I'm doing the interior and gauges of my 72 now. Here's what I found. No two screws are the same on various portions the same part. Most screws are rusty. (Yes, age and water are named Bubba too.) Bubba visited the driver's door latch mechanism. He broke part of the lock then attached the handle with the wrong screw. I had to drill out the oversized screw. That was fun. :( The gauge cluster had been reattached wrong and sat in the dash askew. Bubba dyed much of the interiorin place so I get to clean up all kinds of overspray. He got a windshield leak and sealed it from the inside with two colors of silicone. I get to replace the rusty window frame... maybe more. I love Bubba. He helped me learn all about my new vette. Can anyone top my Bubba encounter?

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At least now you know everything will be done right now.

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Yeah... someday someone will call me Bubba. :-D

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Bubba's tool box....
 

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

I have those tools and my name is Bob I hope I am not bubba cousin

Diddo to you all.




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(click to see a larger image)


"It Takes A Little Longer To Do It Right"
"It Takes A Lot Longer To Do It Again"

I am Bubba.  Its not that I don't want to do it right, its the money man, the money!

I have to admit about being a recovering Bubba - I've had the car for 11 years now and virtually all of the Bubba stuff is mine!  (Seems like the other two owners used a dealer for just about everything - car was bone stock when I bought it.)  It's interesting to see the changes I've made in my philosophies over the years.  Stuff I did 11 years ago no longer meets my standards and I've redone most of it.  Except the "two-piece" radiator shroud -- that is definitely Bubba but I'm keeping that!  So much easier to remove the shroud and/or radiator that way.  

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Well... Bubba struck me again. My gauge cluster bezel is different than most. It comes in two pieces. It doesn't fit just right and I've been scratching my head for a month.

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Those bezels on the 76 and earlier cars are very, very fragile just below the A/C vents.  That part is razor thin, and if you try to install or adjust it by pushing the top of the bezel in place it will snap very easily.  New ones are not cheap.  The 77 and later cars bezels were made of plastic, a lot more sturdy, and they fit a lot better. 

And yep, drilling holes where they don't belong is definitely a Bubba move!  Welcome to the family!

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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

Sometimes drilling a coupla holes and installing a coupla screws for a total cost of 50 cents makes more sense than spending over $100 to get basically the same look and functionality.

|UPDATED|7/26/2013 1:44:57 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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Thanks! I am shooting for NCRS, but in my case, it stands for "Not Correctly Restored Stingray!"

Unfortunately, with work being the way that it is, the closest I get to the car right now is this forum.  I had plans to have it ready for Cruising the Coast this year, but it looks like 2014.  I have two transmission cooling lines to connect and then start and break in the engine, then get the car ready for paint.  So close I can taste it.

Fortunately, my Dad is a Vetteaholic so I live vicariously through him.  He has an '04 Torch Red Convertible, a '69 350 4-speed coupe, and a '69 427 Convertible.  I get my Vette fix occasionally!  :)

Darryl



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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

I sorely need a paint job and minor body work. About $6500 should do it. I'm sorely tempted to go to our vettefest show and shine with this sign. "Soon to be retired enthusiast needs to continue restoration. Anything helps." Not to disrespect truly needy people but I'm also stalled due to lack of funds. Sigh...

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My bezel has been broken at that location below the vents since before I bought the car.  Fortunately I've taken it apart and put it back together numerous times and I always seem to get it back together so it's not noticeable.  requires some jockeying, though.  I concur, I'll go with the Bubba move in this case, no reason to replace that particular part at this particular juncture....

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Oh good. I have a co-conspirator. I hate to drill those holes but... I hate the ill fitting bezel more.

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In the immortal words of Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele: "Drill Baby, Drill!"

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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

OMG!!!

|UPDATED|8/19/2013 12:27:20 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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Gomer and Goober strike again!! I'm curious to see what he finds.....stay tuned, indeed!

 

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Well, I have some answers. I went to the shop and I saw my tranny laid out in all of its glory.

|UPDATED|8/20/2013 11:01:08 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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What kind of $$$ are they wanting to do a "Shift Kit"? Gotta be careful....all it takes is drillin a couple of holes a little larger, and removing a couple of springs to make one shift pretty firm. That don't really cost anything. If you buy a commercial "Shift Kit", it could cost quite a bit, and you'll wind up with the same shifts as the no-cost deal....
just throwin that out there....don't wanna see anyone get the shaft(no pun intended).

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Sigh. I'm gonna be in this for about $1,200 depending on the cost of the case. New case, new or rebuilt torque converter. And yes, they're going to drill a little bit to make the shift just a little more firm. Not sloppy like it was before. This is at or around the lowest price I've found in town.

|UPDATED|8/20/2013 2:26:06 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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HEY!!!
We're not ALL scumbags....



But yer right..lottsa scammers out there. It pays to do your research before shelling out hard earned cash. $1200 might sound like a lot, but in reality, for a Corvette trans, it's really not. They're not the easiest things to get out or put in, so they is a little more labor intensive than other cars of the era. The trans itself is just a trans....it's the labor that cost on these cars.
Hope they do ya a good job!




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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

I'm more hopeful thanks to you. I wish you could do the work but the drive to Texas would cost me $1200. Smile. They convinced me to get a new torque converter or rebuild mine because of accumulated crap inside. Do you agree?

|UPDATED|8/21/2013 6:03:35 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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David, As Joel has said, it's the labor that really gets you with these cars.  Don't skimp on the parts...lord knows I've done that when doing stuff on my own in the past and have paid the price of having to do it over.  You hate to have to go back in and have to replace the converter a yr or three down the road.

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Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

I think I'd say, "Hey Bubba, where you want it?" 

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Okay Joel. The final total for this rebuild is $1364.92 out the door. Includes new converter (stock, not high stall) and good used case.

How does that sound to you?

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Honestly? It's a pretty decent deal. Around here, you'd be looking at prolly $2000 or more....and you'd prolly wind up with a few more scratches on the car than it had when you took it in....


And yeah....a new converter is a no brainer, considering they're only like, $50 these days. Poke a few holes here, stretch a spring or two there, block the accumulators, and you've got you one fine shiftin trans for....well...nothin!
Hope it works well for ya....a Corvette SHOULD shift like a real car.


|UPDATED|8/21/2013 10:22:14 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Breakdown: 531.00: Parts. 748.00: Labor. 52.00 grease and tranny oil Big hit was 175.00 for used case and 120.00 for converter. It shifts pretty nice. A little abrupt between 1 and 2. It really flies when I hit passing gear. Not so before. I still wanna emasculate Bubba though.

|UPDATED|8/22/2013 6:55:32 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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Well, my restoration is not complete and I found that Bubba had been there once again. While replacing all of my vacuum hoses here's what I found. (Hey... some of those hoses are 40 years old. Maybe that's why I'm not getting good response in the headlight system or why the wipers don't work at all. Doesn't hurt to do this while the dash pad is off anyway.)

|UPDATED|4/14/2014 10:26:04 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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bubba hooked my vent line up to the intake manifold so it had vacuum on it . Go figure that one out Big Al

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