Disassembly

I thought a few pictures of the dis-assembly process would be interesting.

There was nothing that unexpected. In fact, everything appeared very original except the attempted re-build of the engine. By original I mean unusable. The car sat for so long that the brake calipers were long gone. As were the rotors, master cylinder, brake and fuel lines, fuel tank, etc. That said, there was nothing that I hadn't planned on replacing so no harm done.

One unexpected positive was the frame. It was actually in exceptional condition under the dirt and surface rust. More on that in future posts.

Up it goes

Finally it is time to lift to body off the frame for the first time in 43 years. As I mentioned previously the car's assembly date was Friday, June 17th, 1966. Lyndon Johnson was in office and I was not yet born.....but close!

Depite my father-in-law slipping into the pic it was a success. A few things to remember for the next time. GO SLOW. There are always more connections than you think :-( ...... I will explain later. The other mistake I made is that I originally had the car backed in. It proved impossible to pull the chassis out the front because of the height of the tank. When I lowered the body the shifter caught on the rubber boot. It pulled the console out of the transmission tunnel resulting in a bit of damage. Am I embarrased?.....um yeah.. However, that is the point of doing this myself. It is a challange. Besides....everything can be fixed. It only takes time and money.

You can see in the pictures that the engine had undergone a cosmetic resto by the PO. This time it will be done correctly and completely. Still trying to decide whether it will be re-configured as a 327/350 vs. the 327/300 as it left the factory.

The frame looks pretty solid from a corrosion standpoint. There are a couple of dents on the underside about where the front door meets the front fender....both sides. My guess is that someone jumped a curb and hung it up in the process....Another job for the professionals!

Lastly, the mortal remains of what appeared to be the tape used to hold the body shims in place was found on the passenger side body mount just in front of the rear wheel. Why I think that is so cool I have no idea.....but it is!

Next up: Chassis disassembly

Body Lift Time (Preparation)

Time to pull the body off the frame. For the most part disconnecting the various wires, body mounts and cables came off with little drama. It is simply a question of taking time and being methodical. A few pictures:

The number of different connections surprised me. Ground straps, speedometer cables, Seat belt cables, etc. After many hours the time came to attach the straps to the chain hoist. However, there was a few small items to address before hanging a 1966 Corvette body from the ceiling.

The ceiling of my garage is constructed of sistered 2x12s spanning 24 feet. I wanted to know whether that was capable of supporting roughly 900lbs. After a little internet research the engineering is as follows:

• Taking a typical 2x12, the allowable bending stress, Fb, is around 500 psi. The actual dimension of a 2x12 is 1.5"x11.25" thus resulting in an section modulus, S, of 1/6*b*h^2 = 31.64 in ^3. Therefore the allowable bending capacity, M, is equal to Fb*S = 15820 lb-in. If a load, P, is applied directly at the center of the board, then the allowable load is P = 4M / L, where L is the length in inches (288 inches). Therefore, the allowable load is 4*15280/288 = 220 pounds. This represents the "safe load" that can be applied. Theoretically, the board will fail in bending around 3 times that amount, or around 660 lb. The allowable value of 220 lb is what you use when determining how much load to place. I created a frame that distributes the load across 2 sets of sistered 2x12s. Therefore the safe load should be somewhere around 880lbs.

Given the failure level is 3x that number and that I have stipped out roughly 100lbs from the body (seats, carpet, etc) I felt pretty comfortable that I wouldn't pull down the entire garage. I included a picture of the frame that I hung the chain hoist from below.

The Plan

The purpose of this vehicle will be an original vehicle the is to be driven when complete. Not a trailer queen. That said, it should look and feel like a period correct 1966.

Engine: Original Block and heads. Full tear down with a complete rebuild. If possible I may upgrade from the 327/300 configuration to the 327/350 while still using the original castings. It will be period correct in execution. The engine compartment will look period correct when complete.

Brakes: Not an original power-brake car it will be upgraded with reproduction parts. However, it will be period correct in execution. This includes period correct discs and calipers (possible upgrade to the materials (more later).

Steering: Not an original power steering car it will be upgraded with reproduction parts.

Transmission: Upgrade to Keisler 5-speed for better than original performance including a proper highway gear. Original matching numbers transmission will be tagged and bagged.

