Camivette

Agree with cars shows. A great motivator seeing and hearing a great running car. I stepped back for a few months after feeling overwhelmed at everything I was finding hidden. Now I just plan 1 or 2 things a week. You have all the parts. Nothing overwhelming. BUT, don't continue with the build if it is not what you want 383 vs LS1 or you'll always have the what ifs. You can always sell the 383 and use it to fund an LS1 purchase but isn't that an even longer build? I say pick a task a week, you may even do more than planned once you get going. You really only have a weekend of work listed if that.

Easy Mike

John 65

Me too. Time to move on.

SuperBuickGuy

I don't understand why you'd ever say this.... is your life so miserable that you need to drop your stuff on other people as well?

LoneStarV

Contact one of the Corvette clubs in Houston....i will guarantee you a gear head will be more than happy to help you with your project, get your head straight and back on track. When you're done you'll have one of the most unique cars ever made. Then comes the ear to ear grin that just will NOT go away. You can sit in your garage with a beer and just stare at it when you're not driving it.

NEVER GIVE UP NEVER GIVE IN.

qwank

Don't forget:

2.5 Get it to stop!

SuperBuickGuy

Easy Mike

What's so great about your life? All of us are entitled to respond to posts.

xCCTer

Get it moving under it's own power. You'll be motivated.

72SLEEPER

Thanks for that, the discouragement is annoying since I asked for motivation... all the advice alone is making me want to rush home and dust off the toolbox... thanks guys. That's why this is the best Vette forum. I do need to take it one project at a time thinking of everything that needs to be done and how to do it is what gets me.... 28 replies is amazing help thanks guys

imariver

Too many Roosters!

If your not part of the solution . . . Your The Problem!

Dega500

Somebody close by needs to go by there and take him for a spin in your C3. Maybe even let him take the wheel for a bit.

Yep, that should do it for a little while anyway!

dochorsepower

You're too young for low testosterone. Put that bad boy together and have some fun. Once you start driving it and get all the complements and high fives you'll know why you did it.

Easy Mike

There is method in our madness.

brent319

That is what I was going to suggest. A friend of mine with a really nice 69 came by and took me out for a spin. It made me want mine done right now.



Add some rumbling side pipes and I was sold.

As mentioned above also, I would make a list of everything needed done to the car. Then put them in order so that you can get it moving and stopping safely and reliably. Get out and drive it. A half finished c3 is more fun and will draw more attention then most new cars.
Get one of those huge note pads and put the list on the garage wall. Cross stuff off as you do it. A lot of times you can spend countless hours working on the car and at the end of the day, it still does not run and it looks the same. You can look at the list and see that you have moved forward. Break the list down with milestones. The biggest is getting it on the road. As you look at the list you won't be looking at the whole list, but how close you are to the next goal.
If that does not work, THEN I would think about selling it
Hope you find the fire.

Dega500

I can remember the first time I slipped behind the wheel of an 80’s C3 Corvette. The view is like something out of a 3D video game. Somewhere you had always dreamed of being but never thought could be possible, like the cockpit of an F14 Fighter Jet for instance. You turn the key and the engine roars to life. You feel and hear the rumble of the V8 in your spine and it just feels right. You are one with the car. Then, sliding the shifter into drive you feel the surge and ever so slight squatting of the rear end, a predator poised and ready to pounce on its prey. Then the fun begins. Even moving slow at first the responsiveness of the steering becomes evident. As the speed increases you have to keep reminding yourself that she isn’t on rails and the “virtual” reality ended when the wheels began their first revolutions. At speed she responds to your every command. You begin to wonder “what are her limits”? Where is the edge, the point of no return? Just how far you can push her before she strikes back at you? The voices in your head scream of reason one second and invincibility the next. There is only one way to know, one way to be sure……………………. go on youtube and watch a bunch of idiots abuse “their” car. You’ve worked too hard on her and spent way too much money to take chances with like that with your baby!

jakvette

Hi 72SLEEPER,

It seems to me that money isnt an issue for completing this project , you bought it for 4500 have 10000 in it already but dont seem to see an end to thing .

If money is an issue then bail out before you put anymore in . I think anyone who has invested in restoring a vette will have more money and time in it than you can ever recoup . Having said that if you were buying to restore and make a major killing you chose the wrong investment .

Driving a completed one of these projects is a feeling no one can explain unless you experience it first hand yourself . Its a labour of love , actually not much love just a lot of PT and hard work . I have just spent 4 years putting my 80 back into a reasonable looking car , enjoyed most moments and hated plenty , almost given up a few times but got inspiration and drive going to car shows and seeing work done on vehicles and assuring myself that i could get better results with effort .

I forced myself to declare working times for the project 6-10pm min monday to fridays for the last year of the project and Sundays from 9-5pm . That was the only way i could get things done .

if your serious and want to sit in and drive something you put together then dedicate time and effort , if not get out whatever you can and go buy a driving C3 or other vette and enjoy cruising , which sounds to me as if thats what you really want .

When and if you do finish your project , you will still work on it , even if its only to wash and polish it !! Get motivated by getting to car shows and finding other people that can drive you on or bail on this one .

Camivette

As a follow up!

GET YOUR BUTT OFF THE COUCH AND GET TO WORK!!!!!!! No more "it's too hard or it'll take to log. Now gimme 25, grab a cup of Joe, splash some water on your face and get out there! Report back no later than 2000 hrs Saturday and I expect to hear the water pump, fuel pump and starter are installed or you'll be scrubbing latrines until the floors in China are shiny on the underside!!!!

Motivated yet?

SFC, USA
Retired

ChaosPhoenixFix

Mke your list, one step at a time. Realize that this is not going to be done over night, but when you starting doing one thing at a time, it goes faster than you think. I say, get it running, get the brakes working, get it to go on its own, then fix all the little issues mechanically. Body work, interior and paint should be last. Once you can safely drive it, who cares what it looks like, you have a Vette, and 99% of everyone else does not!

I would make a list like this: (work needed may vary)

ENGINE:
-Water Pump
-Alternator
-part
-part
-art
-ect
*IT RUNS!!!!
BRAKES:
-Calipers
-Rotors
-Brake lines
-part
-part
-ect
*IT STOPS! (I think, I might still need wheels/tires)
MAKE IT GO:
-Trans
-Wheels
-Drive shaft
-Tires
-part
-part
-ect
*IT GOES!
MILESTONE: I CAN DRIVE THIS SUCKER!
-Fill it up
-At first stop light, roll down window, and yell to the car next to you "haha! I got a Vette, and you dont!"
-Smoke the tires
-Get first speeding ticket
-Pay ticket
-Get back to work and finish the baby!

MAKE IT LOOK GOOD:
Body:
-body work
-body parts
-prime
*READY FOR PAINT

INTERIOR:
-dash
-killer sound system
-part
-ect
*I'M BALLIN NOW!

PAINT:
-pick color
-prep
-spray
-fix all your screw ups
-strip paint off
-pick new color
-spray again
-fix fewer screw ups than last time
DONE!

ChaosPhoenixFix

Now, GET TO WORK!

I wanna see you post a list by tomorrow. (Saturday)