houston corvette and chevy show houston texas

THE
TALEPIPE
PUBLICATION OF THE TEXAS CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL CORVETTE RESTORER’S SOCIETY
1st QUARTER
MARCH 2008 ISSUE
HOUSTON CORVETTE AND CHEVY SHOW
HOUSTON TEXAS
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
By Charlie Cadenhead ⎯ President, Texas Chapter, NCRS
Thank you to our members who entered their Corvette in the Chapter Flight Judging Meet held at
the Corvette/Chevy Expo in February. Thanks also to those of you who judged and tabulated.
In addition to Flight Judging and Sportsman class awards, our members fared quite well in the
Expo Show & Shine judging. We had quite a bit of interest shown in our cars by show attendees
and several folks signed up as Texas Chapter members.
I would like to welcome Mike Munoz to the position of Houston Area Coordinator. Mike stopped
by our table at the Chapter Meet and expressed an interest in taking on the job. Thanks Mike,
looking forward to working with you. We now have the three Area Coordinator positions filled. If
you have an idea for a Tech Session or other Area event, please get in touch with your
respective Area Coordinator.
Texas Chapter Officers
President
Charlie Cadenhead
5303 Mountain Grove Ct.
Spring, TX 77379-5505
(281) 379-3693
[email protected]
Vice President
Robert Cook
8047 Moss Meadow Drive
Dallas, TX 75231
(214) 349-6232
[email protected]
Vice President-External Affairs
Tim Ehlers
12640 Kluge Rd
Cypress, Tx 77429
[email protected]
Secretary
Bill Usher
I attended the Florida Chapter’s Winter Regional in Kissimmee that was as usual, a big affair with
3424 Bayshore Dr.
many vendors in attendance, a large swap meet and a sizeable car corral. Several Texas
Bacliff, TX 77518
Chapter members attended.
(713) 859-0312
[email protected]
If you have not yet done so, I encourage you to sign up for the Texas leg of the National Road
Tour to St. Charles in July. The Texas Tour will be led by Bob and Sheri Demmel and will be a
Treasurer
memorable experience. If you have not participated in one of the National Tours, this may be
Sherrye Coleman
time to get on board.
2402-C Taylor Ln
Pearland, TX 77581
I received a phone call today from Mark Lincoln, National VP who has the responsibility for
(281) 992-5263
coordinating the selection process for Regionals. Our Chapter submitted a bid for a Regional in
[email protected]
Year 2010 to be held in Waco. Mark’s phone call was to let me know that the Texas Chapter
Judging Chairman
was not among the six Chapters who were awarded events at the Board of Directors’ meeting
Bob Demmel
held in St. Charles, MO on 29 March. Bummer! Eight Chapters submitted bids for the six
3225 Mason Drive
available Year 2010 slots. Year 2010 Regionals will be Kissimmee in January, Gettysburg, PA in
Plano, TX 75025
April, Iowa in May, Bend, OR in August, Cincinnati in September and Albuquerque in October.
(972) 377-2096
[email protected]
The Cincinnati Regional will be held in conjunction with Bob McDorman’s annual Corvette and
Events
Director
Classic Chevy Show in Canal Wincheser, OH and the Albuquerque Regional will coincide with
Ken Robb
the opening weekend of the International Balloon Fiesta. Texas Chapter was previously
1013 Forest Park Dr.
awarded Regionals for Years 2008 and 2009 so looks like we will have a bye in 2010 but will bid
Weatherford, TX 7087
for a 2011 Regional next year.
(817) 596-72259
[email protected]
By the time this article is published, we will have had the opportunity to tour Big Bend National
Park and surrounding area on the Texas Chapter Road Tour led by John Lejsal. Look for an
Membership Director
article on the event in a future issue of The Talepipe.
Bill King
Stay tuned for further news!
2805 Royal Drive
Kilgore, TX 75662
Please Confirm Your E-mail by Sending an E-Mail to:
(903)
983-2712
[email protected] & [email protected]
[email protected]
I hope that by now you have seen the new format for the Technical Discussion Board on the
National website. We have moved to modern software with added functionality that will allow
new features to be added to the website to better serve our members. Thank you to the team
that worked on the conversion and installation as well as working on the Help Desk as the
product rolled out, one of whom is Texas Chapter member Gary Chesnut.
