Corvette Forum : DigitalCorvettes.com Corvette Forums banner

71 vert LS1/T56 build thread

107K views 341 replies 30 participants last post by  77blue 
#1 · (Edited)
Guys,
I'm not real good at keeping a time line, I'm very ADD. But I'm in so deep with this project that I know I'll be needing lots of advice and I may as well post pics along the way. Maybe it'll help somebody else that may be in a similar place on their car. I'll try to keep it as coherent as possible.

Dad is 78 yrs young, and has some cool cars but nothing he could really drive as they've mostly been sitting now over the last years. The vette looked like the easiest one to make dependable, he was driving it some, but it had brake issues, fuel smell front and rear, and carb and wiring problems that were obvious. So I thought I'd bring it up to my shop and fix the brakes and the fuel leaks, tidy up some wiring and clean up the engine bay so he would have a dependable cool car to drive.
The project started out as a brake job, this was the door I opened first to get in.
With the front left tire off, I found a brake caliper barely hanging on with the top bolt in about 4 threads and no bottom bolt! :surprised , then I noticed the lower A arm bushings needed replacement. And of course the further I went the more neglect I found, radiator was green, fuel pump had six miles of hose pieced in over several repairs and was zip tied to the coil spring to keep it from rubbing, so as these things cropped up they had to be addressed and I had to dig deeper.
When I got to the front of the motor I figured timing cover gaskets, well... and gears and chain. And then I noticed the exhaust manifold bolt holding the AC bracket looked crooked. Of course it's broken in the head. And another was weeping coolant, probably drilled into the coolant passage at some time. And then I see the heater core tubes are green....
When it was obvious the motor was going to have to come out, I mentioned to dad that we should put a newer motor in, like a 5.7 truck motor. Then he mentioned he sure would love to be able to shift it manually...
So now everything is off the front frame and most everything is off the firewall. And on the floor there's an LS1 out of an '04 GTO with a T56 attached and Kook stainless headers. Steering column is out, pedal box out and new manual unit freshly powdercoated sitting on the bench.
Three weeks ago, I got in 6 hours straight cleaning up the bottom of the floor pan, I had probably another 8 hours off and on before this. Yesterday I got another 6hrs straight cleaning the firewall and rt fenderwell. This and cleaning the front frame have been and are probably the toughest parts of this job. Lots of dealer applied (?) undercoating and lots of scraping and meticulous toothbrushing with brake solvent. And this is where I decided to post a build thread. I'm sure lots of you can look at these pics and know exactly where I am :crazy:!



This is the first day in my shop...crappy video I know but I didn't think I'd be putting it on the 'net!
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/th_VIDEO0001_zpsb43d5a2d.jpg/IMG][/URL]


This is as close as I have to a before pic
[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0199_zpse824debc.jpg/IMG]

When I realized I needed to pull the suspension for bushings...
[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0196_zps86d34cd7.jpg/IMG]

Radiator out, still not in too deep, powdercoat all the parts, clean up the bay some it'll look good...
[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0264.jpg/IMG]


Thats about the time I found a cracked A arm mount and knew the motor needed to come out.
[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0315_zps194652f3.jpg/IMG]

[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0321_zps25fb494e.jpg/IMG]

Cut it off with a cutting wheel
[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0319_zpsa1bc758c.jpg/IMG]


It had already been unacceptably repaired, but now had several new cracks and was very dangerous.
[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0330_zps0b49732b.jpg/IMG]
[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0331_zpsaf93fa46.jpg/IMG]
 
See less See more
#2 ·
New A arm mount fits nicely


But while cleaning up the frame I found a few more cracks. behind steering box and under the vertical bracket for the steering cylinder, these are probably areas to keep an eye on as there is a lot of stress from the steering components.



It's all welded up now, and here is the "new" motor and trans




The oil pan and water pump will get changed and a sanden compressor moved up to top position.
 
#3 ·
It seems like cleaning never ends. I'll coat the floor and firewall with a light sealer coat of 2k epoxy, then lizard skin, and probably a couple coats of AG111 satin black on top of that.
http://shop.masterseriesct.com/prod...08D3A4F.qscstrfrnt04?productId=3&categoryId=1

This AG111 is one of the most durable topcoats I've ever used. Been using it for 20yrs +.







After stripping the paint, something of interest is that the wheelwells are gloss white gelcoat and didn't appear to have been sanded before a coat of what looks to be spray can flat black. The firewall has the same black on it, I stripped it off with can brake cleaner, paper towels and scotchbrite. Are these cars all flat black under the hood from GM?
 
#7 ·
I am watching as well, great start!

