[JLNC]

Hello all,
Recently purchased a 76 T-top and curious where to start with restoring. Body in good shape, interior needs some work, and motor runs good. Want to get it back up to par before trying anything fancy or juicing it up. Any suggestions on what literature to buy and what websites (besides this one) to check out. Tons of great info here so got lots of reading to do but need some material as well for when not in front of the PC. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jim

 

[rjent]

Man bro, that is a tall order! LOL

Do a search on Amazon for C3 Corvette, you will find a lot of books to get started with.

Personally if the car runs and looks good, the interior with give you the best warm and fuzzy while driving. Most people will look over the interior pretty close at shows.

Don't cheap out on the interior (or anywhere else for that matter). Buy good carpets, panels, seat material, etc. There are a lot of vendors, but as you will find in other threads, I like Al Knock. Do a search on the internet. He has the bar none best quality.

Good luck! :thumbsup:

 

[6880 Mike]

Read and drive, first. Restore later. Order any or all of the restoration books and read through them to get an understanding of what you will be doing. Knowledge is power. Most of the guides are okay, but some are better than others. Keep in mind you do not have to restore your car the same way the author restored his/hers.

Until the books arrive and when not reading, drive the car and make note of what she needs and what she doesn't. Make a priority list of what needs immediate attention and what can wait. My intent is always to make the car safely drivable before tearing in to anything else.

It is much easier and more pleasant to work on a car you can drive than one up on jackstands.

Been there, done that.

:thumbsup:

 

[SIXFOOTER]

Brakes before anything else! You want it to stop better than it does anything else. Steering after brakes, then you can get after it and do whatever you want to.
None of the other stuff will do you any good if your in a ditch or impacted in someones license plate

 

[JPhil]

I agree with all of the above.

Drive it for a year first, just taking care of maintenence & learning. You'll probably find your priorities & ideas change after a while. When I first brought mine home I went out and spent $300+ on parts for stuff I wanted.....4 years later, most of those parts are still up in the garage attic because I changed my mind after letting the car tell me what it wanted.

In order of importance, I agree: brakes first, steering next, then suspension, motor, etc. (Music box & pretty paint are dead last on my list.)

There's a lot of good books out there, do some browsing.

John

 

[DJ Dep]

JUICE IT UP!!!! yeah baby!!! :laughing: :laughing:

Geez...you guys are turning this into the old geezer forum.
SIXFOOTER will have you driving the best handling, best stopping, SLOWEST Vette in town. :laughing:
CHECK the brakes and CHECK the steering, but if they are allright, leave them alone. I guarantee you it is gonna get real old real quick having Mustang GTs blowing past you like you're standing still. And they WILL. Of course, I am talking about at the track, not on the street . Just make sure all the mechanical stuff is in good shape and doing it's job. You don't need Brembo calipers and an all poly suspension system if you can't go above 90 MPH.
When you get all the normal stuff working properly, think about changing the rear end gear to something that will help you keep up with the competition.

Dep

 

[The Bad]

 

[Stingin' 76]

JUICE IT UP!!!! yeah baby!!! :laughing: :laughing:

Geez...you guys are turning this into the old geezer forum.
SIXFOOTER will have you driving the best handling, best stopping, SLOWEST Vette in town. :laughing:
CHECK the brakes and CHECK the steering, but if they are allright, leave them alone. I guarantee you it is gonna get real old real quick having Mustang GTs blowing past you like you're standing still. And they WILL. Of course, I am talking about at the track, not on the street . Just make sure all the mechanical stuff is in good shape and doing it's job. You don't need Brembo calipers and an all poly suspension system if you can't go above 90 MPH.
When you get all the normal stuff working properly, think about changing the rear end gear to something that will help you keep up with the competition.

Dep

Dep,

I think this is the third or forth time I have noticed you referencing, "getting blown away by Mustangs". Is this a big issue with you?