DFW Area Coordinator
Houston Area Coordinator
Ken Smith
PO Box 670296
Dallas, TX 75367-0296
(972)490-8281-H
[email protected]
Mike Munoz
3543 Thunderbird St.
Missouri City, TX 77459
Cell- 713-205-3340
[email protected]
Austin-San Antonio Area Coordinator
Rob McPherson
phone - 512-554-1261
[email protected]
Membership in the NCRS is open to persons interested in the restoration, preservation, history and enjoyment
of Corvettes produced by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Corporation. NCRS is not affiliated
with Chevrolet or General Motors. NCRS registered marks used in "The Talepipe" are NCRS Founders
Award®, NCRS Master Judge Award®, NCRS Performance Verification Award®, NCRS Flight
Award®, and NCRS Sportsman Award® are registered with the United States Department of
Commerce and Trademark Office. The NCRS American Heritage AwardSM application is pending.
Membership in the Texas Chapter of the NCRS is open to all members of the NCRS National Organization.
Dues of the Texas Chapter are $20 per year, payable to the Membership Chairman of the Texas Chapter NCRS
Newsletter Editor
Debbi Wrobliske
20139 Glen Breeze Court
Kingwood, TX 77346
(713)562-2884
[email protected]
Webmaster
Mike Robb
submit information to:
Gary Chesnut
(817) 579-5242
[email protected]
event for 2008 and the need to develop a Tech Session
event.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
Bill Usher, Secretary
th
MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 17 , 2008
MEETING OF THE TEXAS CHAPTER,
NATIONAL CORVETTE RESTORER’S SOCIETY
TIME & PLACE:
The National Corvette Restorer’s Society, Texas Chapter
held a meeting in the George R. Brown Convention
Center on Sunday , February 17th, 2008, concurrent
with the Houston Chevy/Corvette Expo in Houston,
Texas.
BACKGROUND:
The principal purpose for the meeting was to review
current NCRS topics with Chapter members attending
this specific event. For 2008 this event was designated as
an official “Chapter Judging Event” to be held within the
Expo Show itself. This has been done in many previous
years. The NCRS “corral area” had 12 cars arrayed
along the southern side of the exhibit hall, where it has
been in the past. Within the Expo event, the NCRS area
was the best collection of vintage stock Corvettes. The
balance of the show featured a mix of Houston area
Corvette driving club entries which mostly consisted of
late models in varying degrees of customization along
with vendor displays.
CALL TO ORDER
At 1:05PM President Charlie Cadenhead called the
meeting to order.
Bill Usher, Secretary, took the minutes of the meeting.
MEETING SUMMARY
Charlie Cadenhead opened by thanking the car owners
and judges for their time and efforts. In particular,
Charlie thanked the Dallas/Ft.Worth members who made
the trip down to assist in judging duties. This type of
support was much appreciated. He discussed the various
methods of gaining judging experience including
participating as an Observor Judge and by attending the
periodic Judges Retreats. He also mentioned some good
success in distribution of new member applications
(Chapter level) at the event. As usual there are a number
of national NCRS members who are not members of the
local Texas Chapter.
He reviewed upcoming Corvette oriented events such as
the Texas Chapter Road tour to the Big Bend Country,
the annual Keels and Wheels Concours at Lakewood
Yacht Club, the desire to have a Chapter judging school
THE
He called for ideas with respect to the former.
There was some discussion concerning potential
Saturday breakfast gatherings in the Houston area.
Next, Charlie presented the Chapter NCRS awards for
the event which are displayed in this publication.
A large number of NCRS entrants also received car
awards on behalf of the Chevy/Corvette Expo judging.
In summary, for Flight judging there were 8 cars
registered with 1 drop out; Sportsman class with 4 cars
participating; and 1 Special Display car. The roster of
members performing judge duty numbered 25.
JUDGING CORNER
By Bob Demmel
As most of you know we recently had a chapter meet in
Houston. During that meet we were fortunate to have
some very senior judges and some newly minted
graduates of the 2008 NCRS Judges’ Retreat. As is
usually the case after a meet, I review the judging sheets
before sending them on to the owners. I do this for
several reasons. I usually check the math of the
tabulators of which I find very few errors. I also check to
see that we are giving the owners the kind of information
they need to make intelligent decisions about their cars.
