The best project car is the most complete car you can find. True! If you start with a more complete car, you can save time, aggravation, and most likely, expense in the long run.
Piece-of-cake jobs can often turn into a week-long effort. True! The five-minute job to install one simple door switch turned into an hour of scratching our heads to figure why it wouldn't fit and another hour to finish the job. Count on there being many of these.
Chroming cast aluminum is easy. False! See our second installment (March '07 issue) for details on that.
Powdercoating is your friend. True! See above.
Punch lists are a helpful tool. True, sometimes. Tackling a few easy jobs can make your punch list seem smaller and give you a sense of accomplishment as they are checked off. Conversely, every time you remove one item, you think of two more to add. Also true! (By the way, we found out how a punch list got its name. It's likely that you want to punch out the next person who asks if the project is done yet.)
Gobs of determination will overcome a lack of patience. True! Always keeping a focus on your end goal helps. Any large project will have its ups and downs, but it's to be expected and not a reason to become discouraged. The longer the project timeframe, the more you can expect this to happen.
The heater and A/C hoses from...
The heater and A/C hoses from the evaporator, along with the drain hose, were run through the passenger-side vent opening to the firewall bulkhead.
The power unit for the audio...
The power unit for the audio system is housed under the driver seat and held in place with Velcro. The iPod interface unit is also shown.
This is another view of the...
This is another view of the interior from the passenger side.
Your parts will be in Tuesday. False! You knew the answer to that one!
You will become well acquainted with UPS. True! We've gone through four different delivery people, but there's no truth to the rumor that we had anything to do with their taking early retirement.
Polishing parts can make your garage look like a bomb has gone off in there. True!
The devil lies in the details. True! The level you decide for your project has a huge impact on both the timeframe and amount of labor involved.
Friends will come through in the clutches. True! We have many to thank for their help.
Having a patient and supportive spouse. Priceless! Any spouse who's willing to help during the wee hours of the night is someone special.
Long Journey
It's been a project of four years, and we're glad we were able to share the details with you. This has been by far the longest and most involved project we've undertaken, but we've enjoyed it-most of the time, anyway-and we're extremely happy with how the car turned out. One way to know if you've succeeded is if the car comes out as you had pictured it in your mind. We're happy to be able to feel that it has. We were surprised and pleased at the number of folks we've met at recent shows who've been following the project series along. Speaking with folks at these shows is always something Barb and I enjoy, so if you see us at a show, please stop by to chat.
Many folks have already been asking what our next project will be and if we plan to build another car of this type. The answer from both Barb and me has been the same: Before even thinking of another car project, we plan a long rest so we can do some things we've had to put off. Frankly, after building three cars of this type, we're enjoying the hobby now more than ever, and that's one of the major factors that have kept us enthused about the Corvette hobby. The most enjoyable aspect about this hobby, though, has been the great people we've met and the friends we've made along the way.
We hope you've enjoyed following our project, and that it's been of help to those contemplating a similar project. As always, we're glad to help anyone who may have questions on their own projects. More information and pictures are on our website: www.richsclassiccorvettes.com.