Six footer seems to be concerned with safety before all else, which while it is a geezer mindset, it is also a smart one. Speed isn't worth a thing if you can stop or get around a pending obstacle.

As a fellow 76' owner, I can tell you that it takes alot of work to get them fast enough to start worrying about blowing away Mustangs. For most mid year C3's the image is about cruising, and the positive attention. I think it is very important to get the brakes straight (since they are such a major malfunction on C3's), bushings, and steering and all other things that make the car roadworthy.

Please understand that I am not being confrontational or standoffish. It is just that there are alot of C3ers who's main concern is not speed. :devil: At least not in the beginning:devil:

JLNC,

Pics pics and more pics. I hear that there is now another Buckskin 76' on this site. Yaaaaaaaayyyyyy!

Check you calipers first and foremost. They are notorious for blowing seals and leaking onto the disks. Unless you are planning on track (road course) racing, the stock brakes are fine. My stock brakes lock up just as well as wilwood or Baer brakes will. Then run through your bushings and suspension. If all is well, the car is more than safe to drive.

After you have driven for a while, you will know what you want to do performance wise. I spent the last two years getting everything buttoned up. Now I am just started to add performance parts. In my opinoin, it is best of you can do projects that allow maximum driving time. The more time you spend behind the wheel, the more you will fall in love with the car and want to do more things.

Good Luck:cheers:

 

[Fred Mann]

Hello all,
Recently purchased a 76 T-top and curious where to start with restoring. Body in good shape, interior needs some work, and motor runs good. Want to get it back up to par before trying anything fancy or juicing it up. Any suggestions on what literature to buy and what websites (besides this one) to check out. Tons of great info here so got lots of reading to do but need some material as well for when not in front of the PC. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jim

Get underneath the car with some wrenches and make sure everything you see is tight.

 

[easyasone2th]

JUICE IT UP!!!! yeah baby!!! :laughing: :laughing:

Dep

Hey, Sarge was only leading him to where he's going to end up anyway.

 

[big2bird]

Brakes before anything else! You want it to stop better than it does anything else. Steering after brakes, then you can get after it and do whatever you want to.
None of the other stuff will do you any good if your in a ditch or impacted in someones license plate

:agree: Handling first. Get the AIM and the Helms Shop manual. They are your friend.
Get the mechanics sorted out first. Paint and interior work can wait.

 

[big2bird]

JUICE IT UP!!!! yeah baby!!! :laughing: :laughing:

Geez...you guys are turning this into the old geezer forum.
SIXFOOTER will have you driving the best handling, best stopping, SLOWEST Vette in town. :laughing:
CHECK the brakes and CHECK the steering, but if they are allright, leave them alone. I guarantee you it is gonna get real old real quick having Mustang GTs blowing past you like you're standing still. And they WILL. Of course, I am talking about at the track, not on the street . Just make sure all the mechanical stuff is in good shape and doing it's job. You don't need Brembo calipers and an all poly suspension system if you can't go above 90 MPH.
When you get all the normal stuff working properly, think about changing the rear end gear to something that will help you keep up with the competition.

Dep

What are you really trying to say? :laughing: :laughing: Give the guy a break.

 

[Daksin]

The most important thing, though, is to POST PICS:laughing: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[6880 Mike]

...Geez...you guys are turning this into the old geezer forum....

You can learn a lot from us old geezers.

:thumbsup:

 

[DJ Dep]

Uh-oh...I see attitudes from the other place filtering in :lookinup:

First off re-read my post. Let me just quote myself..."CHECK the brakes and CHECK the steering, but if they are allright, leave them alone."
I see nothing there that recommends anything unsafe. Do the rubber bumper Vettes come with a different/unreliable brake system compared to the earlier cars? My brakes stopped so well I tossed the power brake system and switched to manual brakes to save a ton of weight and allow easier access to the plugs. A '76 may be all smogged up and equivalent to a Caprice motor, but it isn't brain surgery to get it faster. But my first step to performance increases would be the rear end and not the engine. If you're buying a C3 to go get groceries and go to church on Sunday, then you might want to think about a different Vette...a CHEVETTE :laughing:

The Mustang GT is probably the best "bang for the buck" performance car you can buy right now. Are they an issue with me? Hardly. Take a look at my pics to see the current status of my Vette.

