New member restore/repair questions

[John S.]

Hi Guys,

I recently purchased a 1969 Coupe in original condition from the original owner. 88K miles.

My plan for the car is to keep it as original as possible and drive it 3-5K miles per year on sunny days. I'd like to have it judged at least once during 2010.

1) The differential and rear bearings require R&R. It's easier for me to order component replacements from Zip than rebuild in the shop. For example Zip sells a complete rebuilt differential requiring that I send them the original core. My concern is that replacing the diff and trailing arm assembly will decrease the originality or judging points.

2) The interior has tears in the driver seat, driver headrest and a 3" hole in the carpet. Will replacing the carpet and vinyl decrease originality or cost judging points? I was going to buy the replacement carpet and seat covers from Zip.

Thanks for your help.

[Tom H.]

Re: New member restore/repair questions

Welcome aboard John !!

I don't believe replacing the diff will cost you any points. I don't think the rear is judged.

The interior is a judgement call. If your seats and carpet are deteriorated beyond being presentable, I would replace them with a high quality reproduction set and you should judge fine.

I'm sure the real experts will be able to give you a point idea on the interior, but you will be fine. Just be sure your seat trim matches the trim tag. Leather or STD trim.

[Patrick H.]

Re: New member restore/repair questions

Hi John.
Welcome to the Club!

Zip (and other catalog companies) are just "middlemen" for services like rear bearings. I would suggest that your least expensive, and best, option is to contact both Bair's in Pennsylvania and Van Steel in Florida. They are the main sources for trailing arm and differential rebuilds. Explain to them that you'd like to keep the car "more" original during the rebuild.

Both would be able to send you correctly sized/shaped boxes to send in your units. They will then rebuild your units and send them back in short order. This is generally preferential to buying a previously rebuilt unit, especially if you want to keep the date and assembly codes on the rear differential. Also, you'll likely get a "package price" for doing both trailing arms and the differential.

FYI, I'd get it judged as-is before replacing the interior components. The seat especially can be a pain to re-do, and you may find it's not worth it for a few judging points. It's much better to make sure your car will pass the Operations judging.

Be sure you check out other vendors such as Paragon Reproductions, Doc Rebuild and Corvette Central to compare prices when looking at fixing your Corvette.

Patrick

[William C.]

Re: New member restore/repair questions

Second Patrick's opinion. I use Bairs, but Van Steel has a good reputation also. Full Credit on OPERATIONS is worth much more in a judging situation, especially on a original car than piecemeal replacment of original items.

[Jack C.]

Re: New member restore/repair questions

John, when I brought home my original 68, 7 years ago, I resisited the temptation to start replacing things that were original but worn. I am now very happy that that car receives more attention at meets/shows because of its originality.

[Chuck S.]

Re: New member restore/repair questions

...1) The differential and rear bearings require R&R. It's easier for me to order component replacements from Zip than rebuild in the shop. For example Zip sells a complete rebuilt differential requiring that I send them the original core. My concern is that replacing the diff and trailing arm assembly will decrease the originality or judging points...

If originality is desired, then never consider exchanging components. To me, it doesn't matter if the car is judged or not. Always keep your original parts and have them rebuilt if at all possible. Otherwise, your car will NEVER be "original" again if it has a differential different from the one it had when it left St. Louis. Bairs does do a good job on diff rebuild. Make sure they know what you want regards originality and they will deliver; they'll ship you the container, and you ship the diff back to them.

Some parts that are not dated can be exchanged, but I would still rather have an original used part restored than a repro part. Trim items become problematic in this regard because the used ones are worse than the one you have...excellent repro that matches the original as near as possible becomes the alternative.

[Michael M.]

Re: New member restore/repair questions

John

Welcome! I have used Bairs in Pa, they are honest family owned business who perform quality work. They will send you the shipping boxes as mentioned before in this thread. They have a website with pricing. Ask for Brian Bair and explain what you want to accomplish. Nice guy, easy to work with.

[John S.]

Re: New member restore/repair questions

Thanks for the great input. The components are being rebuilt and I'm going to the May 22 judging event and see how it goes.