If your shark has been sitting in the garage waiting for you to tackle arestoration, or you recently purchased a '74-'82 Corvette and want tomake it roadworthy, you need a plan of attack--a Shark Attack.
Too often, we see our dream shark for sale, realize we're getting aCorvette at an unbelievable price, and look no further. As wedemonstrated in our last installment, a Corvette buyer is better offgetting the best possible car rather than the cheapest. In thisinstallment, we'll prove that point and also show you how important theplan of attack is in taking on any project, especially one where overallspending is crucial.
Arm yourself with the right...
Arm yourself with the right resources. From left, a '79 Corvette shopmanual, a Corvette assembly manual, and '79 Chevy wiring diagrams.
Since our Corvette isn't a daily driver, we plan to do the partialrestoration in stages. At each stage, we'll order the parts thoughtfullyso the Corvette won't be in pieces for long periods of time. This allowsdrive time between the restoration stages, so you look forward to thenext phase. It's easy to drag out any project or lose interest when it'sin pieces all over the shop.
As stated, we'll do a partial restoration to create a reliable,comfortable cruising car. To ensure reliability and safety, eachmechanical system must be inspected and restored.
Inspection
Stay organized. Give yourself...
Stay organized. Give yourself ample space so you don't have to pick upand move the mess to get your car in the garage. If you keep the projectmoving, you'll stay motivated.
Before performing any work, a close inspection of the entire Corvette isimportant, then a complete plan of attack can be established. Assemblinga comprehensive list of all restoration pieces is difficult butworthwhile, because careful planning can save labor and parts costs.
When disassembling components, you'll usually find surprises that can bequite expensive. At one time, around $200 would cover the surprises, buttoday $500 can go quickly. If you're working with a tight budget, thisis the time to consider where to spend your money. Controlling anyproject is difficult, and other Corvette owners can be helpful in makingyour decisions.
Need Help?
If you don't have much experience in the area you're working on, theexperts at Corvette Central can help identify the parts you'll need. Thecompany assembles kits to help with small items that are sometimesforgotten until you're in the middle of a job on a Saturday afternoon.
In addition to a catalog of products from a supplier like CorvetteCentral, be sure to have an assembly manual. This will not only help youput the car back together, but will identify missing components orprevious work that was done incorrectly.