Where to start :>

[scribebox]

Just purchased my first Vette, a 1976 Stingray, im really enjoying the overall look and feel of the car.

i just want to get some insight into how i should approach this, being a hobbyist, where you guys would start, what trouble spots do you see, etc etc.

Ive already stripped most of the carpet / interior out.

the floor pans arent rotted / rusted (well, the passenger area had a couple of holes at the foot rests) that is rust converter that hasnt been sanded down yet.

I believe with the interior im going to hit it with some fiberglass on the passenger side, and then lay down some undercoating / dynamat along the entire floor.

Also, the rednecks i bought this from, put in a pep boys high performance 350 4 Bolt main, the receipt was in a shoebox along with receipts for the edelbrock carb / intake, and the high torque starter that came with it.

The engine should be fine, we have been flushing it out with brake fluid / gas / oil, today we turned it over to see if we could get it primed tomorrow, we are going to put the spark plugs / wires, distributor assembly back together, and see if we can get her started























all constructive criticism is appreciated!

-scribebox

 

[milo30]

Looks like you have your work cut out for you on this one. As far as you've stripped it already, why not go ahead and pull the engine or engine and tranny. You can check everything out more thoroughly outside the car plus that'd allow you to repair and repaint engine compartment. You are doing to much to the car to not do that also.

I don't envy you.

Welcome to the club. You'll find this to be a very informative place for what you have ahead of you.

 

[scribebox]

Yea, that was my thoughts, except, im thinking of removing the body from the frame, and sand blasting it/powder coat, and doing all the engine/tranny work that way, and take the body down to my local painter, ive been scouring ebay for 76 body manuals, see if i have to make any cuts to remove this thing :/

if anyone has any manuals they'd like to sell, im open.

 

[JohnZ]

If you re-size your photos to about 640x480 (about 60K), they'll load a lot faster, and won't require scrolling to see them.

 

[scribebox]

high quality man, details!

they are thumbnails now

 

[minifridge1138]

I would start with an Assembly Instruction Manual (commonly called an AIM). This book tells you how the car was assembled at the factory. Very useful for removing/installing components.

I would also save everything you pull off of the car. Put the different parts in separate boxes so that you can remember what nuts/buts, etc were used to mount a part. You can also number the boxes so you know what order you removed the parts. This helps reassembly.

Sounds like you're looking to do a frame-off restoration. That will be a lot of fun. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions.

Good Luck!

 

[tcxd40]

The floor pans arent rotted / rusted (well, the passenger area had a couple of holes at the foot rests) that is rust converter that hasnt been sanded down yet.

I believe with the interior im going to hit it with some fiberglass on the passenger side, and then lay down some undercoating / dynamat along the entire floor.

If you are going to through all of the tear down work, replace the floors. They can be found on ebay used and new from Eklers. It would make for a nicer end product.

tcxd40

 

[milo30]

Well, it sounds like you are going about it the right way. If you run a search on frame off restorations there's alot of info. I remember seeing someone had a video of the process. It was either here or on another vette forum, not sure.

I had thought about pulling mine off of the frame because I am doing so much to it. After pulling most of what I am going to pul off, I was able to see more and decided it didn't really need to go that far. I want mine back together ASAP.

You'll have a nice car when you are done. Good luck.