I restored my 79 from the frame on up. And i found that you need to shop around a lot. Some parts you should get from Zip or corvette central or Ecklers or Corvette America, as these parts are a little better in quality and most importantly "FIT" there are a lot of areas where the 'fit' is critical and nothing but the best will do. Now other places like seat covers, you can get cheaper replacements, but you have to consider that anything you get cheaply is going to be just that, Cheap. But things like door handles and console parts can be had from Mid-America for less that from say Ecklers, but of course the quality is going to be different. I'd say order the part, match it up to the 'original' part you remove. If the seem to be of the same quality and fit "Check the thickness and the shape closely" if it's somrthing you can live with, then use it. I found the best interior parts I got came from 'Rik's Corvette' in North Carolina
www.RIKSVET.com and the best carpet comes from 'Auto Custom Carpets in Birmingham, AL 256-236-1118. Also Contemporary Corvette in Bristol, PA can be a real asset to you in the restoration process,
www.contemporarycorvette.com i got MANY parts both new and used and used them without any trouble. Since I was going after a top flight award from NCRS, i got a lot of used parts and had them rebuilt here locally and then installed them on my car. this is important if your trying to reestablish a 'numbers matching car. The guy is named Rocky and is a great guy to talk to. knows corvettes from 53 to 2008 and back. you'll get good info from him. Also you will do yourself a favor if you get a Hollenger's interface manual. This is the book that junk yards use when you call for a part for a specific car and year. It shows what parts are the same throughtout the different years. IE: say you need a power steering pump, the manual will show that you can get a pump from 19... to 2... Chevy Impala that is the exact same pump, thus narowing your search down considerably. As far as other parts, I replaced my entire brake calipers with 'o' ring caliper from Vette Brakes and products, they are great people to deal with, Honest and Reliable and offer excellant procucts. i won't waste anymore of your time, but the restoring process is a little time consuming but when your done you really have something to be proud of. The first time I had my Corvette done and at a Corvette show was down in Millville, NJ and I had it entered in the show for street class judging. And i can't tell you how proud I was when i won a first class award trophy which I still have on a shelf with all the other awards and trophy's I've won. Take your time, don't get frustrated and keep at it, and you'll be rewarded in the end. your young and it may seem at times like an impossible task, but with time the size of the project come down quickly. Good luck buddy!
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