I looked at all the other photos posted with the video and you have a really great start. I don't see signs of frame cancer and the body is pretty darn clean. I do have to ask, how did you get the frame so clean?

You did an incredible job of cleaning. I have a couple of frames................ :D

Second question, what is the manufacturer and model of the lift. I've been thinking about adding one and I think this type offers the best versatility. I like that it leaves the underside completely accessible.

It appears that the upper front surround and inner front fenders have been replaced at some point in time. You can see replacement glass in the photo of the A/C area of the firewall and GM used a dark colored resin without gel coat.
The fender below the seam strip looks original. The parts of the repair that can be seen look like a good repair.

I am wondering if the cracks in the frame and motor mount may have been caused by front end accident at some point in time. I have restored a few of these cars and I don't recall seeing these types of cracks as a consistent problem. Unfortunately most body shops don't check as carefully as they need to for this type of damage.

Regardless the repairs you did were really nice, should last forever. Thanks for the tip on the paint, I will have to try some of it. I've been using POR15 but that is expensive.

I look forward to seeing more of the build as it moves forward. Glad to offer what ever help I can.
 
#9 ·
Thanks again guys.
7T, the frame looks very good front to rear, no rust other than just dusty surface stuff, another reason we decided to get into so much work on it. As for getting it all clean, the frame was as greasy as any, hours of hand work with a putty knife, wire toothbrush, spray brake cleaner (I buy it by the case) and red scotchbrite! The paint on the frame is a black lacquer and it melts off with brake cleaner. It's a messy job...
The lift is a Rotary Revolution import, its all certified, 10k lbs and I paid $2800 installed! I had to plumb the electrical and that's all. Absolutely the best money I've ever spent. I like it better than a 4 post for my uses. It doesn't know the Vette is even on it!
If the car has been hit it wasn't hard enough to move anything major, no signs of frame damage, but the car had lots of red Georgia clay and dirt everywhere underneath. I think it's been driven hard over a dirt road for a long time and the front frame just took a beating. All the cracks are stress cracks and not from a hard lick. But I also think the right front did take a lick at some point as the lower A arm cross shaft was slightly bent on the rear end, and that's the part of the A arm mount that was cracked up. It probably got cracked from an accident and after welding it back, the bent cross shaft caused more stress and more cracks.
Thing is most of these tiny cracks were not visible with the initial cleaning, I only saw them after I got it down to really clean bare metal. Even the slightest dirt or film totally hides them (so would blasting)! :surprised
More to come...
 
#8 ·
Very nice...looking forward to more
 
#12 ·
Yea, I'm really hoping those stainless Kooks will fit, it looks like they might.
Ordered another batch of stuff from Dr Rebuild today. I got all the part numbers I needed from their paper catalog, called and had a very pleasant conversation with Deb. She called back to confirm the parts and let me know what wasn't available (only a couple items). Fine experience, and since most of this was wiring, AC heater box seals and firewall parts I wanted quality and Docs stuff is quality.

BTW... I have an unopened headlight vacuum hose kit from them that I'll probably not use as I'm thinking of converting to electric, so if any one is interested I'll make you a good deal.
So more cleaning and if I'm lucky I may get to spray paint on something saturday as it's supposed to be 70 degrees! I sure would like to see this project start going the other way for a change.
 
#13 ·
Well,
It's saturday and a few things have gotten in the way of spraying any epoxy primer, just life.
The broken fender seam is gonna require more attention than I hoped but it's not that bad, just need to spend a little more time to make sure it's right. It's this type of grunt work that can make or break a good job, it's sort of thankless but I'll know it's right.
A question for the LS guys though, with the LSx, and bergeon changes which oil pan is better? The truck pan is deeper, don't want to use the batwing pan, there's a sort of generic swap pan being sold now... Or best to stay with a camaro/firebird pan?
 
#14 ·
Through my experience and research, the Camaro pan fit the bill the best, the next is the bat wing pan which gives you the best ground clearance but is pretty wide and can get in the way of steering components and headers. A truck pan is way to deep and will hang down to low to the ground, you probably already knew that.


Riggs
 
#16 · (Edited)
Today I only had a couple hours to work on the vette, didn't feel like getting into the fiberglass work so I put the pedal box together. Used the frame from the auto box as it was in better shape, and the rest of the parts from the manual box I got off ebay. Had everything powdercoated, then chased all the bolt holes and had to sand paint out of the pivot holes etc..., got new bolts and put it all together.



 
#19 ·
More progress. Here are a few pics of where I had the frame cracks welded up.



