Featured New/Old member from Edmonton

[Al T]

So I joined the forum a year and a half ago shortly after purchasing a 71 LS5 coupe out of Kelowna. It’s an original engine/transmission car. It unfortunately (or I guess fortunately for me) had an interior fire upon start up after winter storage in 2009. A mouse/mice had got in the car and dined on some wiring. When the previous owner hooked up the battery all hell broke loose. Fortunately the owner of the property where the car was stored had a 100# fire extinguisher and other than soft interior damage, there really was very minor fiberglass damage to the top of the cowl. In the last year and a half, the car has been stripped (it was red when purchased, it will be going back to it’s original Brands Hatch Green) and all fibreglass and body repairs done. The car came with a long L-88 hood that was replaced with a stock big block hood. I’ve also purchased all the parts to reinstall the wiper door assembly.
The car has been sitting in my shop untouched for the last year. I figured I’d introduce myself, and then maybe start a thread on the rebuild if there’s some interest. I figure if I’ve got a thread going, it’ll put the pressure on to actually do something. lol

Allan

Al

 

[XFIRE82]

Oh my , I see more than a Vette !! , welcome back and can't wait to hear and see more .

 

[Al T]

Appears you have a few ‘58’s as well. lol

 

[Bucks]

Welcome Al T back to the forum ....

 

[hemicat]

Yep, interested in the rebuild too.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Welcome back. Great start to a restoration thread.

Best of luck. The outcome will be worth it.

 

[Paul C7 to C8]

Sounds like you'll be busy for a while Al T ....... but well worth it!! Looking forward to reading and seeing pics as you move forward.

 

[Al T]

It’s going to look great back in it’s original color.

 

[ddgermann]

Hi Allan,
Yes you will have a ton of fans following along with you here.
Beautiful Corvette. My favourite vintage of the C3.
I know another great guy in YEG who knows every nut and bolt in this model as he just did a beautiful restoration. @turbozig
Hopefully he won’t kick me in the nuts for calling him out, but before you struggle with one of the idiosyncrasies of this model drop him a note. May save you tons of grief.
Look forward to meeting you one day and cruising along with you.

 

[XFIRE82]

Appears you have a few ‘58’s as well. lol

.....
........if you haven't checked out this thread, give it a look when got some time to kill.

Picture for XFIRE

Found this one thought you might enjoy it.

canadiancorvetteforums.com

 

[Al T]

Hi Allan,
Yes you will have a ton of fans following along with you here.
Beautiful Corvette. My favourite vintage of the C3.
I know another great guy in YEG who knows every nut and bolt in this model as he just did a beautiful restoration. @turbozig
Hopefully he won’t kick me in the nuts for calling him out, but before you struggle with one of the idiosyncrasies of this model drop him a note. May save you tons of grief.
Look forward to meeting you one day and cruising along with you.

I’ll definitely reach out. I much prefer not doing things 3 times!

 

[Al T]

.....
........if you haven't checked out this thread, give it a look when got some time to kill.

Picture for XFIRE

Found this one thought you might enjoy it.

canadiancorvetteforums.com

Spent an hour looking at it. Some great photos!

Sent you a PM.

Allan

 

[Al T]

Wow,
I haven’t updated this in a while! The Vette has sat in the corner of the shop while life kind of got in the way. I recently finished the harness replacement in my ‘58 Impala and it is now running and driving again...... first time in 2-1/2 years. With that done I figured it was time to get back on the Corvette. Got it up on the lift. Who undercoats a fiberglass car?

 

[Al T]

I put it up on the lift so I could get a few things done. The old starter harness removed, mini starter removed and replaced with a stock starter (if anyone needs a high torque, PM me), and the new harness installed onto the stock starter.
With the starter finished, I installed the passenger side exhaust manifold, and then figured it was time to get the OEM exhaust system I had bought (it had been sitting on a guys shelf for 30+ years) so I could stop tripping over it.

The driver’s side went on in 5 minutes, the passenger side, not so much luck.

When I bought the exhaust, it never occurred to ask whether it was from an auto or manual....... guess which one it was from?
Any suggestions?

At least now I only have one pipe to trip over.

 

[Al T]

With the things completed (at least for now) under the car, it was time to move it to the other part of the shop where it will hopefully be worked on through the winter while I’m in Canada. I promised my son this is the last time he will have to help me push the Vette .......... I may have had my fingers crossed.

 

[Al T]

It was time to get the steering back in the car....... to placate my son next time he needs to help me push.
I had blasted the steering column bracket and plate a couple of years ago. Time to reinstall. I hooked up the brake pedal rod to the pedal and installed the bracket and plate.

Unfortunately I had to remove it all again as the brake pedal is binding on return. I have a feeling I didn’t reinstall the brake pedal return spring properly when I disassembled, blasted And painted the pedal assembly. Hope to have this back in today.
I also picked up some insulation for the tub that I’ll be installing shortly so cleaning the tub seemed like a good idea. I used Simple a Green and a Scotch Brite pad. It worked great. Driver’s side after, passenger side before.

I removed the shifter assembly and cleaned it up in the blasting cabinet.

I‘m pretty happy with way the way the bird cage pockets cleaned up.

That pretty well brings everything up to current. Should make some progress today.
Allan

 

[Paul C7 to C8]

Well Allan, you certainly have tenacity and dedication! Good for you and nice progress