The day I got the car out came the Vette 327/tranny and off to the body shop it went. These are a few pics before the body man got to it. It was pretty bad and the paint hid most of the problems.
This car just sat outside for 6 years before I got to it.
During some of the body work. This was the most depressing time of all. When everything gets stripped down you get to see all that the paint was hiding.
During Painting. Some of all the hard work starting to come together. The doors and all 4 quarters were in great shape, the worst part was the floor.
After Paint (PPG Ebony black, 3 coats base, 3 coats finish and 3 coats clear). It was almost a year since I had seen the car at this point as I work overseas and when I came back home a freshly painted car was waiting. What a difference! The body shop did a full documentation for me but unfortunately not with a digital camera. My buddy Todd would go to the Body shop on occasion and snap off a few pics to send me so I could see what type of progress was being made.
Engine; I put back in the 327 (over .030) which is 11:1, Performer RPM Air Gap intake, Edlebrock 750 carb, ported and polished Double Hump heads. I love the short stroke of the 327 as it allows for over 7000rpm gear changes. The bottem end of the engine was strengthened and the entire rotating assembly was fully balanced. ARP helps keep things together on the rods, mains and heads. I swaped out the TH-350 for a 200-4R and a new Moser 12 bolt 4:11. The car runs well on the road and the coated Hedmann hedders and Flomaster exhaust let it breathe well and make it sound so nice. It is very streetable. A Ron Davis Aluminum rad and twin Spal electric fans keep things running cool. At present the car only runs for about 1 month a year.
All of the original wiring has been replaced with factory M&H assemblies and every wire in the car is brand new. A set of AFR street competition 180 heads with a solid roller cam from Lunati are recent upgrades.
The Deluxe interior is MINT from top to bottom. I have installed 70-71 door panels as I preferred that look and I did not like the map pockets. The dash pad has been redone thanks to Just Dashes.
All of the guages are stock except for the 8000rpm tach. They all work perfectly and even the clock was working when I got the car.
A Recently updated pic this summer. I have just completed a total suspension upgrade from Global West. Tubular Upper and Lower control arms and coil overs give me adjustment in ride height and stance not to mention a great handling ride.
Future plans include;
An LSX 454 with a 4L80E are in the works. The last thing to be done will be a set of Fikse Profile 5 18 inch and some new Nitto rubber (295 in the rear and 245 in the front). Some Wilwood or Baer brakes will sit on all 4 corners.
Back to the paint shop as I was not completely satisfied with the original job that was done. Here is the final product
*** I have to thank Dave from Newman auto in Montreal for doing a lot of the work while I away overseas and my father for helping move the car while I am gone. Thanks Guys
Misc
