[ Up ] [ 79 Taking it Apart ] [ 79 Assembly ] [ 79 Body Interior ] [ 79 Debugging Car ] [ 79 Before & After Pics ] [ 79 Show Pics ] [ 79 Status ] Progress Report
Beginning 11/03/02 and updated weekly thru rebuild
4/15/03 : Working on resolving all of the little issues and waiting on getting the car back from being touched up.
2/12/03 : Wow!! I'm finally done. There are a few things that need to be completed as mentioned on the new "finished" page of the site, but for the most part, it's complete. I finished the first part of the month and last week the car passed the safety inspection and the emissions test!! Not sure how that happened since I'm not running catalytic converters, but I'm not complaining. I did put some NXP in the tank and now I'm wondering just how much that helped. With the emissions paperwork I was able to get my tags and now the car is legal and on the street. It has about 300 miles on it now and still is going through some tuning. Currently the secondaries on the carb are sticking under full throttle. Not exactly what I want and it's causing a hesitation until about 3500 rpm's when the motor catches up and floods the primaries with enough fuel to meet the need. Second gear is unbelievable, so hopefully after this problem is fixed first will be just as fun and second and third will get even better. There are some nicks here and there and some imperfections in the paint that will all get fixed next month during a brief visit to the paint shop. Other than that, the car is ready for some North Texas summer car shows. I'm a little anxious at how the car will be received. Time will tell.
1/19/03 : A very busy weekend. The inside rear reveal and trim went in after some painting and dying. both seats are now bolted in as the center console is complete with all electrics working properly. The knobs for the seat have been dyed and added as well and the seatbelt trim. The glove box is in and the light is working properly although the latch is a little loose. Something a locksmith can fix pretty quick I'm told. All of the new weather stripping is on now including the hood piece. The front windshield trim is on the car should be water tight now. The big thing this weekend was putting the hood and t-tops on. I've been told that I can pick up the headlight trim, the mirrors, and the front and rear bumper covers tomorrow, so by next weekend I should be able to concentrate on my final check list. Nothing on order. New pics on the Body and Interior page.
1/13/03 : After a busy weekend several milestones have been achieved. Both the front and rear glass is in and they look great! All of the wiring and vacuum systems have been tested and are working according to spec, the interior has been started and the doors have been added (a pain I might add). On the inside, the back has been carpeted and the speakers wired and added. the heat barrier shields are in along with the carpet on the passenger side and the driver's side has been fitted. There are pics of a seat in the car, but the seat has not been bolted down yet. The weather stripping was put on both doors and the sun visors installed. Also, very important, it was insured this week so just that much closer to being legal!! This week and next weekend will hopefully be a busy one. On order: horn, windshield wiper, and clock knobs along with knobs for the seat position control. Just piddly stuff now. When I get the mirrors back from the body shop I can complete the doors, and waiting on the bezels for the headlights! Getting close!
1/4/03 : The past week has been a FUN one!! I have installed the master cylinder and bled the brakes. I have connected all the engine compartment hoses and wires and installed the radiator and condenser. The steering column is in and all wires that can be connected without the console are. Hmmmmm, I wonder if it will start?? I hooked up the battery and first turn of the key she came back to life:) With that you might can guess what happened next..... a ride up the street and back. (For brake, tranny, steering, and alignment test purposes only of course) Felt strange driving a car without doors, a windshield or seats, but it beats pushing it around the garage. I had to explain some black marks in the driveway to the wife, but worth it. Since I have added the windshield wipers, heat and AC duct work, stereo wiring harness, and have added the chrome trim on the top windshield reveal and fitted the t-tops. I am waiting on an order with a heat barrier kit, but in the mean time I'll continue to work on the interior wiring and trim. Revised date of completion : Valentines Day.
12/29/02 : This week was busy as I was off work and had plenty of time to work on the car. I taped the body off and detailed the engine compartment, tire wells, and interior. I put the heater/AC box and plumbing on the body and prepped it for it's return trip to the chassis. Rather than have eight guys hold up my freshly painted body while I try to line up all the holes, I enlisted my friend Mitch and an engine hoist for the job. I fashioned a harness out of cable and supported the front of the car with 2X4 and a strap and after adding a little weight to the back the body came up no problem! Putting it on I thought would be a chore, but after NO. 1 body mounts on both sides were lined up, they all lined up. So the body is back on and the project now enters another phase. Thanks Mitch. Next week I hope to get far enough along to get it started.
