62 Corvette rebuild

[drivesitfar]

Don: thanks for taking the time to show me your Corvette when i stopped by. man that car will be a showpiece and maybe even better than your Zephyr when you finish it.

for those of you that like shiny engines i have to say even with my glasses on and at night this car really shines.

I hope you find the small oil leak soon so you can finish it up cause i bet you and Ann would be happy driving that around town.

here's a few pictures with my old cell phone's camera that probably still doesn't do it justice.

speaking of Zephyr do you maybe have a link to a site that shows the build since i think you said it was on a TV show? I found a video that wanted $2 to play it and i didn't want to have my credit card online for $2 bill or maybe you can pay paypal for those. in any case i bet your VETTE will be as nice or nicer than your Zephyr which is amazing (Zephyr is Don's avatar).

 

[don long]

Really enjoyed your visit Drives.
We found the power steering leak after spending weeks of pulling out my hair.
It was a loose reservoir cap.
We will be driving it before Christmas.

 

[Aroberson77]

Don, awesome Garage and Corvette. Its cool to see another LT1, I have one in my RX7 with a cam. They are great motors as long as you keep the Optispark happy. Have you done any data logging on tuning of it? I'm sure you know there are some free programs you can use for diagnostics and tuning.

 

[kbs2244]

This kind of workmanship is beyond awesome.
But, at a design level, I get nervous at a steering linkage that needs a u-joint let along two.

 

[don long]

Don, awesome Garage and Corvette. Its cool to see another LT1, I have one in my RX7 with a cam. They are great motors as long as you keep the Optispark happy. Have you done any data logging on tuning of it? I'm sure you know there are some free programs you can use for diagnostics and tuning.

Aroberson

What is the Optispark?? I don't do mechanical work so I'm not sure what you log or how to tune it but it does sound good and I've only driven it around the block once.

This kind of workmanship is beyond awesome.
But, at a design level, I get nervous at a steering linkage that needs a u-joint let along two.

KBS

You are nervous about 2 "U" joints well this one also has one down by the rack IT seems to turn well so far. But I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[GreyOwl]

This kind of workmanship is beyond awesome.
But, at a design level, I get nervous at a steering linkage that needs a u-joint let along two.

You would probably be surprised then that some factory systems use at least 2 u-joints!

 

[drivesitfar]

DON: BIG CONGRATS on finding the little oil leak!!

looking forward to seeing the car painted and finished with you and Ann taking it out for a little Sunday driving in the opposite direction of traffic.

I hope all those new fires are not near you or killing the air quality in your neighborhood either.

cheers

 

[ratdoggy]

Aroberson

What is the Optispark?? I don't do mechanical work so I'm not sure what you log or how to tune it but it does sound good and I've only driven it around the block once.

Optispark is basically the distributor for the older Vettes..They tend to take a **** when they get water in them from a bad waterpump or a puddle

 

[don long]

DON: BIG CONGRATS on finding the little oil leak!!

looking forward to seeing the car painted and finished with you and Ann taking it out for a little Sunday driving in the opposite direction of traffic.

I hope all those new fires are not near you or killing the air quality in your neighborhood either.

cheers

Thanks Drives
Getting the leak fixed is a big releaf. I'm getting excited to see the Vette on the street soon.

There isn't much left to burn around here the last fires took care of that. The winds are blowing the smoke out to the ocean so we can't tell there is any fire around

Optispark is basically the distributor for the older Vettes..They tend to take a **** when they get water in them from a bad waterpump or a puddle

Ratdoggy
Thanks for clearing that up for me.
I've already changed the coil pack once due to a bad waterpump after one road test.

 

[Aroberson77]

Don, Ratdog hit the nail on the head, if you are interested there are plenty of tech articles on the web about it. I love the color and stance of it as well

 

[drivesitfar]

Don: here's to seeing you and Ann driving down the road in your newly painted Vette in 2018.

HAPPY NEW YEAR and here's to another good year above dirt and seeing what else you can turn from a rust bucket to a gem.

cheers

 

[Duke55]

Car is looking great Don. Hoping my family and I get out your way again next year. If so, I’ll see if we can meet up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[don long]

Duke
That sounds great
I spent the day working on the front bumpers getting them to fit perfectly

We got the power steering leak fixed and drove the car for about an hour
So we pulled it back in and started tearing it down for paint

We're getting closer

 

[jbmatth]

Don,
Let me be the first to congratulate you on getting to the actual paint portion of this project. I'm sure you are more than ready to get it out of primer, best of luck to you!
JB

 

[-->]

That's a custom made grill ? I love the way it looks, how was it made ? Is there alot of airflow going through it ? I'd love to replicate it on my Ventura...

 

[Farmall450]

Wow Don, car looks good.