You can imagine my surprise when I saw a number of
items that gave me pause to think about how the
comments would help the owner. One of the comments I
saw on a number of the line items was NTP with no
further explanation. I realize that NTP means Not
Typical Production, but that description does not tell the
owner what typical production is. It is incumbent on the
judges to give the owner as much information as possible
and this means explaining how a part differs from the
original. How does the fit, finish or configuration differ
from what General Motors installed in St Louis or
Bowling Green. When we don’t give the owner this
information, we hinder his or her ability to find the
correct part. As judges we should always remember it is
better to give more information than less information. I
hope that in the future we’ll do a better job of explaining
how a part differs from the original.
We are already starting to receive inquiries about the
Lone Star Regional III in Waco. The dates are 23 to 25
October 2008 and the registration form is in the latest
Driveline. Last year we had over 90 Corvettes entered in
the show and it was a roaring success. We look forward
to seeing you there this year.
TALEPIPE
3
HOUSTON CORVETTE AND CHEVY SHOW
4
THE
TALEPIPE
John Waggoner and Rob Musquieter, the
Administrators, Programmers have done an outstanding
job with this large task. The new TDB has an internal
photo archive. No more having to link to another view
site to post photos and documents.
Corvette Chevy Show Awards
Name
City/State
Year
Sportsman
Bobby Irwin Houston, TX 1962
Millard Brogan Houston, TX 1963
Kent Sullivan Pearland, TX 1965
arla Ehlers
Cypress, TX 1966
Flight Cars
JB Durham
Houston, TX 1957
Mark Perkins Pearland, TX 1964
Larry Bone
Houston, TX 1964
Bryan Talley Houston, TX 1964
Jim MacRae
Friendswood, TX
Flight
Lou Sanchez Katy, TX
1967
Paul Diamanti Houston, TX 1970
Award
The new TDB access is NCRS members only. Archives
from the old board were imported. Rob developed a
script to search and import the linked photos.
Top Flight
Second Flight
Top Flight
Top Flight
1965 Second
Top Flight
Top Flight
There are lots of other nice features on the new TDB
such as text enhancements, button selection of year post
is about and utilization of the Member’s name.
To register for the new TDB you will need your NCRS
(from you Talepipe envelope mailing label) and go to:
http://www.ncrs.org/forums/register/initiate.php to
complete the process.
March 28-29 is the NCRS Board meeting in St. Louis.
The Convention this year is in St. Charles, Mo. July 2024th.
Membership Chairman Report
By Bill King
We are looking forward to a great 2008! At the Houston
Chapter Meet in February, we signed up five new
members. With our upcoming events, we should
increase our membership even more.
As of today, we have 271 members, with seven new
members:
Larry Bone of Houston; Dale Carlson of
Montgomery; Mark Dub of
Dickerson; Jim Duke of Houston; Paul
Gilbert of Austin; Stephen Lebowitz of
Bellaire; Brian Talley of Houston
WELCOME new members and those returning. We are
glad to add these to our Texas Chapter. Please feel free
to give my name and address to anyone interested in
becoming a part of the Texas Chapter.
. With our upcoming events and membership drives we
should have several new members by the end of the year.
We have 271 members, with 7 new members.
Region VII Director’s Report
By Gary Chesnut
March 1st the new NCRS Technical Discussion Board
(TDB) was launched. The new TDB, approved by the
NCRS Board of Directors at the Board meeting in
Boston last summer is a vast improvement over the old
board. 689 Members were converted to the new TDB on
the March 1st and 2nd weekend.
Workshop Lighting
By Gary Chesnut
Next step after putting up the ¼ in. plywood on the
ceiling of my new shop was installing the lights.
Wanted to have plenty of light, as I dislike working in
the dark. Which led to research on lighting design.
Questions like; how many lights, how far apart, where to
locate, coverage area, etc.
Did lots of Internet searching. Several websites such as
GE’s had lighting industry standards and planning
information that were beneficial. Summary of the
recommendations: general shop lighting – 70 foot
candles, specific & detail tasks - 100 to 150 foot candles.
