steven31371

Thought I'd make a thread that documents the Progression of my vette....I mostly work on it on Sundays, hence the name of the thread.

I set a goal for this project: For less than $40,000, build a car that is on par with a $150k-$250k Euro Sports car in both looks and performance.

But its become a fascinating DYI hobby learning experience for me.


Here's the day I picked her up:

Did the Zip Tie mod to the airbox and put in a K&N airfilter almost as soon as I got her home, also removed the screen from the MAF and disconnected the battery so the computer would relearn the better air to fuel mixture, then drove it for several hours for a good 10-15 Hp improvement, plus a better sound

steven31371

On the first week I put a set of Diamond cut Grill inserts into the side vents:

steven31371

Second week I got the windows tinted limo black and removed the body side moldings:





and a new clutch with a lightweight flywheel

steven31371

third week Hotchkis Sway Bars and Metal End Link upgrade....Pics to follow....great mod, made a big differance.

steven31371

Fourth Week: MGW Short throw shifter installed....pics to follow....love this mod.

steven31371

Sixth Week, changed transmission fluid for the first time, also did the anti-venom mod while at it.

Chilliwack vettes

Good looking car!
Looks better without the BSMs. Did you know the clutch was bad when you bought it or was this a planned upgrade?

steven31371

Thanks :-)

Actually...thats a funny story....No, I did'nt know it was bad....I took it to the stealership for a checkup and they told me the shifting was notchy because the clutch was going bad (which actually was'nt true)....So I replaced the clutch, but I really only went ahead and replaced it becasue I knew I wanted to upgrade it anyway. I wanted a higher rated clutch ahead of some planned HP and Torque upgrades, and I wanted a lightweight flywheel for faster acceleration.

steven31371

Seventh week:...Did a complete fefresh of the paint job....wet sanded the whole car, then rubbing compounded it, then glaze, and wax....no more swirl marks or spiderwebbing, and the paint still looks wet a week later.

I also did some cosmetic modding of the back end with some plastidip, a blackout kit, and some chrome trim pieces:

Here are some pics of the progression....note the shine on the last pick, if you look closely you can see the ceramic roof tiles of the garage reflected in the paint...

steven31371

eigth week:

Did some interior work:

Sanded, primed, sanded again, painted, clearcoated, wet sanded, rubbing compound, then a layer of wax:


















not too sure about this weeks work...looks good in pics and from a distance, but I am not satisfied with the quality of work on close inspection, so will probably redo it next weekend





did I mention this is my first time doing most of this stuff?...its all trial and error for me...but the forum helps a ton....thanks guys.

jrose7004

Nice improvements.

MSG C5

Looking good!

It's fun making it your own!

bthollow

Nice work--would never believe you're a novice at this type of thing!

PoVette

Nice work! I really like all the mods you have done. Great looking Vette.

tomringo

Steven, Nice job looks great, what paper did you wet sand with and what rubbing compound did you use on the painted parts ? Thanks

steven31371

thanks for the compliments everyone, its a lot of fun doing this stuff, I definately have a case of Corvette fever lol




on the exterior I washed the car really well with Dawn dish washing soap to clean away all the previous wax on the car. (was a forum tip)

then I wet sanded with 1500 (if your car only has light swirl marks you can probably skip the 1500, but I had deep spider webbing and 2000 by itself was'nt working for me), then I washed the car again, and wet sanded with 2000 grit

First I tried Turtle rubbing compound but it worked like crap, so I picked up some Meguirs profesional grade Diamond cut and went at it with a wool pad and and buffer, worked great.

next I clay barred the whole car to pick up any little bits of sanded paint etc...

then I did a coat of Meguirs Glaze, followed by a coat of Mother's highest end Carnuba Wax, the paste version in the red can.

then another layer of Meguir's glaze, and a second layer of wax.




on the interior parts I washed and scrubbed them really good, again with Dawn, then scuffed them lightly with a brass wire brush

next I put a coat of plastic primer, then several good heavy coats of sandable primer, this stuff is great because its made to go on thick so that when you sand it it sands away the high spots leaving the low spot filled so you have a smooth surface even on that leather texture they imprint into the plastic bits on our cars.

First I wet sanded with 800, then 1500, then 2000, clay barred it, then painted torch red, then three layers of gloss paint, then I followed the same steps as above.

I'm learning that patience is the key to this kind of stuff, gotta take your time and try to enjoy it and it comes out better.

DA1984VETTE

I like it. You have done some serious work there and its nice when you done it yourself....

steven31371

yeah its pretty cool doing the work, good times, and it feels very satisfying when things come out well....not to mention that the cost stays low too, altogether I've probably only spent $250 bucks for all the appearance mod work, all on materials. It probably woulda cost at least three grand to get all this stuff done at a shop...so thats about $2750 that I don't have to get an eye roll from my wife over lol

but most importantly, its fun, because ya get that sense of personal satisfaction, especially when ya overcome that fear of screwing up your car by trying something you never did before on it and it turns out well

good times for sure

steven31371

I think I'm gunna try and paint the front speaker grills a glossy torch red... will be hard to do and not fill the holes and muffle the sound, but I figure if I carefully spray just enough to get good coverage it might work, if it does ot will tie in well with the red center consol.

peter pan

Nicely done on all the mods