Restoring a 61
10-24-2004, 01:35 PM
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Restoring a 61
Hey everyone,
This is my first post on the forum, so i hope this hasn't been covered already, but i searched for it and couldn't find a lot of information on it. I'll probably be attending either the Air Force Academy or a ROTC school next year, and will recieve a "Carreer Starter Loan" which will go towards restoration of my dad's 61 corvette. It's a red and white vert which originally had a 350 and a 4spd. I'd like to keep it fairly original, but include a slightly built 350 or 383. All the fiberglass is in near perfect condition, but it needs paint. No motor or trans in it right now, but everything else is there. What do you guys think something like this will cost me, and are there any tips yall have. Thanks a lot
Ray
This is my first post on the forum, so i hope this hasn't been covered already, but i searched for it and couldn't find a lot of information on it. I'll probably be attending either the Air Force Academy or a ROTC school next year, and will recieve a "Carreer Starter Loan" which will go towards restoration of my dad's 61 corvette. It's a red and white vert which originally had a 350 and a 4spd. I'd like to keep it fairly original, but include a slightly built 350 or 383. All the fiberglass is in near perfect condition, but it needs paint. No motor or trans in it right now, but everything else is there. What do you guys think something like this will cost me, and are there any tips yall have. Thanks a lot
Ray
10-24-2004, 02:45 PM
#2
Race Director
You mentioned the current engine is a 350. 61`s were all 283 powered, 350`s came along in 1969. But nothing wrong with the set up, most people upgrade the engine anyway. The first thing anyone sees is the paint. Probably the most expensive situation and the hardest to manage price wise. There are good and bad painters and you dont want the last. Locals in your area with Vettes may help with this.
10-24-2004, 02:48 PM
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You are correct, forgot to mention the fact that we do have the 283 block, but it would be in need of serious work, and we also have the 350 block that dad swapped into it after he bought the car in like 69 or so. I am concidering a GMPP or Edelbrock crate motor for it. Sorry about that
10-24-2004, 02:57 PM
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hood clearance
Originally Posted by Ironcross
You mentioned the current engine is a 350. 61`s were all 283 powered, 350`s came along in 1969. But nothing wrong with the set up, most people upgrade the engine anyway. The first thing anyone sees is the paint. Probably the most expensive situation and the hardest to manage price wise. There are good and bad painters and you dont want the last. Locals in your area with Vettes may help with this.
don't feel bad though with a 350 small block..preformer manifold, deamon 750 double pump carb ,AFR 180cc heads and a cranes very mild 270 magnum @.50 224/224 525/525 cam your looking at over 420hp and 440 torque. which will move that 3,000 lbs down any straight line very fast (in the 12's IMHO) stroke the 350 with the same combo and add 30hp and ft pounds
10-24-2004, 05:44 PM
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forgot to mention
Originally Posted by Muttley
Ray:
Congratulations on your academic achievements. About 25 years ago, I chose the ROTC route and it worked out well. I think you won't go wrong either way. The "career starter loan" must be new, though...I could have used one of those at the time.
Regarding the '61, the thing you want to do first is to decide on your basic goals for the car. The most expensive mistake is getting part way through a project, and deciding you really want the car to be something else. E.g., if you think you'll ever want to show the car and have it scored for originality (NCRS), you'll want to keep your eye on that and get a "correct" paint job, among a host of other items. If that's on your agenda, join the NCRS and use their resources to get educated (actually, I'd recommend that in any case).
I think the crate motor idea is fine, even if you do want to show the car later. If you're like most, you'll find the drive train is probably the cheapest part of the project, and you can always store your 283 and rebuild it later if you want. As mentioned above, the vortec or "fast burn"-headed engines can lead to clearance difficulties, so I'd stick with the old style heads.
Paint and trim are expensive items. Note, my car is a '62 that was a hot rod from way back, so I decided to just make it a nice driver and not worry too much about stuff like date codes and paint that would pass for lacquer. However, that doesn't necessarily make things cheaper. To give you an idea, my BC/CC paint job (with minor glass work) set me back $7K. Replating all the chrome cost $2,500 (although I must say it looks stunning). Interior is in progress, but that will be a few more skins. Cost of suspension, brakes, and other mechanical work will depend a lot on what you do yourself.
Stuff definitely adds up, especially when you consider the "restoration vortex"...i.e., "as long as I'm in there, I might as well replace this...". Based on what you've described, and assuming you're doing a basic refresh (not a body off resto), and you're not a painter yourself, I'd say you have a $20K project ahead of you. That's a really broad estimate though, so your results may vary.
-David
Congratulations on your academic achievements. About 25 years ago, I chose the ROTC route and it worked out well. I think you won't go wrong either way. The "career starter loan" must be new, though...I could have used one of those at the time.
Regarding the '61, the thing you want to do first is to decide on your basic goals for the car. The most expensive mistake is getting part way through a project, and deciding you really want the car to be something else. E.g., if you think you'll ever want to show the car and have it scored for originality (NCRS), you'll want to keep your eye on that and get a "correct" paint job, among a host of other items. If that's on your agenda, join the NCRS and use their resources to get educated (actually, I'd recommend that in any case).
I think the crate motor idea is fine, even if you do want to show the car later. If you're like most, you'll find the drive train is probably the cheapest part of the project, and you can always store your 283 and rebuild it later if you want. As mentioned above, the vortec or "fast burn"-headed engines can lead to clearance difficulties, so I'd stick with the old style heads.