Light bulb manufacturers provided bulb lumens rating,
light loss and efficiency factors, which are important in
calculating the amount of light required. In summary,
my 2,000 sq. ft. shop required 24 – 8 foot 2 bulb fixtures
to provide 70 foot candles of lighting. I’ve created a
spreadsheet to do the calculations, if you’d like a copy
send me an e-mail [email protected]
Next step – light fixture layout. Designed the light
layout for 4 ft. spacing between lights and 6 ft. between
rows using the lighting industry standards. Lights were
laid out in four rows of six lights. Each row of lights are
on their own circuit breaker and switch. The electrical
planning and wiring rough in should be completed prior
to installing the wall and ceiling coverings. Use spot
lighting for workbench and other detail work areas as
required.
TALEPIPE
THE
5
Corvette Barn Find
•
Chapter 4 – Body Restoration and Paint
•
This is the fourth chapter of the story of the
restoration of a 1966 Corvette rescued from the
original owner’s field in central Indiana. It had been
sitting outdoors for about 10 years at the time of the
rescue. For a copy of Chapter 1 - A Corvette in Need
of Rescue!, Chapter 2 – Body Lift and Disassembling
the Chassis, or Chapter 3 – Reassembling the Chassis
and Firing the Engine contact Tim and Carla Ehlers at
[email protected].
One of the attractive things about this particular car
was the condition of the body. The car had never
been hit and only had very minor nose damage.
Except for the nose repair, the paint (at least what was
left of it!) was original. All the trim was present but
the emblems and bumpers would either need
replacement or a lot of work. The paint in the valleys
on the upper surfaces where snow and ice
accumulated had oxidized away and bare fiberglass
was showing. The sides and lower surfaces were in
remarkably good condition.
Tim really wanted to keep an original sample of the
laguna blue metallic paint. Unfortunately, there are
no small painted pieces that could simply be saved.
On the rear valance panel behind the license plate was
an unfaded area. He cut out a 3 by 6 inch section and
then re-glassed the hole. The sample would be
necessary later when mixing and matching the new
paint.
It was very easy to see the lack of paint coverage
resulting from the typical assembly line painting
procedures used back in 1966. Tom Ames describes
the process thoroughly in his Corvette Paint Seminars
and this car accurately reflected his observations. Tim
took many pictures to document the many areas where
red oxide primer showed through or had no coverage
at all.
Every Corvette restorer needs to make difficult
choices when it comes to paint, especially those
paying a shop for a quality job. Assuming the car will
be NCRS judged, decisions need to be made
concerning:
6
THE
•
•
•
What type of paint will be used, lacquer or
base coat / clear coat?
Will you improve the typical component fit
and panel waviness?
Will you use either gel coat or epoxy based
primers?
Will you improve the typical lack of paint
coverage in difficult to reach places?
Will you improve the typical orange peel and
low distinctness of image?
Since our car will be NCRS judged and our
restoration goals are in line with the NCRS, we chose
to use lacquer and to attempt to duplicate most of the
typical factory characteristics. We wanted the car to
look like it came off the line on one of their really
good days!
Our plan was to work on
the doors, hood, and deck
lid first and get those pieces
in primer. Then, perform
the repairs on the body
shell, strip the old paint,
and get the body in primer.
Once all the pieces were in primer, assemble the body,
shoot the gray primer, and finish with the laguna blue
topcoats. The factory, of course, assembled the body
first prior to the initial coat of primer. We deviated
slightly in favor of spreading out the body restoration
and protecting the components with primer.
Stripping the doors, hood, and deck lid began in
November of 2004.
Following a lot of
Discussion
Board
research,
Tim
decided to use a
chemical stripper as
he had in the past.
He felt the chemical
process would work
well on original
lacquer paint and with very careful cleaning the future
topcoats would be safe. Some resin repair was
necessary on the top surfaces since there was
fiberglass damage due to exposure.
TALEPIPE
By February of 2005, these components had all been sprayed with a coat of red oxide
epoxy primer followed by 2 coats of red oxide and 2 coats of light gray sandable primer.
The doors, hood, and deck lid were set aside for a while to begin work on the body. We
stripped the old paint in March and by May were ready to tackle what little repair was
necessary on the body.
