C3 Vette anyone?

[Stallacrew]

My car story:

My grandfather bought all of us (my sisters and I) our first vehicles. He asked me what I wanted. I said a Corvette. Well when I turned 16, MUCH to my surprise, there sat a cherry little 1979 Corvette 5 speed. Well dad immediately vetoed that (this is my dad's dad so he felt like arguing) "my boy doesn't need a damn 8 cylinder sports car"...and I will agree, he was right. I would likely be dead if I had the Corvette as my first car.

Well, for the next 6 years it sat at my grandfather's house, and last year on my 22nd birthday, he gave it to me (since I got a Cherokee as my first vehicle the Vette was my grandfather's then). Well I didnt have much time to work on it and get it up to tip top shape, so that is this summer's "while I'm at home working" project.


My question is, who out there has a Vette (preferably C3) and what does yours look like?

Mine is currently white, and as much as I would love to paint the whole thing black or something like that, it'll stay white, but may get a set of racing stripes.

My Plans:

-LED tail lights
-Reupholster seats
-Replace carpet
-Stripes (green?)
-Fiberglass the dash and console
-Mild sound system
-Exhaust run next to doors (maybe)
-Remove rear spoiler (maybe)
-Touch up paint/buff/polish
-See if I can work on some HIDs
-Get it tip-top under the hood.
-Door panels?


Pretty much it's sat for the last 7 years and I'm getting back up to par.



Lets see what any of you guys have. CorvetteForum seems to be pretty handy. If anyone has some tips on glassing the dash and console lets hear them. I'm industrious and what not, but this will be my first glassing adventure. If all else fails I waste a little money, and put stock back in.



I'll post pictures when I get home around the 15th of May.

 

[winkosmosis]

Keep it running well, upgrade the stereo, and leave it alone. No need to rice a Corvette.

 

[1985xjlaredo]

Yes do not FK up a good Corvette with stripes and a stupid carbon fiber dash. And dont do the leg pipes (exhaust next to doors) you will look like a poser to just about anyone who knows anything about Vette's. Hell even my Mom would call you a poser on that one. But she did have a 69 Vette with legs on it.

 

[vetteboy]

This was mine...sold it in '05 when I started getting heavier into the Jeep stuff.

'79, L-82, 4-speed (I'd bet yours ain't a 5), some work done. I completely re-worked the suspension with poly bushings and used to do some autocross racing.

I would suggest leaving off most of the stuff on your list, and getting it running well with a competent suspension. Don't waste the summer working on it, drive the f'ing thing and when the weather turns crappy again start working on the interior.

 

[Stallacrew]

First off, this isn't really a restoration worthy vehicle. It's a 79 which, from what I understand, isnt a real prestigious year. Secondly, It has some interior issues to begin with since this wasn't garage kept when we got it or after, so it's been sun baked and possibly leaked in for the last 7 years.

The thing is gonna need the dash ripped out regardless so that the mildew can be cleaned. I see no reason in keeping a stock cracked dash and seeing as Im not wealthy in the least, I can't go buying nice replacement parts.

My mother is a seamstress and has a small business so she will do the seats, and anything else, my dad will help work on.



I asked to see what other people had and before you know what the situation or condition was, you told me to not "rice it up" and don't FK it up with a carbon fiber dash (which I didn't even mention).....and they come with stripes from the factory, so why not put a stock stripe on after market?



And I dont give two sh*ts about what your mom thinks.





I for one keep a stock XJ but I see lots of you guys take really nice XJ's and beat the hell out of them when you could have used a beater to begin with. I'm not taking a 100% original Vette with 2000 documented miles and perfect interior and f-ing it up.

Come on guys, think first, then post.


EDIT: the reason for the LED tail lights was when we got the thing, "a tree had fallen" on the rear spoiler/fin and the white trash before me sprayed a copious amount of grey primer on the area (what whatever reason I dont know, there was just a small chip out of the thing) and had also covered the two driverside lights partially with primer.

 

[Sherman_thetank]

Exactly my thoughts....I love the look of side exhaust whether people thing your a "poser" or not who give a fawk. Although....i don't know what to say about green stripes, how green are we talking?

 

[tbburg]

Fond memories.
My first job, first day. I spent 4 hours honing the caliper bores for one of those(16 holes!), then another hour putting the brakes back together. We get the wheels back on, off the lift, and the boss throws me the keys. I did the brakes, so I get to see if they work.

1985xjlaredo: Why warn him away from side pipes? It's more fun when you learn not to put those on a street car by burning the crap out of you shins!

 

[1985xjlaredo]

OK OK sorry for negitive crap post earlier.
You can find good replacement for some of the interior parts for pretty cheap. I think that the most common color for the inside was black. I know it was in 77.
Oh and really nice XJ's deserve to have the crap beat out of them!
Good luck with the Vette and sorry again:cheers:

 

[bigalpha]

I'm diggin the idea of LED lights.

I like the idea of recreating the factory racing stripes. I really like green+white, as long as it's the right shade of green.

 

[FlexdXJ]

502, 17's up front 18's in the rear, Mild sound and maybe some Dark green stripes. That combined with LED tails and HID's would be a cool ride!

 

[BruceB83]

Speaking of the side pipes on the old vettes. About 2 summers ago I burnt the shiiii-aaat out of my leg getting out of the car...:rattle:. I was wearing shorts and wasn't paying attention. I'll NEVER do that again! I now have a nice burn scar on my calf :laugh3:.

 

[kujito]

502, 17's up front 18's in the rear, Mild sound and maybe some Dark green stripes. That combined with LED tails and HID's would be a cool ride!

Hell Yeah!

The supercharged LS9 (new ZR1) motor is on sale for 22,000 (vs. 28k) though!

 

[Sherman_thetank]

O ok, ill just go rob a bank so i can pick up a couple of those.:laugh3:

 

[Darky]

Sounds like a good plan. What about like graphite stripes (dark metallic gray)? I've always liked the look of graphite or even silver stripes over white. Sidepipes are cool on any older Vette in my opinion, who cares if Corvette purists call you a poser for emulating the 67 427 Vette? That was the most BA Vette in history, and to recreate a piece of it's look, only makes sense. Do the LED tails, if anyone accuses you of stupidity, hit em with the practical side. They draw lower amps then light bulbs, they don't burn out anywhere near as fast (you'll likely kill the car before you need to replace one), and they can be modified to glow from the center out or left to right/right to left in a turn signal, thus making them more visible and noticeable to inattentive drivers so they don't hit you.

 

[Darky]

O ok, ill just go rob a bank so i can pick up a couple of those.:laugh3:

Get me one, I'd like to put in my XJ, or maybe even my 720 truck...:firedevil

 

[Sherman_thetank]

Now that would be a ride...600hp in a toaster!

 

[Darky]

Now that would be a ride...600hp in a toaster!

:dunno:

 

[97XJ2]

A mild rebuild on the engine, if you want to go that far. Or just do some bolt on's, heads and intake and carb tuning. Depends how far you want to go. And a well sorted suspension is also key. I'm also a fan of keeping things clean and streamlined, I couldn't tell you if the factory rear spoiler was actually effective but it appears to have been an option. Its your car, do what you want. I have seen enough garish late C3's to make me want to puke. But what kind of green? Green on a pearl white would like kinda neat I think

 

[Sherman_thetank]

lmao that just got saved to the junk drive

 

[Rob Mayercik]

lmao that just got saved to the junk drive

x2