I'm 18 and earlier this year i went to buy my first car. Driving home from work one day i say a white '75 corvette coupe for sale and figured why the hell not check it out. The car was somewhat white the paint was cracked and a mess, there was a crack in the front driver's side fender, the urethane rear bumper was a cracked mess, the front bumper was gone but the last owner had a new one, the medium saddle interior was worn and covered in grease, the carpet was alive with mold, the engine compartment was... rust. Being an invincable 18 year old working at mcdonalds, when I see a C3 with a 350 small block and a four speed manual in a day when my school parking lot os a sea of imported rice burners... i bought the car. So far i've pulled out the interior for a serious cleaning tried to fix my leak problems. Pulled the engine and trans. Painted the engine replace the intake with an Edelbrock performer and the carb with an Edelbrock performer swapped the valve covers for edelbrock elite series and the air filter for an edelbrock pro flo. I've had to replace the radiator support because of a serious rust problem i also swapped the fan for an electric because of cooling problems i was told about. i've spent all summer cleaning and painting everything in engine compartment (i had to work alot for money to pay off the car). Well it's now been four months since i bout the car and it's sitting in me driveway waiting for the radiator support to be installed and the interior. I still have not driven the car and i'm a little anxious to get it moving. The car has factory sized dual exhaust, a super t-10 and i'm guessing a 350. I left the heads on cause it's a rebuilt engige. All i know is that it had four bolt mains and a hydraulic valvetrain. Also the original color i think was a metallic blue. I also have no idea what kind of gears it runs in the rear or if it has positraction. Well, I'm on a tight budget and i'm looking for the best performance and drivability seeing as the car will be my daily driver. I could use some help or ALOT of help.
-Anthony

Hi

When it comes to restoring a car we are all on a tight budget. I have the same problems as you, many areas to attack and trying to get the most bang for my buck. Mine had many of the same problems but dressed in a pretty package. What I did was drive the car make lists drive somemore and adjust the lists to form a plan. What was the worst area. In my case it was the rear suspension. I completed that without spending money on anything else. Now I counted my cash and pulled the engine to freshen it up, perhaps add some teeth to the mouse, but I'll complete the motor before I go on. If cash runs out and I can't do any more I'm asking for vette parts for Christmas and working a few extra hours to get the car back into drivable condition. Before I put the engine back I'll wait and see if I have the money to do more in the front end. Paint interior etc. are on hold. Driveabliity things are first. If you have any specific question post them the people have have helped me quite a bit. Feel free to email me direct If you want, at least I may be able to get you in the right direction.
Henry
P.S. You may want to check out Juliets (p3 this topic)site and see what she did to her 70. Lot of pictures and a great job. The car should be solid before you apply HP.

|UPDATED|12/1/2002 7:11:55 AM|/UPDATED|

Welcome to C3VR Anthony...!!!

Sounds like you've undertaken quite a project! Good for you! Henry has offered some good advice. A mechanically sound car will be less likely to leave you stranded somewhere, so tackle those projects first. Getting it to look nice later will be the icing on the cake.

My .02 cents worth would be to get the brakes, suspension and driveline solid (in that order) before putting the car on the road on a daily basis. Number 1, you need to be able to trust your brakes completely to avoid things that will hurt you, someone or something else, and your car. Number 2, the suspension assists in your being able to control the car to avoid potentially dangerous situations. And number 3, the driveline gives you the go-power to get places (or get out of the way if necessary!) and back again.

After all that is done is when you will be in the position to decide where your next bucket of $$$ should go - appearance or performance. That's a call only you can make.

Lots of folks here who know a lot about C3s and cars in general. Don't be afraid to ask for help or suggestions on anything related to your "pride-n-joy". I've gotten a lot of help from the gang here and hope I've returned some also.

Good luck, be safe, and keep us posted on your progress!

I agree with Norsky. Make sure you get your brakes, suspension, and driveline working great before you go dumping money into other things.

Good for you to buy a vette at your age. My first came at 42, a few months ago. Wished I had a vette since I could walk. A lot of good advice from your friends here.
I'd follow their advice to the letter. Why? Because even though it may look rough around the edges and your friends may kid you, remember, You're the one in a vette. Fix the important stuff first, for your safety.
Later, when it's dressed up and looking good, you won't have to leave it by the side of the road because something broke.

With a manual trans you should have the 3.66 gears. Sounds like you have the L-82 engine which is in good shape. As stated, work on the things it needs most before you spend your hard earned cash on wants . Besides brakes and suspension you need to check the frame and body mounts. The 2 rear mounts have been know for rusting out causing the body to sag. There is a steel cage that supports the body. Trailing arms are another possible rust area. Not trying to scare you but just want you to be aware of things.
Good Luck with your project

|UPDATED|12/3/2002 8:52:13 PM|/UPDATED|

Anthony,
Let me start by saying what I believe, you are putting your money into a car that will (historically) increase in value and not a "rice burner, boiler" that may never do anything but rust and depreciate. So far, the advice you have been given is sound. The car has got to be mechanically right to be a daily driver, looks and performance can happen later.
This site has a ton of information on C3 Vettes. When you run into a problem, do a search of the site using a keyword like brakes or heating ( etc. ) and see what you get for results and then post your question because after searching the site, you may be more familiar with the problem and be able to ask better questions about it.
You might not be able to carry three of your friends around with you but once your lady is in the passanger seat, who cares that there is no room for anyone else?
You have a great car that you will enjoy for many years. Take your time and do it right.
Get it running right, then looking right and then find the right set up of whoop a$$ for it.
Good Luck.

Russell,

Your reply was deleted due to the use of inappropriate language for the site. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Adam or any of the moderators.

Jim O.

|UPDATED|12/11/2002 11:35:54 PM|/UPDATED|