Flyinglow

I am doing a body on restoration of a 79. I just finished the engine rebuild.
I would like some advice on how to go about detailing the engine compartment. The walls of the compartment look really bad,and I think they have been painted before. Is painting the compartment a good option to make it look like new? Also is there a good book on body on restorations?

vette69

Get the "CORVETTE Restoration Guide 1968 - 1982". It is a great resource for telling what colors things should be and numbers and such.

Good Luck!!!

customvettes

Depending on how bad it is and how much work you want to put into it you should scrape all areas with a putty knife to clear all the years of gunk built up. The frame could then have been sanded down and then primed and painted. Be careful on the fiberglass parts with the scraper because you could damage them. Semi-fine sandpaper also works well. Patience is your best tool. To make it look right do it in stages over time so you don't rush it. Find a resoration book for color matching.

carl a

i dont feel you can get the same job doing a body on vs a body off unless the car is real clean to start with---we ripped my car apart(also spent$20.000)detaled engine compartment-once we lifted itpoopie CANNED THE FRAME- NEW FRAME POR-15'D--SENT OUT TO Z BART AND DID THE INSIDE FRAME RAILS-- TOTAL NEW ROLLIN CHASSIS-CALIPERS ROTORS FRT SPRINGS REAR MONO------STAINLESS GAS &BRAKE LINES-STAINLESS PARKING BRAKES-CABLES ECT--PAINTED ALL FIBERGLASS UNDERNEATH-GAS TANK YOU NAME IT ITS NEW----CAN EAT OFF OF IT 994 POINTS OUTTA 1000 AT VETT FEST 2-TIMES 1ST PLACE GOING FOR 3RD TIME IN MARCH

Ybnormal

I did mine last summer with the engine in. There are a few pictures on my home page. www.angelfire.com/al/swhite7/engine.html

YBNormal...drive a vette

Big Fish

I agree that you can clean up the engine compartment and get it looking great, especially with the engine out, but there are many areas underneath and in back you just can't get to without a frame off. I my case I wanted to do the job only once, and that's what I did. One year later I'm still at it, but only about $12,000 total in it so far. There are pictures on my web site of the whole process to date. I believe it is difficult at best to evaluate the frame for rustout with the body on.
http://home.earthlink.net/~steveriebe/index.html

I guess it really gets down to how much do you want to spend, and what do you expect to have when you are finished.
:thumbs: