Driveabeater C3, never be afraid to settle.

Body mount bolt #4R

Signs of life!

Fiber optics too!

Bolted the hood to the car ... to keep it out of the way, and found this:

I also found the hood support completely frozen. But a slathering of 3n1 oil and all is now good. I'll fix up the mount tomorrow.

By the way 3in1 oil is better than wd-40.

There.

I said it.

Levitation conversion is complete.

The 55 year old high beam t3s are still kicking....

Tag light!

nice!
 

I think I found out (sort of) why the driver's door mirror was mounted ahead of the OE spot (the backer was still there lol), and why the light yellow color on the spot paint.

The color appears to be a '68 Corvette color. 'Safari Yellow".

(Picture from FB marketplace of an original paint '68 for sale.)

Annnnd now.. look where the mirror is mounted.

So these errors on my car would have been correct for a '68... but why on earth would they end up on.... oh never mind.

I know.

It was courtesey of the people who commonly do things to cars that make the cars afforable to me.

Thanks guys!

More clues...

From another forum:

My '68 is Safari yellow code 984.
Be careful if you get paint code 984.
Make sure its the right year/ color.
1969 code 984 was Daytona yellow.

There ya go!

Here you can see some of the things that make the 350hp L46 cool.

'Pink' rods (see paint daubs) selected from production forged rods for the highest tolerances, magnafluxed, shotpeend and balanced. Improved bolts.
Forged 10cc domed pistons. 
 

These rods still held the March 1969 rod bearings.

Here you can see there is virtually no wear on the piston skirts. I'm still cleaning them so I haven't measured anything yet. 
 

Notice too the top ring. This car sat idle for a long time..... and it's been apart for at least a decade. I think maybe longer. Still trying to find past owners.

Let's see what we can do with the two oem wheels.

Evap o Rust is sorta new to me over the past few years... but in a short time I've seen it do some cool stuff. 
 

Soak a paper towel and wipe a wheel down.

Coat the rest of the wheel with soaked paper towels...

Cover with a garbage bag to slow down evaporation, and fill the wheel with water to be sure that the paper towels are in constant contact with no air gap.

Let it cook!

The product says 12 hours of contact time... 

This is wed night, I'll check back Friday.

I'm really impressed with what Evaporust has done for rusty car parts.  I like that approach you took with the wheels.  

You discovered a bit of C3 minutiae.  Early production '68 (fall 1967) had the mirror far forward.  Then they moved them back where they remained for the rest of the run.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-tech-performance/1921007-68-mirror-position-why-the-difference.html

In reply to A 401 CJ :

Right.

But why move it on my '69? (they ALMOST got it in the 68 location, actually just short of it!)

They had to bondo over the factory mount too..??

And then spot paint a 69 with a 68 color?

When I got home today it looked like the evap o rust might be drying out.

The edges were turning yellow and sticking to the tires. You can see where the rust was being pulled into the paper towels.

So, after application 1 I give you before:

And after:

Before 

After

Im letting the rinse water evaporate, and I'll reapply this evening.

Maybe I should have named it the rat mobile.

Sometimes you just have to be creative.

This car must have had an interesting life.

The engine REALLY looks good, for the most part.

But a LOOOONNNGGGG time ago, about half of the rings stuck. 

It looks like from sitting for a LOOONNNGGG time.

Then someone took it apart a LOOONNNGGGG time ago.

I expect the rings set before I had a driver's license and that the engine was in boxes before Y2K.

(Hey kids.. google "Y2K" it was a hillarious time.)

I know you saw this coming....

Rolling boil for about 10 minutes...
 

And presto-pop-o The top ring is free enough to manipulate.

The second ring has opened slightly.

And, yes, everyone is at home, I am supervised, and have permission.

This is my current favorite thread on GRM. Including my own. 

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

This is my current favorite thread on GRM. Including my own. 

Yes.
 

This thread and the one where the dude is slowly fixing up the rusty old Volvo. I read every word of each. 

Every time I sweep up.. I sing a little song..

A little less Corvette,

Oh baby you're waaay to trashed,

A little less Corvette,

You need some love so that you will laaast....

So that's in your head now...

You are welcome.

I, like so many others here, love this thread.

Despite my Old Man's propensity to call them "Plastic Pigs", and my association between the term and C3s, I have come to love all Corvettes, and the Chrome Bumper C3s are indeed sweet. Honestly though, I'd love this build regardless of what car received this kind of love. 

I have come to think of older cars in terms of guitars. Willie Nelson's Trigger is arguably more valuable because, somehow, it keeps going. SRV's guitars, were also beat, but wore their scars with pride. There is just something about an old soldier carrying on, not unlike Iggy Pop, or Keith Richards, that makes us all appreciate life a bit more. Well Done.

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:

I, like so many others here, love this thread.

Despite my Old Man's propensity to call them "Plastic Pigs", and my association between the term and C3s, I have come to love all Corvettes, and the Chrome Bumper C3s are indeed sweet. Honestly though, I'd love this build regardless of what car received this kind of love. 

I have come to think of older cars in terms of guitars. Willie Nelson's Trigger is arguably more valuable because, somehow, it keeps going. SRV's guitars, were also beat, but wore their scars with pride. There is just something about an old soldier carrying on, not unlike Iggy Pop, or Keith Richards, that makes us all appreciate life a bit more. Well Done.

To me, It is definitely all about the identity of the car concept.

The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned from Crete had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their places, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.

— Plutarch, Life of Theseus 23.1

You could say, I'm trying to save as many timbers as possible.

How much of "the thing" can you replace and have it still be "the thing"?

Again and again, I find OEM parts that with a nudge a twist and a drop of oil, spring back to life. This blower motor is a good example. A little bath in simple green with a toothbrush and it looks mint. See the date code...Im guessing that the 11 week of 1969. 

This is the heater core. Six easy to access nuts hold it in. It is service from the engine bay, with plenty of room.

I ran a hose through it and it flowed great! I'll pressure test it and if it passes, back it goes. 

There is a drain hole on the outside case to indicate failure, and I'll just keep a 3/4 to 5/8  adapter in the travel kit.

How do you post videos?

I freed up the wiper door mechanism, and it all works again with the original vacuum servo.

I have videos.