haganml
Well-known member
I have just gotten a 1965 coupe that is a basket case with no engine, transmission in a box and a garage full of resto-mod parts. There are also boxes of NOS trim. I will never be able to get the original engine (the deceased previous owner had traded the original L76 to "a guy" for a 63 coupe basket case). The interior is original. The paint is bad, very bad. It looks like a $39.99 special over the original lacquer. I scraped some of this nasty coating off and the lacquer underneath is checking and some really superficial body work is there. The body is all GM grey FRP, it has been appraised and I was told that it is a great car to start on BUT it needs everything. She called it a "baby" with 96K original miles on the odometer. It will never be a "numbers matching" perfect restoration. I was going to install a GM Performance crate engine to get it on the road.
Being a OOF (Official Old Fool) I like modern cars. A/C and my comfort is part of it. When you travel with your spouse and want to drive around with the windows down on a nice summer day you wind up with a very grumpy overheated windblown passenger. It is a power steering car but that is it in the comfort and convenience scale.
I do not plan on cutting and modifying the body, I understand the value issue there. I am retired and this is my project. I am a newby with Corvettes although being a professional automotive mechanic all my life has me planning to do this on my own. I do own a old Tee shirt with a "Anybody can restore an antique, but it takes a real man to cut one up." from a hot rod shop in upstate NY. No, that shirt doesn't fit my 64 year old chassis anymore. Just looking for some guidance here. I am feeling pressure from the Mod guys and the Restoration guys. Where do I stop?
With the mass media televised auto auctions everybody is dragging all this rusty junk out of the pastures and weed lots to pump a load of cash into them and SCORE! This cannot sustain the inflated prices I am seeing. I just want to feel/hear the rumble of a small block and stuff a few corners faster than the law allows.
I was working professionally as a German car mechanic over the last 44 years and was lost in the Euro scene. I started with a 1956 283 3 speed Chevrolet Sedan Delivery in 1966 and have been hooked on the small block from day one. I found this small block C2 and was finally starting to like cars again (after 40+ years of 40 + hours a week cars were just a job) so I jumped.
Who can I contact in the greater San Francisco Bay area and have a reasonable dialog with? haganml.
Being a OOF (Official Old Fool) I like modern cars. A/C and my comfort is part of it. When you travel with your spouse and want to drive around with the windows down on a nice summer day you wind up with a very grumpy overheated windblown passenger. It is a power steering car but that is it in the comfort and convenience scale.
I do not plan on cutting and modifying the body, I understand the value issue there. I am retired and this is my project. I am a newby with Corvettes although being a professional automotive mechanic all my life has me planning to do this on my own. I do own a old Tee shirt with a "Anybody can restore an antique, but it takes a real man to cut one up." from a hot rod shop in upstate NY. No, that shirt doesn't fit my 64 year old chassis anymore. Just looking for some guidance here. I am feeling pressure from the Mod guys and the Restoration guys. Where do I stop?
With the mass media televised auto auctions everybody is dragging all this rusty junk out of the pastures and weed lots to pump a load of cash into them and SCORE! This cannot sustain the inflated prices I am seeing. I just want to feel/hear the rumble of a small block and stuff a few corners faster than the law allows.
I was working professionally as a German car mechanic over the last 44 years and was lost in the Euro scene. I started with a 1956 283 3 speed Chevrolet Sedan Delivery in 1966 and have been hooked on the small block from day one. I found this small block C2 and was finally starting to like cars again (after 40+ years of 40 + hours a week cars were just a job) so I jumped.
Who can I contact in the greater San Francisco Bay area and have a reasonable dialog with? haganml.
i look forward to your progress reports of the restoration. make sure you post pics of the progress as well. you know with no pics it just didn't happen.
Jane Ann