This is one of the last ones I found, these cracks can be really illusive, I looked there many times over and didn't see it until I wiped over it again with some cleaner, could be my eyes too...



http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0630.jpg[/IMG

A arm mount all welded up nice. Had to go back and add some weld where the crossmember was a little thin, all is well now though.

[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc123/slofut_photos/71%20vette%20project/IMAG0629.jpg
 
#20 ·
Bit of fiberglass work

You know how it is, the upper corner where the fender popped loose need to be done right. And of course the "while I'm at it" thing kicked in. All the years of mis-repaired or neglected cracks got attention. It's all nice and strong now.











This was only a small crack, but as I cleaned up the weak areas down to good glass I ended up with this.







I just thought the infrared lamp made for an interesting pic




 
#22 ·
It's hard to see some of this damage when the radiator and everything is in place. The lower tails where the core support bolts on the sides were split on both sides and needed put back together.







Of course these aren't the finished product and there were more areas I attended to, like the lower front spoiler and fender corners etc... it'll all get finished nicely before applying epoxy primer and satin black AG111.
Had plans to get it all primed saturday, then topcoated sunday and ready to move on to Lizard Skin on the floor, but a 6th grade science project grabbed all the time! First things first!
Bill
 
#24 ·
LOL, as just about every other guy on this forum will tell you these cars just sort of suck you into a complete restoration. As you say, one thing leads to another, and another, and another.

It's all the same, it seems such a pain to get the outer layers apart that while your in there you might as well rebuild. Steering, dash, wiring, doors, rear trailing arms, differential, fuel systems, they all seem to be like that. I mean who would pull there trailing arms off and not replace the half shaft U joints. If you do that it's only a few bolts more to pull the differential and put in new seals. etc, etc.

However, when you get to the point of being "mostly done" the sense of satisfaction knowing it's reliable, safe and you did it is incredible.

Keep the faith..........
 
#25 ·
Got another couple hours on the vette today. No time at all this past weekend, although we got good marks on the science project:partyon:.
So today, I cleaned parts of the front frame, and of course I ended up taking more parts off. Removed the lower front crossmember under the radiator, and the center brackets that holds the center grille/front license plate, and the large piece to the center bumper. All will go to the powder coater tomorrow. I was looking at having to clean and sand, and prep for paint, these items. Most of the time now it's cheaper and better to remove items and powdercoat than to spend the time it takes to prep and paint. Probably put it all back with stainless bolts and neverseize.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now for getting the engine bay and frame painted! Just another day or two...
 
#26 ·
You're making great progress!
I agree with your decision to save the time and ship some of the parts out for prep and powdercoat. Sometimes people tend to lose sight that time is a very valuable commodity. Especially if you have growing children in the house.
Keep up the good work!
 
#27 ·
Well, and it helps a lot that I have 2 large scale powdercoat facilities right here in town! And after losing a few friends lately you realize just how valuable your time is! Scrubbing, sanding and painting now is kept to a minimum, if I can have someone else do it. I like working with clean parts better anyway...
 
#28 ·
More progress!
This is a really frustrating space to clean and prep for paint!




Getting closer to ready for paint



And finally! It's black again. Long afternoon yesterday, 2 coats epoxy primer, 2 coats AG111 satin black. 45 degrees cold in the dark shop, finished around 9pm, etc... You can't imagine how long this has been coming for me! Untold hours of cleaning, repairing, sanding, cleaning...











And today at the swap meet I scored a pair of '03 seats! Exactly what I wanted.



 
#30 ·
Shaping up very nicely, the frame and fiberglass work look outstanding. I appreciate the quality of your work.

I must admit to being curious about the effect the infrared light has on fiberglass? I have noticed that moving freshly glassed parts into direct sunlight speeds the curing process by quite a bit. I thought it had something to do with UV but don't know for sure. Are you using this for heat or is there some chemistry going on here?

Great pics too, we love pics. :D
 
#31 · (Edited)
Thanks Riggs, finally making forward progress. The most time consuming thing in a project is when you take something off and realize you can't put it back on without painting both the piece, and where it came from!

7t, the ir lamps help cure paint and especially fiberglass. I've used them in the bodyshops for years. The infrared light either from bulbs or heat panels speed up the chemical process in catalyzed products. Not sure if its the radiant heat or the light. But for sure the radiant heat is a million times more effective than fan type space heaters.
In the boat business we used to use the sun to kick off glass resin that was slow to cure. So I'm sure both infrared and uv have a positive effect on curing in paint and resin.
Also, if you've ever had bare fiberglass sitting outside for years you can see the effects of uv from the sun ...it will slowly evaporate the surface of the material. About like a PVC pipe, I have some ovaled from the sun wearing away the surface!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top