 

[don long]

Don,
Let me be the first to congratulate you on getting to the actual paint portion of this project. I'm sure you are more than ready to get it out of primer, best of luck to you!
JB

Thanks JB
It's starting to get fun again

That's a custom made grill ? I love the way it looks, how was it made ? Is there alot of airflow going through it ? I'd love to replicate it on my Ventura...

=-->;6963411

Yes I made that grille in my garage. It was formed from a sheet of weaved stainless mesh. I placed the original grille on a sheet and traced it then I marked where to punch the mounting holes then I cut the piece out and by hand gave the piece a slight roll to form to the grille opening.
We have run the motor in the garage for an hour and the temp never went over 200 so I'd say good ventilation.

Hope that helps

Wow Don, car looks good.

Thanks Farmall

It's been over 10 years since the project got started!!!

 

[A**holes Garage]

WOW

 

[don long]

Well, It's time for an update on the Corvette

I SOLD IT

No No Just kidding.
I spent the entire day working on the car.
It's time to get it ready for paint so today was tear down day

From this

IMG_1245 by don long, on Flickr

To this

IMG_2534 by don long, on Flickr

I started doing the final blocking of the primer with 240 grit paper then following it up with 400 grit paper after charcoal rubbing each blocked panel to show the scratches.

I managed to get the nose panel upper and lower blocked as well as the right fender. I started on the right door just before my arms fell off lol

IMG_2536 by don long, on Flickr

 

[MP&C]

Looks good Don!

 

[don long]

Thanks Robert
It's been a long time coming lol

 

[1/2 Cup]

Don, done well.

That is one huge days work

Regards

 

[Duker]

Well, It's time for an update on the Corvette

I SOLD IT

No No Just kidding.

Don, that was just plain ole cruel and unusual punishment right there!

The car is looking great. Can’t wait to see her in full color!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[jbmatth]

That is going to be a sharp looking car, looking forward to more updates after today's blocking session.
JB

 

[drivesitfar]

Don: your Vette is starting another phase and I think you might be more excited to get R done than we are and we'll all be watching and learning. GOOD LUCK and hope you don't have any road blocks or bumps in the road along the way.

as you were mentioning your arm or arms falling off just know that at our age we need a couple days rest in between workout to let the muscles rest and recover so as i know you want to get back at it take it easy so you don't damage you while making your car a showpiece.

take care

 

[rmalkow2]

Lots of hard work Don, but is now almost to the finish line. Like everyone else, I'm excited to see it in color with you behind the wheel and a grin from ear to ear. Hope your arm recovers!

 

[RStewart]

Excellence at work. Can't wait to see the final product.

 

[don long]

Thanks for sticking with me on this project over the last few years.

I'm excited to report that the car is going into the booth tomorrow for the final coat of primer and hopefully by Friday you will see the car with a coat of red paint on it.

Wish me luck please

Don

 

[drivesitfar]

Don: GOOD LUCK!!

 

[Sweet Old Bill]

Good Luck!! Several time over!

 

[rmalkow2]

Best of luck Don!

 

[jhn9840]

Best of luck. I'm sure it's going to be spectacular when finished.

jhn9840
John

 

[Shiftless]

We’re ALL pulling for you on this, and all your other projects, Don! ‘62 is my favorite year.
I’m betting it will turn out great!

 

[don long]

Thanks for all the good wishes guys, today went very well

I spent the most of last week block sanding the Vette and today with the help of Paul (my friend) we pulled the car into the booth.
Before we did that I covered the lift with plastic, raised the lift to its highest point and cut and taped the plastic to the lift and the ground then lowered the lift back down and drove the vette onto it

IMG_2705 by don long, on Flickr

IMG_2703 by don long, on Flickr

We blew the dirt out of all the cracks in the car then wiped it down before starting to mask it off.
The lift was very handy to get the car to a good working height and we wrapped the bottom of the car to the lift that was sealed off with plastic so no overspray could sneak under the car and get on my painted and polished surfaces while the car is in the air

IMG_2714 by don long, on Flickr

IMG_2716 by don long, on Flickr

I got the car ready lowered it down and applied the primer/sealer to the top surfaces then lifted the car and sprayed the sides and lower front and rear valances

IMG_2721 by don long, on Flickr

IMG_2717 by don long, on Flickr

I'm very happy with how straight the body came out after the final blocking.
You can tall how straight the body is by the reflection of the lights in the wet primer.

Now I'll let it sit til Wednesday and let the primer cure .

 

[rmalkow2]

Looking good in primer! Very innovative to use your lift that way and make the painting process easier.

 

[A**holes Garage]

details, details, looking good!

 

[driftpin]

I like the silver primer too. Good prep paid-off.

 

[jbmatth]

Great idea on the lift in the paint booth, I'm sure I've seen it before but have slept since then. Really looking forward to the outcome.
JB

 

[BassProCamaro97]

Looking good Don. Excited to see the end result.

~Jim~

 

[Shiftless]

Fantastic prep work there, Don
Those panels look straighter that what would have come out of the factory almost 50 years ago.