Behind the seats is a sheet metal component of the
birdcage called a luggage stop. Its primary
purpose is to provide rigidity to the birdcage and
properly separate the door jambs. The luggage stop was bent and weak and allowed the
rear fenders to close the gap therefore pinching the deck lid. It was tricky to replace but
the process went smoothly. The only fiberglass work was to properly repair the nose
and fix one fender lip. Like the deck lid and hood, some resin work was needed to
repair fiberglass damage on the upper surfaces.
With the body work complete, it felt good to spray on the first coat of red oxide primer.
Tim followed the same process using epoxy primer first followed by 2 coats of red oxide
and 2 coats of light gray sandable primer. Tim’s goal was to get all the fiberglass protected
with primer prior to his heart surgery in June of 2005. After a couple months, he was back
in the shop.
The next step was to assemble the doors, hood, deck lid, and headlight buckets to the body
for the remainder of the paint process. Adjusting doors and lids is a very tedious trial and
error process that definitely requires two people.
Tim considered himself lucky to be able to buy PPG lacquer locally in Houston. He
stumbled across a half Carquest Auto Parts and half auto paint & supply store one day on
the way home. Tim expected to mix up Laguna Blue metallic but the paint code crossed to
a color called Balboa Blue Poly in the PPG database. At over $120 a gallon, Tim hoped
the database was right! He sprayed a test panel and the shade was pretty close. Thank
goodness for saving the sample of original paint. The shop adjusted the shade and the next
test panel was perfect.
Laguna blue is a very unique color and only available in 1966. The color behaves like a pearl even though Chevrolet didn’t
offer that in 1966. Depending on the light or angle of the sun, the color changes from green to burgundy to blue to black.
Carla often remarks “I thought you painted me a BLUE car!”. Tim Gilmore previously owned a laguna blue car and once
said that people either like or dislike the color. He liked it and so do we.
Due to the heat and humidity in Houston and the open air garage Tim was painting in,
he had to wait for good painting days…early in the morning, low humidity, 75 degrees,
and still air. The right day finally arrived in November of 2005. Tim took a vacation
day and planned to spray 4 coats, lightly sand out bugs and dust, and then spray on
another 4 coats. Instead, the paint sprayed on so well, he applied all 8 coats, one after
the next.
Prior to spraying the final two coats, it was recommended that clear be added to the
paint mixture to prevent buffing into the metal flake. Later on, after the car was
judged, Tim learned that this practice masks a shade of green normally visible resulting
in an appropriate deduction. The same occurs with shades of blue, green, and
burgundy metallic. Other restorers may want to be aware of this.
After 8 coats of paint, the top surface of the lacquer was somewhat rough and not shiny
at all. Tim’s goal was a paint surface typical of what was produced on a good day in
1966, not a mirror smooth show quality job.
Next time: Seats and interior!
THE
TALEPIPE
7
Board of Directors Meeting Summary
By Gary Chesnut Region VII
Representative
IT Policy:
The board agreed to the following proposals and
policies:
•
This is a summary of the NCRS Board meeting held in
St.Charles, Mo on March 28th.
Elections/Appointments: Jeff Cook as Financial
Officer/Business Manager, Cece Nelson as Secretary,
Roy Sinor as National Judging Chairman, Gary
Mortimer as Merchandising and Membership Manager,
John Pirkle as National Corvette Museum
Representative, Eric Mortimer Driveline Editor, Vinnie
Peters Restorer Editor and Carlton Colclough as Public
Relations Coordinator. Mark Lincoln was reappointed
as Vice President and National Activites Chairman by
President Cimilluca. Re-appointments to the
Publications Committee Dick Whittington Chairman,
Vito Cimilluca, Mark Lincoln, and Jeff Cook.
The new Technical Discussion Board went on-line
March 1, 2008 and presently there are over 1650
members signed on.
Michigan Chapter was award the 2011 National
Convention to be held at the Rock Financial
Showplace in Novi, Michigan with Howard Hoover as
the Convention Chairman/
Wendell Strode, Executive Director of the National
Corvette Museum addressed the board with details of
the museums expansion. Wendell stated the NCM
was “committed to retain an NCRS presence” at the
museum however, he was unable to commit to any
details. He also stated the principle reason for the new
addition is to allow for the library and archive to be
situated in the expansion project of the museum. It
was noted that only 10% of the new space will be
utilized as the library and archive section of the
expansion.
