZ4 heads. With a little head tweaking and a hotter cam I should be able to get 375 HP.
mmvette80,
The body had never been hit but had a deep gouge in the passenger piller post where the original owner had a mishap with a T-top. Besides the original paint was starting to show it's age so we just 320 grit then 220 grit hand block sanded to give the new paint something to stick to. I truely beleive that the primer the factory lays down is better than anything I could have done.
The rear cap had the typical dark cover mounting point waves so a fiberglas rear cap was installed. The front looked pretty straight so it was left alone. Because it's metallic paint I didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to get the front and rear caps aligned on stands to exactly replicate their normal position on the car. I've seen too many cars where parts were not properly aligned and the metallic paint ended up looking like a different shade.
Eugene
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- #19
BURGLAR,
I forgot to add that the stock 1980 hood was replaced with a 1976 Hi-rise. We painted the stock hood in the event I ever want to go back to stock. The original hood will go into storage with the original engine, transmission and AC components.
mmvette,
I meant to say we used 220 grit then 320 grit. Next is 1200 grit on a DA then swirl remover on a foam pad.
Long day, getting tired, must sleep........
I forgot to add that the stock 1980 hood was replaced with a 1976 Hi-rise. We painted the stock hood in the event I ever want to go back to stock. The original hood will go into storage with the original engine, transmission and AC components.
mmvette,
I meant to say we used 220 grit then 320 grit. Next is 1200 grit on a DA then swirl remover on a foam pad.
Long day, getting tired, must sleep........
cruzer99
Well-known member
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- 99 Navy Blue Pearl Vert. NCRS Member
Nice job...........
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