Robbo

I have a 1968 Vert and have been back and forth about wether to sell it or try and restore it. I basically am not the type that grew up getting out in the garage on weekends working on the car so under the hood quickly becomes a mystery to me. I talked to a guy who owns a vette repair place here in DFW, TX (the reason I'm asking about Tulsa is that we're moving there in a couple of months) and he said that it would take about 30K to redo the car, but I'm assuming that means paying labor for their work. I'm thinking I could do it cheaper if I go at it myself. I think the engine and transmission basically need to be pulled out and gone through. It runs right now but has seen much better days. It spend many years just sitting in storage not being run.

However, being a complete newbie in the garage I am hesitant to do it without someone to help guide me...so I'm hoping to find someone in the Tulsa area who loves C3's and perhaps has recently restored theirs (or is in the process) so that I can bounce questions off of and call over when I get in a pickle. :cheers:

Are you out there? Help me Obi-wan.....you're my only hope! :lol:

I'd also like any recommendations for Vette mechanics in the area as I'm sure I'll have to defer to the pros on many things.

Rob


[Modified by robNdfwTX, 3:37 AM 3/30/2004]

Stoge

Man I wish I could help you. I have lived 20 minutes northeast of Tulsa for all 27 years of my life. I just don't know much of anything about restoration.

Are there good painters around here? I'm sure there are, I've never been to one though.

There used to be a place called Corvettes of Tulsa that was on I-44 over by Peoria somewhere. That place is long gone though.

Lots of machine shops around here.

You'll find a bunch of C3 owners and tons of vette owners around here. There is a local vette club called "Tulsa Vette Sette" They have a website: http://www.tulsavetteset.com/

You will love living here. Check out some of the surrounding communities too. Owasso and Broken Arrow are both booming, as is Claremore. There is a lot of cool stuff around here, especially if you like outdoors and wide open spaces. OKC is close, DFW isn't too far, St. Louis, Kansas City, heck places all over are easily reachable.

Lots of good golf around here too.

Van Steel

Talking to your local vette clubs in Tulsa will be your best bet. I'm sure they can tell you where to go to get certain things done,ie paint. Good Luck :thumbs:

mayberg

Rob, look me up when you get to town. I'd be happy to help you get pointed to some reliable assistance.

On the car below, I've pulled the exhaust, the transmission, rebuilt the suspension and brakes, and I'm going in for paint this summer. I don't know that I'd call it restoration - just keeping it maintained.

You sound like me 10 years ago - not that I'm that old. It'll come, and it'll get easier. One of the dirty little secrets about all this is that the thing had to be built on an assembly line originally, so as long as you don't take the whole thing apart at one time, it's pretty easy to work on and put it back together.

Master Ho

For paint/bodywork, contact Andy Hong at Andy's Body Shop, 10121 E 50th Place Tulsa, OK 74146-5008 (918) 663-2535

Andy is a family friend from the 60's. His shop's work is top notch and he can point you in any direction you'd like/can afford to go for mechanical work.

Let me know what happens.

Mr.Gearhead

Hi-
I do not live near you but I do have some advice on rebuilding. I started my 1970 rebuild in Feb 2002. I purchased the car for $9500 and at first is seemed like a decent Corvette. As one might guess, it needed work... a lot of work. I am not a mechanic but I am mechanically inclined... After two long years of rebuilding, I have over $10,000 invested and still going. My frame is finally completed and my body needs more work. When you rebuild a car... it literally explodes into MANY parts. It has been fun and frustrating to do this rebuild and I have more knowledge of Corvettes now. ( thanks to this great forum!)

With all this said, I must tell you a full frame off rebuild is not for the casually wrench turner. It takes a lot of time and even more money. I would not be inclined to take on a project like this again. I will be happy to drive it when it is completed and I will even take great pride in that I REBUILT the car. I must honestly say.... it is CHEAPER to buy a Corvette that is already finished as I can tell you the money you spend rebuilding usually is more than the car is worth. Hind sight I would have bought a finished Covette and would have enjoyed driving it for the past two years!

Jim Stuempfle at County Corvettes http://www.countycorvette.com/corvettes/about.htm once told me... " In most cases, a full frame off rebuild will cost a lot more than the car is worth. You rebuild because you want to do it...!"

Just want to give my $.02 seeing how I am in the middle of this task! Hope this helps.

disclaimer: I am not saying a rebuild is not worth the time and effort. I have seen rebuilds take as little as 6 months. It is a big task that should not be taken lightly.... I think I am still gonna get flamed for this one... hee hee :leaving:
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/bendera/


[Modified by Mr.Gearhead, 12:06 PM 3/30/2004]

Stewart's74

I know what you mean.
When I trailered my 74 home it was a basket case.
I had never worked on cars before.
I did a ton of reading/research, spoke to Vette enthusiasts and joined the forum.
I ended up doing a complete resto by myself. It took almost 3 years.
The car looks brand new now, not to mention, performs better than new :yesnod:
You can tackle this job.

Robbo

Thanks for all the input and info guys. Even yours Gearhead. I wanted to hear both sides so thanks for that.

Mayberg, I WILL look you up once I get there. I imagine I won't do a thing on the vette until we get done moving and settled.

On a plus note my wife is very supportive and said if I decide to go through with this I can get a lift. Looking at the backyard buddy http://www.backyardbuddy.com but will have to measure the roof in the garage first to see if we can fit our second car under it.

We'll see....nothing is going to happen until at least late June-early July.

Thanks again! :cheers: :seeya

Rob