The board approved the purchase of new computer
equipment for our Cincinnati membership and
merchandise office.
Six regionals were approved for 2010: Kissimmee, Fl
January 20-23; Gettysburg, PA April 29-May 1; Des
Moines, Iowa May 20-22; Bend, Oregon Aug 19-21;
Canal Winchester, OH Sept 9-11; Albuquerque, NM
Sept 30- Oct 2.
•
•
•
•
The board revised bylaw 15.1
ARTICLE XV – CHAPTERS
15.1 A group of 25 or more NCRS Members can
apply for recognition and charter as a Chapter of
NCRS. At least 25 of these members must reside in
the same general geographic area as the proposed
new Chapter.* Chapter requests shall be made on the
Chapter Application Form obtainable from the Regional
Representative. A Chapter will be granted a Chapter
Charter only after a one year probationary period and
after meeting and demonstrating observance of the
Chapter Manual. Chapter Charters are for one year
periods and will be renewed on an annual basis
providing the
Chapter has observed the provisions of the Chapter
Manual.
*The chapter manual will be changed accordingly
The board voted to grant full chapter status to the
Dutch Chapter.
NCRS Foundation
The board agreed to develop a web page for the
Foundation at www.ncrs.org . The web page will
include the mission statement, scholarship fund
information and will also have information on
opportunities to donate.
The next board meeting will be held on July 25th in St.
Charles, Mo. following the Convention.
The board agreed to a proposal for a new printing
process of the Restorer Magazine. The board also
agreed to change the publication date of the second
issue of the year from May to March.
8
THE
Agreed to the Technical Discussion abuse
policy
Agreed to a 31 day “read only” trial period for
non-members on the TDB
Agreed to add a web page on the web-site with
Driveline advertisers links
NCRS on-line store update
Test trial of the Driveline Magazine on-line
TALEPIPE
THE PHOENIX (PART 3)
Carl S. Droste
Part 2 of this article ended with a restored frame and a restored
engine installed. I was also able to operate the engine and verify
the functionality of the basic engine systems. One of the most
significant challenges of this entire project was next. A new
fiberglass body had to be rebuilt using the available parts. The
first task was to conduct a general assessment.
Believe it or not, one of my concerns was hail damage. On May
5 of 1995 all my Corvettes, except the 1972 body, were outside
when Fort Worth had the worst hail storm ever recorded.
Grapefruit sized hail punched holes in my 1974 and 1969
Corvettes and left a number of large dings in the 1970 rear body.
In fact, the storm delayed the 1970 restoration many months
while I coordinated the repair of my other cars.
My assessment showed the 1972 body was complete and not hail
damaged, but the metal parts were very rusted, the windshield
frame was in very poor condition, and, of course, it had the
wrong VIN. The fiberglass on the rear section of the 1970
appeared to be in fair condition except for hail damage.
However, I felt the hail damage was not a severe problem
because the car would be stripped completely prior to painting
and the damage could easily be repaired at that time. The metal
on the 1970 body was not excessively corroded, except for the
top and right windshield frame. After examining many
windshield frames, I concluded that this corrosion is a common
problem on vintage Corvettes. Water leaks around the glass and
corrodes the supporting metal. However, the left part of the
1970 windshield frame with the VIN number still appeared to be
good. The firewall on the 1970 was toast.
At this point, between the 1972 body and 1970 rear body, I had
all the parts necessary to restore a complete body except the
right side and top of the window frame. I knew that a local used
Corvette parts dealer had a large number of window frames and
firewalls. These parts were from wrecked Corvettes where the
front end was removed and the rest of the body cut off at the top
of the “T” and in front of the seats. The pick of the litter was
from a 1974 Corvette, and I bought it. It was one of only a few
that had a good windshield frame on the top and right side.
Now I had two firewalls – the one on the 1972 and the other on
the 1974. No matter which one I used, it would have to be
removed from the car frame. The 1974 was in the best shape
and most accessible. The obvious question was could the 1974
firewall be modified to the 1970 configuration? Upon closer
inspection, all the fiberglass parts appeared to be the same, but
the 1970 firewall had many more holes to accommodate the
concealed windshield wiper system on the 1970.