"Hey, Sarge was only leading him to where he's going to end up anyway."
We have a bingo!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Let me remember that quote from Glensgages at the other place...something like "My car is handling just fine as long as I can make the turn onto the return road after the 1/4 mile" :laughing:

"You can learn a lot from us old geezers."
Exactly...and since I'm IN the geezer fraternity, that goes for me too (Age 57).

Dep

 

[6880 Mike]

..."You can learn a lot from us old geezers."
Exactly...and since I'm IN the geezer fraternity, that goes for me too (Age 57)....

My apologies. You out geezer me by a year.

:buhbye:

 

[Stingin' 76]

While I am making my vette faster, I am very happy driving to get groceries and I do infact drive it to church on Sundays. Before my car was "faster", I am hestiant to call it fast, I loved driving it. As for comparing me to "the other" forum, HA! I have never been a member there. I do not know what your woes were that brought you here, nor do I care. We are a family here, and we express out opinoins openly. As I read your post AGAIN, I am still of the opinoin that you sound like speed is the main concern.

While I was doing research on C3's when I got mine, I did in fact learn that the caliper had rubber seals instead of stainless sleeves and it was a factory recall.

 

[DJ Dep]

While I am making my vette faster, I am very happy driving to get groceries and I do infact drive it to church on Sundays. Before my car was "faster", I am hestiant to call it fast, I loved driving it. As for comparing me to "the other" forum, HA! I have never been a member there. I do not know what your woes were that brought you here, nor do I care. We are a family here, and we express out opinoins openly. As I read your post AGAIN, I am still of the opinoin that you sound like speed is the main concern.

While I was doing research on C3's when I got mine, I did in fact learn that the caliper had rubber seals instead of stainless sleeves and it was a factory recall.

Well I never accused YOU or anyone else of being a member of the other forum. I simply meant the replies were starting to sound like the other place. Interesting, though. That "family" thing was very prevalent over there and was the cause of a whole lot of problems. My family shares my last name and I have no need to make it larger by including total strangers from a forum. But that's just me While you said "I am not being confrontational or standoffish", that was exactly what you did. I expressed my opinion on what the original poster should do. Why did you confront me about it??? Am I NOT allowed to express my opinion because I am not in your "family"?
Speed...speed isn't the main thing...for me it's the ONLY thing. Why buy/drive a car with a reputation for being fast, if it ISN'T fast? Look at how many threads are on here about folks hopping up their cars. HUNDREDS of them!!! Many guys put their mods in their signature lines they are so proud of what they have done to their cars. The Vette has a proud reputation of being one of the fastest cars to come out of Detroit. Even today they are right up there in the speed realm. So if you bought your car just to rest on the laurels of others who DO go fast, that's fine. But don't leave the inpression the Vette is some kind of glorified Thunderbird or Grand Prix.
I am done with this thread. Have a nice day. :buhbye:

Dep

 

[TwinTurbo]

By Deps philosophy you don't even need a steering wheel

Make it handle first power means nothing without control

 

[JLNC]

Get on to check the response to my post amd "whoa" what a discussion. I like it. Anyways.... I have ordered a few books and reading as much as I can all the posts that are out there.

Let me stir the pot alittle more. The first thing I am going to do is take the advice and have the brakes, steering, and suspension checked. Tomorrow in fact and repair what is needed. Next I will step up to a dual exhaust. Next question I have is in regards to carb and distributor. Was thinking of going with an Edel 750 and changing out the dist. to one of the performance types for now. Sound ok for the short haul? Or am I missing something?

Jim