My Next Project Car

[chazde3]

So as some of you may know, my dad passed away on new years day. With that happening, I inherited his 1968 Corvette Stingray. It served as his racecar for 25+years. We have photos of him racing it dating back to at least 1973, when he was just 22 years old. It almost seems fitting that I am getting it at 24 years old to continue the tradition. Unfortunately he had health problems for the past 10 years or so and he parked the car one day and never touched it again. With that I have a pretty in depth project ahead of me. My mom and I have the undertaking of cleaning out some of his junk/project cars to clear up the yard this spring. When that happens I will take the opportunity to get this project started by getting some new tires on the rims and getting it moved into one of the stalls of my dad's, now mine, garage. I was never really into cars until recently and the '68 will be the first project I ever get to really do. I don't know a whole lot about it at the moment other than the fact that it has a 454 cu in big block in it that I will be swapping out for a smaller engine that is more street driving appropriate. I will keep this thread up to date as the project starts rolling along.

Here's a few pictures as it sits right now.

[Bosspackfan4]

Re: My Next Project Car

Sorry to hear about your dad...I'm sure he'll be proud of whatever you end up doing to this thing

[chazde3]

Re: My Next Project Car

Thank you. It's been a rough couple of months but once spring rolls around we are gonna start getting my parents house back in order. With his health issues the little projects around the house never got finished so we are going to use some of the money from selling off his projects to improve the house and make it a better place for my mom, my sister and my nephew. Working on the corvette will be my reward. The other little project will be getting my dad's 1975 corvette convertible back up and running for my sister but that is just a few minor things that need to be done. Lucky for us he collected corvettes and corvette parts for the better part of 40 years so we should have everything we will need to get them in tip top shape.

Plans for the '68 are to keep the paint job and pin striping the same as he had them. He was a Jr and I'm the 3rd so the moniker "Charlie's Toy" will remain the same but it will get a minor redesign to look a little more my taste. The lettering has always been that holographic lettering that was popular in the 80's and isn't quite my style. It will probably end up as color matched to the red stripe.

[JJT*90]

Re: My Next Project Car

Sorry about your dad. That is a nice car though. I'd leave the 454 in it though. Big blocks are fun on the street.

[chazde3]

Re: My Next Project Car

Well having to put 104 octane in it isn't gonna help my wallet. Not that I plan on driving the crap out of it though. We will see what I end up doing down the road. The car has been out in the elements for the last few years so if we can get the 454 running it just might stay in the engine bay. ;D I just know my lead foot would cost me a fortune in gas lol.

[JJT*90]

Re: My Next Project Car

You can always throw a set of piston in it, drop the compression ratio and run 93. Have you looked for rust underneath it?

[chazde3]

Re: My Next Project Car

That's true. Won't get a chance to look for rust underneath until we go to put new tires on it. If the frame is too bad there is a chance we have a spare frame for it. I know there are 3 c3 corvette frames in the lower level of the garage so hopefully one would be for a '68.

[SFLAGTP]

Re: My Next Project Car

Sorry to hear about your loss.. Have fun with the old Stingray!

[grfnkl]

Re: My Next Project Car

It sucks that you lost your father but you inherited a really nice ride(s). Corvettes are fun but can be a pain to work on and expensive! Parts as abundant as they maybe some are hard to come by! I worked on my aunts 84 vette for about 5 years on and off investing close to 1500 bucks and still never got it running. The guy she sold it too an avid collector of corvettes put close to 5k in it just to get it running and street ready. He claims he should have parted it out for other vette projects. I'm not trying to put done your hopes or project... I say go for it but just wanted to forewarn that it can get expensive quick especially if they sit for awhile. Good luck and can't wait to see your progress!

[Altered6]

Re: My Next Project Car

Very sorry about your Dad.

That's a great start for a project vehicle. Grfnkl is right, luckily it sounds like your Corvette comes with an extensive collection of spare parts. If so, this could save you some grief.

Is the '68 4 speed or auto?

Looking forward to see how it progresses.

[chazde3]

Re: My Next Project Car

It sucks that you lost your father but you inherited a really nice ride(s). Corvettes are fun but can be a pain to work on and expensive! Parts as abundant as they maybe some are hard to come by! I worked on my aunts 84 vette for about 5 years on and off investing close to 1500 bucks and still never got it running. The guy she sold it too an avid collector of corvettes put close to 5k in it just to get it running and street ready. He claims he should have parted it out for other vette projects. I'm not trying to put done your hopes or project... I say go for it but just wanted to forewarn that it can get expensive quick especially if they sit for awhile. Good luck and can't wait to see your progress!

Oh yeah, I know these types of projects could get expensive quick. Luckily there is a 4000sq ft garage packed full of corvette parts. They were my dad's passion for 40 years. At one time he claimed that there were 3 complete corvettes(true story) and enough parts to build 5 more which is believable. He exclusively collected c3 corvettes so that's what all the parts are to. Hopefully that should cut the project cost down significantly.

Oh and it should be the 4 speed manual but again I haven't gotten a good look at it and he stopped racing when I was young.

[stratman]

Re: My Next Project Car

I wouldn't change a thing on your dad's Corvette! Just clean it up, get it running, and make it safe (brakes, suspension, etc,).

You have a rolling time capsule there, my friend- that is the way hot Corvettes rolled in the mid to late 70's... side pipes, monster flares, Mickey Thompson L60-15 tires, and American Racing Vector wheels. Probably all the Corvettes modified "back in the day", like your dad's, have been returned to stock or modified to today's look. I think you have one rare vette and, as a tribute to your dad and the era in which he ran his vette, I would run it the way it is- patina and all!



BTW, you should join a Corvette forum and see what they have to say about your "new" vette.

[chazde3]

Re: My Next Project Car

Oh yeah its not going back to stock. I love the monster flares and the wide racing tires. The paint unfortunately is in really bad shape. It only looks nice and glossy because it was misting out when I took the pictures. It's badly sun faded and if you look at the back half you can see where there are sections of paint that have just peeled off. Its going to need a paint job and I actually expect that to be the most expensive thing about the project lol. The paint job will match how she looks right now though worth just a minor change to the lettering of "Charlie's Toy". I think I will have it color matched to the red stripe or have just the outline to the letters done and have the main body of the letters be black.

All in all its gonna remain looking how my dad had her. I think the piston swap to some with lower compression rates will allow me to take it on the occasional cruise without blowing my bank account on gas lol. I've got some pretty find memories of watching him at the race track with this car so it's definitely retaining its look.

[stratman]

Re: My Next Project Car

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[RedBullADDICT]

Re: My Next Project Car

them back tires are moonsters lol. sick ride.

i lost my dad december 22, 2012. three days before christmas, to a snowmobile accident. i feel your pain man. my sincerest condolences go out to u and ur family.