Need help deciding how to restore a 1960

[Richard G.]

Re: Need help deciding how to restore a 1960

Thomas;
I too had to wait till it the time was right to restore my 63 Corvette. I purchased it when I was 24 years old, I restored it at 63.
Drove it for a few years back in the 70's. Wife used to drive it to work! LOL. When we took it on the highway it would take a few miles to get up to freeway speeds, after she drove it two miles to work each day. It would pop and grunt till the plugs cleaned out. The guides were shot of course. Then it became garage shelving for decades.

When I started the project, I knew I couldn't do the body work, that was farmed out. Here is where it gets expensive. Materials were like 2K, not mentioning the other stuff. At $85 and hour it may have been a deal but it adds up. When said and done it was close to 50K to restore the car. That was with an original drive train. That is torn completely apart of course with replacement glass and many other issues like a posi differential that I though was good because to didn't make any noise.
Do you want to throw that kind of money at it? Up to you.


I also have a 57 that was road hard and put away wet. I purchased it when I was 19. Still have the 57 but it's apart. If I wanted a NCRS car It would be easier to sell it and purchased a finished car. I have chosen to do a restro mod, although it will be an inexpensive one. It is getting disc brakes and coil overs and an LSX motor. All work I can do. Body will look stock. Plan on driving it. Expect it will be a blast, like it was when I was younger. I will likely not drive it on the beach like I used to though. LOL.

As long as its fun do it. Don't agonize over it too long. We don't last as long as out cars can.
Rick

[Daniel S.]

Re: Need help deciding how to restore a 1960

Hi Thomas,

Just saw your article and I bought pcs of a 60 Vette a few years ago, no engine or trans, I wish I was a member of NCRS when I bought it because I think I paid too much for it. I decided that I wanted a driver but period correct. It is the most economical way for me and it is what I want. I bought a rebuild engine and carburator that I had rebuilt by one of the members in my NCRS chapter (thanks Tom). I am trying to keep my budget under 40k. I am at 25k but have to do a lot of body work.

Good luck. as several people have told me it is the journey that is fun and aggravating but now that I am retired it keeps me motivated.

Dan

[Garry M.]

Re: Need help deciding how to restore a 1960

Hi Thomas,

Well, I'm in the process of restoring my '60. Here are some thoughts I think you should consider.

1) If you can't do most of the disassembly/assembly work - pass the car on to someone else and buy the car you want. In the days of $50-$110 hourly rates, the cost to have someone who is qualified do work will add up quickly. OK if you have money to spare - but if that is the case I still say buy a car already done.
2) Think really hard about how you want the paint finish to look, as this will determine the quality of the paint and the level of body work necessary to support that finish. You can spend thousands on just the paint material, and the last thing you'll want to do is skimp on the process and work underneath it. It's hourly work in most cases - nobody I found would bid it as a project. Consider how much body work might be involved. I decided to go with the best best finish I could get without getting a full deduct. This is the single biggest cost of the entire project, especially if there is a need to correct issues from poor repairs.
3) Space and equipment - a car in pieces takes up lots of space, and not having the tools and some basic shop equipment will mean you'll have to consider the cost to obtain more space and have others do more work for you.
4) Knowledge and Skill - this can either make it really fun or really frustrating. I consider myself to be very a very capable person when it comes to most things mechanical and electrical, along with 40+ years of being a "fix it myselfer." Along the way I've picked some basic body work stills, but quoting a famous line in the movie Dirty Harry: "Every man's got to know his limitations."
5) Have a system to help you remember what/how it came apart, then help you figure out where/how it goes back.
6) Support - will there be people around to help you. Forum is great - but it can't hold or support anything. I have great support from friends - both in the NCRS hobby and outside of it - including those that have done their own restorations. It's priceless.

So that's my story. My car is now in the stage of re-assembly. Chassis mostly done, waiting for engine assembly and test. Body is painted (Horizon Blue - original color), and first parts are being assembled to it. I stopped counting the hours I put into the project after the first 500hrs.

Best of success on your decision.

Cheers
Garry

[Keith R.]

Re: Need help deciding how to restore a 1960

When I bought my '60 decades ago, it was literally a basket-case and the previous owner sorted through coffee cans on his work bench to sort out Corvette hardware from lawnmower parts. It was the early years of NCRS and before the Internet so I really had no way of knowing how to properly restore it. I relied on magazines and parts catalogues. It had a '67 Chevelle 283 engine with a four barrel carb on it so I was content on making it a nice looking driver. I had no idea of what color it originally was so I painted it a period Horizon Blue with white coves because I thought that it looked cool. I did a body-off and rebuilt it with lots of hardware store parts because I didn't know any better. Fast forward a few decades and I had retired from the Air Force in New Mexico and got involved with the local NCRS chapter. I dug in deep and with the help of the vast knowledge of NCRS members and this forum, I discovered that my car was originally a triple black 290HP fuelie. I decided that I would honor the car by restoring it to its original glory - that was 14 years ago and I did my first Chapter judging meet last fall. I've spent God-knows how much money on this but I wanted the car to be as original as possible and I figured that I owed it that. I paid $6,000.00 for it originally and despite the cost of restoration, I am probably ahead of the game. My point is that you should evaluate your car to see if it may have had some rare options which might make it more valuable to be restored to original form and condition that it would otherwise. If you discover that it is a lower horse power car, it might make more sense to replace the chassis, suspension and drive train with modern components as your post seemed to indicate that your main goal was to have a car to enjoy driving. Although mine has been restored to original, it drives like a truck - the rear axle makes it bounce all over the road and the steering is unprecise even though that has been "dialed in". Give it some thought and as the others have said, make a "Ben Franklin List" with the pros and cons and write down in priority order what is most important to you.