I have decided to do most of this myself. I have the time and am just tenacious enough to pull it off.
My question is how much must I remove. I have removed all the clear coat, mostly with a razor blade. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Mostly it peeled right off. What I have found is there are different layers in different areas. The left front has only white paint and grey primer the right fender has white paint and reddish brown primer.
The reddish brown is different, I think it is lacquer. The areas primed with the reddish drown are where the paint is cracking and peeling off. So I am definitely going to remove all the reddish brown primer. But the areas with only the grey primer seem fine. No peeling at all.
My question is do I need to remove all the white. There are three coats there. One was the clear coat. There was a layer of white beneath that which I removed (also with the razor blade) and another layer of white beneath that. That coat of white can't be removed with the razor blade. I have to sand it off and it takes a lot of sanding. Tough stuff.
My question is do I really need to remove that last coat of white. It's on most of the nose and all the hood. (I have also discovered the entire nose has been replaced. I found a sticker inside that says ACI Glass. and according to the part number it was a complete one piece front end) It seems like a good product, real straight and I'm not finding any filler.
I will be coating the entire car with filler because there are a lot of low spots. I will then block sand it by hand to get it as level and even as I can.

I know this sounds like a lot of work but I am enjoying it. I just hope I don't run out of desire before I finish it.

Bill,

I can't give much advice on this job but I have to tell you, "My hat's off to ya!" It's a huge undertaking. Lots of members here have a good bit of knowledge and I'm sure will weigh in soon enough.

Bill your approaching it the right way, The only concern I may have is if that white starts to check or crack after you put all your top coats on. The primer / sealer will do a good job and the block sanding though time consuming will make the car "show" quality.

Kevin
Thanks. I did this once before. I bought a 1978 Triumph Spitfire from a guy that had a bit of a drinking and driving problem. He bumped into everything he came close to. There were dents everywhere on that car. I stripped it to bare metal with paint stripper. Banged out the little dents and one big one in the front. Used a gallon of bondo and believe it or not I painted the car with spray cans. It turned out pretty good. No runs and had a decent shine to it.
I paid $200.00 for the car. Used about 50 cans of spray paint. I put a new convertible top on it, $250.00.
That was 25 years ago

I drove it a year and sold it for $2000.00 more than I had in it. And yes, I told the buyer how I painted it. He was amazed and bought it anyway.
BillinNashville2010-07-13 11:35:07

Ebo
Thanks for the suggestions. I wonder about the white also. I will have the whole car primed with a new primer coat. I will sand the white and block it as well if it needs it.
If I have to remove the white it will only mean more work and more time. I can do both if I need to

Ok I removed the white down to the grey primer. It wasn't so bad. I will do the rest.

BillinNashville2010-07-13 17:15:13

Just thought I'd touch base
I have removed 99 percent of the paint and the lacquer primer. I have found some filler in low spots and some around the edge of the hood where they built it up to make everything line up. No major glass repairs. I am having some difficulty in knowing how much material to remove.
I did find some more rust at the bottom of the door latch pillar and the seat bealt retractors under the seats are shot. Broken and rusted. I don't think I will replace them with original Corvette belts. Way more money than I am willing to spend. I found some good ones to fit for under $100 each.
I will be ordering new trim hardware for the interior. Screws, nuts, washer and fasteners, etc.
I can't decide if I need to remove the chrome trim from the edge of the T-tops or not. It doesn't look like I can get it off without ruining it.
I am moving along. It will take a while but I'm in no hurry.
Thanks for all you suggestions.

A email you my find handy is vettsteve@aol.com his is a lifetime member on the site but he restores C3's and sell good used parts.  I have a 82 CE it had mismatched class tops.  He had a set of original tops for a CE traded me for mine and $500.  Then showed me how to adjust them when I was having problems.  I was thinking about your seat belts could have good corvette used one.  I you need or want me to check them out before you buy he is only 10 minutes from my house.