I decided that my best approach was to:
• Reuse the 1970 rear body despite the hail damage.
• Remove the burnt 1970 firewall
• Install the 1974 firewall, and modify it to the 1970
configuration.
• Replace the top and right side windshield frame of the
1970 with the parts from the 1974.
• Install the front end from the 1972 on the 1970 body
after replacing the corroded metal parts.
The first step was to remove the burnt 1970 firewall from the
body frame. At this point I realized a support device was needed
to mount the body during modifications and allow it to be easily
moved for installation and painting. I decided to make a wooden
support frame; all I needed to design the support was the 3
dimensional locations of the Corvette attachment points. This
data was not in the “1970 Assembly Manual”, but I found it in
the “1969 Assembly Manual”. Using this information, a wooden
frame was made using 2X8 lumber, carriage bolts, and six
vertical pieces to simulate the body attachment points. Large
dolly wheels were attached to the bottom.
Picture P-15 shows the body dolly with the 1974 front part
installed. The 1974 firewall is lying in front after being peeled
off. There is no magical way to separate the fiberglass parts
from each other or from the steel body frame. I used a sharp
chisel, a sharpened screwdriver, and a hammer. You simply get
into the joint and carefully peel the parts apart. The firewall is
also pop-riveted to the body frame. It is very simple to drill the
rivets out.
P-15
It was now time to tackle the replacement of the right side and
top of the windshield frame. Removal of the parts from the 1970
frame and 1974 frame required drilling the spot-welds on the
center and upper left corner and prying the metal apart with a
cold chisel. The lower right corner was a little more difficult. I
was able to pry a few pieces apart, but some areas had to be cut
with a hacksaw. I built an internal stiffener using strap steel,
inserted it into the hole in the body frame, and attached it with
bolts and welding. The 1974 windshield frame was then
lowered over the support and screwed and welded in place. I
used the dimensions from my 1969 Corvette to make certain the
window frame was located properly. Doubts about the location
would remain for another year or more until the windshield and
door were installed and the fit checked. One positive outcome;
this operation provided me with an excellent excuse to purchase
a MIG welder.
The next task was mating the 1974 firewall with the 1970 frame
using bonding cement and rivets. The first attempt was a
disaster. I could not align the firewall before the bonding
cement hardened. In retrospect, it would have gone a lot better
if I had some help. I had to peel the mislocated firewall from the
frame and try again. On the second try I was better prepared and
fastened everything in essentially the right place. There were a
few gaps between the firewall and the floor of the body, but I
was able to fill them with
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THE
9
THE PHOENIX (PART 3) (cont)
Carl S. Droste
The T-tops, the doors, rear panel and all other fiberglass
parts were completely stripped of all mechanical parts. The
rear exhaust panel had to be repaired, which was
accomplished with “Marine-Tex”.
additional bonding cement. The pop-rivet holes were
redrilled to match the 1974 holes in the firewall and new
rivets installed.
It was at this time that I noticed I had missed one significant
difference between the 1974 and 1970 firewalls. The 1974
firewall was from an automatic transmission car and the
1970 was equipped with a manual transmission. To gain
additional space for the automatic transmission, GM
engineers removed the lower left corner of the passenger
seat foot well and replaced it with a modified piece.
Fortunately, the 1970 firewall was not damaged in this area.
I carefully measured and sawed off a piece identical to what
had been removed on the 1974. The 1970 piece was butt
glued on the 1974 firewall using “Marine-Tex”. Marine-Tex
is a very strong epoxy made for repair of fiberglass boat
hulls, but it is also a very effective solution to many Corvette
repairs. The piece was held in place by small copper wires
threaded through small holes at the joint. After the epoxy
cured the copper “stitches” were ground away.
Now that all the fiberglass parts were collected, I decided to
have the paint stripped before final assembly. After
considering the time, effort, and clean up required to strip
the paint at home with chemical strippers, I decided to have
the parts stripped mechanically. Everything was loaded on a
trailer and taken to a media blaster for stripping. The body
dolly was very helpful in accomplishing this task. The front
end, hood, doors, and other small parts could be handled by
hand, but without the dolly, there was a strong possibility of
doing damage to the main part of the body. Picture P-16
shows the main part of the body on the dolly after paint
stripping.