Materials: To prevent corrosion the materials used will be upgraded to increase durability. For example, the original mild steel brake lines will be replaced with stainless. Same with the calipers. Stainless lined at all four corners.

Paint work: Full glass out re-spray (in original pear silver) after being stripped to the gel coat. Paint is to be finished to “better than new”. Panel gap variance typical of 1966 fit and finish will be corrected. Overspray/underspray common to the period is similarly unacceptable.

Chassis: Chassis finishes also to be better than original with respect to durability. While it will look original the ability to drive the vehicle w/o degrading the restoration is important. All bushings/body mounts to be replaced with rubber (not poly) in order to keep the driving experience as 1966 as possible. All to be replaced, however.

Glass: All original. Polished if possible

Trim: Original to be polished and preserved. Chrome bumpers are to be better than new in execution (not wavy).

Interior: All original except carpets which are to be replaced with original-type reproduction pieces. Dash and door panels are to be cleaned and preserved as much as possible. Original vinyl seats may be upgraded with headrests.

Miscellaneous: Where at all possible the original pieces are to be preserved to lend a “patina” feel to the completed car. Where not possible (i.e. paint) it will be repaired or replaced.

The Car

I chose a 1966 327/300 coupe. Ultimately, I like the thought of the small block. Given the hysteria that is attendant to the big blocks (and the silly prices paid) this car was a relative bargin. Also, I like the nature of the high winding small block. They have always been more enjoyable to drive (at least to me).

This particular car appears to have been off the road since 1978. From the general condition of the original vinyl interior and other areas I believe the 42,500 miles on the odometer to be orignial.

At some point in this cars past it appears to have sustained some fiberglass damage to the front end. In person I can easily see where new fenders have been cut in and bonded to the body. It makes me wonder what else I will find when I get the body off! More later on the restoration plan. For now I have included some addtional photos of what we have to work with.




While dirty, the interior is mostly original and shows no cuts or tears but needs much work.

The engine compartment shows the signs of a half hearted restoration. It will be completely disassembled and taken to original condition. I haven't determined whether I will rebuild it to 327/350 specs. I will have to consult with someone more knowledgeable on how that may impact the originality and value of the completed car.

6124449 F0520HE

The 327 engine in my Corvette reads 6124449 F0520HE. 6 is for the year (1966). Then the VIN sequence of 124449. The second part reads F for the Flint Plant, May 20 is the engine assembly date and the HE stands for a 327/300 hp with a manual transmission.

Since the vin sequence matches the VIN number on the car it is the original block that the left the factory 43 years ago. That is unless the block was decked and restamped. No one goes through the trouble to clone a 327/300 so I doubt that is the case here. With 427's or other big blocks the dollars that they were/are bringing makes the process of sorting the numbers more perilous and worth an expert opinion. There are likely more big blocks being traded than were ever produced by Chevrolet. Pathetic.

In the trim tag you will see

J17: Since this is a St Louis body (not A.O Smith) the J stands for June and 17 is the day. Therefore this vehicle was assembled on Friday, June 17, 1966.

66 437: 66 stands for 1966 and 437 denotes a coupe (467 is a convertible).

STD: the "STD" indicates that the car came with black vinyl.

S4429: S indicates that the body was constructed at the St Louis plant (A would mean it was an A.O. Smith body). 4429 means that is was the 4429th coupe body produced for the 1966 model year.

986AA: Indicates that the body was originally sprayed in pearl silver.

This is a bit mis-leading. In person, the paint is completely flat. It appears to have had a re-spray at some point. I will be sending this part of the restoration out. I want the paint to be stripped to the gelcoat and then returned to the original pearl silver.

It Begins....

Example of a 1966 Corvette Coupe in Pearl Silver

I have decided to begin the restoration of my 1966 Chevrolet Corvette coupe. Always my favorite of the now 6 corvette generations I was able to find a mostly unrestored, original copy......oh, and it has factory air!

My intention is not to provide any particular insights into a restoration or any techinical know-how. That has already been done on the web by Tim Cote at http://corvette-restoration.com/. It is an excellent site for anyone looking for tips on restoration of a C3 Corvette (or a C2 given how similar they are underneath). I simply wanted a forum for fully documenting a frame-off restoration.

This is just for fun.....Period