12/22/02 : Well, today was the day. I got to bring my car back from the body shop and I couldn't be happier. The paint looks great! Shines great! Reflects great! As soon as I got it home I replaced the nose bar to allow the '79 front clip to mount to the '80 front frame extension. Then I went to work on the floor pans. Both are in need of a little repair which should be complete tomorrow. For the next week I plan to open some Christmas gifts, tape off the car, open more Christmas gifts, detail the engine compartment and interior, complete the wheel wells, open all the Christmas gifts, and install the AC box to the firewall. Just an FYI..... I bought an 11" B&M Tork Master 2400 converter with a little more stall online and when it arrived it was the standard 12" stock diameter. Customer support told me that all of the 11" and 10" remanufactured converters are in fact 12". Things that make you go hmmmmmm. I'm sending it back at their expense and going with TCI. Nothing else bought this week except 2" tape and lots of it. Pics of the body are posted on the body and interior page. Merry Christmas!!
12/17/02 : This week I was able to finally dye the seat buckets and I went ahead and broke down the steering column, cleaned it up, painted the shaft, and also dyed the top part. Things are coming together very well. I stopped by the body shop and the main body should be finished tomorrow. This will give me the entire Christmas break to prepare it for the chassis. The hardware has been mounted back to the seat buckets and they are complete with the exception of adding the cushions which won't happen until they are in the car. Nothing ordered this week, and only 6 1/4" screws were bought for the seat rails.
12/10/02 : I stopped by the body shop today and the body is complete. No more priming, just a little blocking and she is ready for the booth..... I'm told Thursday:) There are about 12 other parts to be painted as well before the job will be totally complete (headlight pieces: 4, running light frame: 2, gas cap, spoiler, mirror pieces: 4) The bumper covers, t-tops, and doors are already finished. I finally finished the seat rails and they look and work great. I took the bearings out and cleaned and greased them, fixed the passenger slide lever, and painted them. The seat buckets are slowly being worked, but time is not crucial as I will re-dye everything at once and that won't be for a month or so. I did get bored waiting on the body to finish, so I pulled the tranny off to install a 10" or 11" 2800 stall converter. Might as well do it now while it's easy. I got my hood hardware back from the nickel plater and they look great! I added som pics of that in the "Before & After" page and "Mechanical Assembly". Nothing bought the last two weeks or ordered. Hopefully I'll be bringing her home this weekend!
11/24/02 : Turkey day is this week and I'm out of town all week, so look next week for a fresh status. Happy Thanksgiving.
11/17/02 : Believe it or not, all of the body work is done! No more cracks, or waves, or holes to fix - just a final blocking and it will be ready for paint!! I found a tip on the C3VetteRegistry site about using a paint pen to touch up interior components and what a time saver. The chrome lines around the consoles and vents were easily duplicated with a $3 paint pen. The seats are still getting worked and the screws and other hardware are still soaking to get the years of goo off. The seatbelts were a big concern because they were brown and black.....they were originally tan. I soaked them for about 30 hours apiece in Oxy Clean, changing the water every 7 hours or so and they look brand new! What a relief. If they didn't come clean I would have been a "little" over budget. Nothing purchased or ordered this week.
11/10/02 : The instrument clusters got worked this weekend. Both lenses got polished quite a bit with body polish to eliminate the scratches and stains gathered over the years. The tach face plate had a spot of surface rust, so that was sanded down smooth and touched up. The Borg electric clock that all C3's have trouble with was upgraded to a quartz movement, an easy task if you have $50 and a couple of hours. I will have to order a new "Fasten Seat Belt" warning indicator lens as mine came out in three pieces. The gauge housing, front and back got treated to new paint...black on the outside, and light blue for reflection on the inside. The circuit sheets were both cleaned and inspected and should perform without problems. In the center console, new foam was added around the vents as were new vents assemblies. I only stopped by the body shop 4 times this week and forward progress is being made. The fenders are getting another shot of polyester primer for a final blocking. Parts ordered this week: 12 acorn nuts for seat trim, seatbelt warning lens, 2 push button locks for rear compartment, 4 instrument cluster bulb housings (bayonets), 10 front windshield molding clips and screws, and an interior fastener set. Planned for next week: completing seat hardware restoration and assembly.
11/03/02 : Waiting on the main body of the car to begin work on engine compartment and fender wells. Have received T-tops, and doors and have them assembled. Currently working on fiberglass seat trays and associated hardware. Weather is wet and cool, so no interior dying of parts this week.
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