Paint and trim are expensive items. Note, my car is a '62 that was a hot rod from way back, so I decided to just make it a nice driver and not worry too much about stuff like date codes and paint that would pass for lacquer. However, that doesn't necessarily make things cheaper. To give you an idea, my BC/CC paint job (with minor glass work) set me back $7K. Replating all the chrome cost $2,500 (although I must say it looks stunning). Interior is in progress, but that will be a few more skins. Cost of suspension, brakes, and other mechanical work will depend a lot on what you do yourself.
Stuff definitely adds up, especially when you consider the "restoration vortex"...i.e., "as long as I'm in there, I might as well replace this...". Based on what you've described, and assuming you're doing a basic refresh (not a body off resto), and you're not a painter yourself, I'd say you have a $20K project ahead of you. That's a really broad estimate though, so your results may vary.
-David
10-25-2004, 12:43 PM
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I definately have no entention of making this car a "show car" by any means. I just want to bring it back to excellent shape, and give it plenty of power, which is why i intend to go the way of a crate motor. I didn't think of adding a 5 spd, but that'll be something i will concider. I just want a fun car that i can drive, and not worry about every little detail being perfectly historically correct.
10-25-2004, 02:50 PM
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If the 283 is the original engine and the car is pretty complete, you might be better off selling it and buying a nicely done driver. Otherwise you will spend the $15-20K and spend a couple of years building it. I'd double the price estimate if you send it all out to various shops while you are studying.
10-25-2004, 03:27 PM
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I am in the middle of re-doing the 67. I had a frame-on paint job. 10 months later and many thousands later the car is back. Who ever posted "I might as well add this and that" is exactly right. Once you get in there you will want your baby to be the best it can be. I had no idea what I was getting into. I have replaced everything that needed replacing and restored everything that needed restoring on the exterior. It probably looks better than it did in 67. I am saying this because my project started out as a replacement paint job because of a little age and a rock chip (big chip).
The suspension, drive train, wheels, tires, exhaust, interior, top, everything has been replaced or will be in the next few weeks. So I think the point one of the others was trying to make. You may want to consider selling the all orginal car to get some good money to build the Corvette you have in mind. It sounds like you may want to stray away from the originality of the car. You also may want to keep it because it belongs to your dad. Either way get ready to spend 7-10K for paint, 5K for a crate motor and much more for everything else that goes with that. If you get out of there with less than 20K spent. I will be surprised. Are you planning on doing some of the work yourself? It could save some money. Vettes are different animals and everything cost 3-4x a normal 60-70's muscle car.
I said 6 years ago when I bought a driver. I would never pay 60K for a 67 BB Vette. I have about 70K into it now and its still adding up. There is no way anyone would give me 70K for my car. I also wouldnt sell it for 70k either. It is a big part of me now. Its in my family and its staying.
good luck, the forum is a great place to get answers.
The suspension, drive train, wheels, tires, exhaust, interior, top, everything has been replaced or will be in the next few weeks. So I think the point one of the others was trying to make. You may want to consider selling the all orginal car to get some good money to build the Corvette you have in mind. It sounds like you may want to stray away from the originality of the car. You also may want to keep it because it belongs to your dad. Either way get ready to spend 7-10K for paint, 5K for a crate motor and much more for everything else that goes with that. If you get out of there with less than 20K spent. I will be surprised. Are you planning on doing some of the work yourself? It could save some money. Vettes are different animals and everything cost 3-4x a normal 60-70's muscle car.
I said 6 years ago when I bought a driver. I would never pay 60K for a 67 BB Vette. I have about 70K into it now and its still adding up. There is no way anyone would give me 70K for my car. I also wouldnt sell it for 70k either. It is a big part of me now. Its in my family and its staying.
good luck, the forum is a great place to get answers.
10-25-2004, 05:05 PM
#9
Race Director
I dont know about selling the car. Your biggest problem is out of the way. A good straight body with all the parts that has not gone through several owners and not butchered up. Those are the $$$$ pits and will cost at least 20 grand to start with let alone the $$$$ to finish it as noted in an above thread. The Black unrestored 62 in the link below cost me $4400.00 as a new car with all the available RPO`s including FI. Hell, today the hardtop alone is worth the original price. In otherwords keep it. The hard part is done. 
10-25-2004, 08:01 PM
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Yeah, selling the car is most definately not an option. I love the car, and have always wanted to restore it with dad. There's too much family history with it. Like you guys said, the fiberglass is perfect, but badly needs paint, the chrome just need to be redone, and most of the mechanicals other than the engine and trans are sound, just needing refreshing. Thanks for all the info, i can't wait to start on this project, as it has been a dream of mine since i used to sit in it and pretend like i was crusing around our hometown, thanks for any more valuable info i'm sure yall will provide.
10-25-2004, 09:01 PM
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I wish I had a car that my dad used to have. Especially a vintage Corvette. It may take a lot longer because of going to school and saving the money but keeping that car and re-doing with your dad is the right thing to do. Good luck and keep us posted as to the progress you are making. re-building the original 283 is probably the cheapest and also it will get you the most money if you ever decide to sell it. If its MIA then a crate motor will probably have less headaches. Do you have any pictures of the before product?