A number of holes were required in the 1974 firewall to
bring it into conformance with the 1970 configuration. The
“1970 Assembly Manual”, the remaining parts of the 1970
firewall, and comparison with my 1969 Corvette were all
used to locate where new holes were required. These
sources were not always in agreement, so I took my best
guess.
The two remaining body pieces needing restoration were the
front end and the hood. The front end was removed from the
1972 body. This was accomplished by first sawing through
each side of the small fiberglass strip connecting the left and
right sides of the front section at the back. This operation
provided the left and right sides the flexibility needed to
carefully peel them away from the firewall and body frame.
The small fiberglass strip was then peeled from the firewall
and reinstalled after the front end was mated on the 1970
body frame.
The metal stiffener on the nose of the front end was very
corroded and had to be replaced. It was attached by rivets to
a fiberglass part bonded to the underside of the nose.
Fortunately, I found a new metal part and was able to peel
off the old part. The new metal stiffener was riveted to the
fiberglass backing and the assembly bonded into the nose
section. The repair looked like new.
P-16
Now it was time to mate the 1972 front end with the rest of
the body. I felt the only way to do this task and maintain
correct alignment was to use the car frame as a “master
tool.” So the dolly was run under the body lift device, the
body removed from the dolly, and lifted high enough so the
car frame could be rolled underneath. The body was then
lowered on the car frame. Picture P-17 shows the frame and
body just prior to the mating.
The original hood was essentially vaporized in the fire and
the previous owner had included a damaged 1969 hood in
the pile of parts I had received. The rear corners had been
broken off both sides. I decided to repair the damage before
going any farther. I built up new corners on the hood using
fiberglass mat and epoxy. It took a number of layers to get
to the thickness to match the rest of the hood. Some of the
holes that attached the “427” numbers had to be filled so that
“454” could added later.
P-17
10
THE
TALEPIPE
THE PHOENIX PART 3 (continued)
Carl S. Droste
After my experience bonding the firewall, I decided I needed some help to bond on the 1972 front end. My approach was to have
two teams working simultaneously, one on each side. Two other Corvette enthusiasts (Buddy Williams and Art Renfro) agreed to
be one team, and I was the other. The bonding cement was mixed and quickly put in paper cones much like those used for cake
decorating. Large beads of cement were applied to the appropriate body parts and the front end quickly lifted into place. For
temporary support screws were put through the fiberglass at strategic locations, but were removed after the cement hardened. I
temporarily installed the doors on the frame to provide alignment for the rear edge and the radiator frame provided alignment of the
forward portion.
The Picture P-18 shows the mated body being removed from the frame with the body lift device after the bonding cement had
cured. The frame was rolled out, the body dolly rolled in, and the body was again lowered on the dolly.
At this time I realized that the nose and rear of the body needed
additional support while on the body dolly. Square steel tubing
was connected to the top of the body dolly and brackets attached
at the front and rear to support the front radiator attachment points
and the rear body attachment points respectively.
It was now time to send the body and all the loose parts out for
painting. But what color? The color decision was really very
easy. I did not like the original green/tan colors. Furthermore,
none of the original color existed anywhere on the body after
media blasting. Also, most of the original tan interior parts were
in very poor condition because of the fire, and the 1969 and 1972
interior parts collected by the previous owner were all black.
Although I was trying to restore the car as closely as possible to
the original condition,
P-18 it was very unlikely that the car would ever encounter flight judging. So why not make it the colors I liked – red/black.
The completed body and all the associated painted parts were then taken to a body shop for detail finishing and painting. Close
inspection showed the rear end of the body had signs of a collision (the one that bent the rear frame cross-member) and a little
additional repair work was required. Picture P-19 shows the repainted body when it arrived home. The body was put in the body
lift device and lowered onto the frame.
I had no idea of the original shim thickness at the body mounting
points. To determine shim thickness, some “soft’ shims were
made with modeling clay wrapped in aluminum foil. The body
was raised to allow insertion of the shims and lowered again. The
body was again raised and the thickness of the soft shims
measured with a caliper. The relative thickness of the shims gave
me the information necessary to provide the proper shim thickness
to uniformly bolt the body to the frame.
I now had a 1970 restored engine and frame with a restored body
attached. The final task was to restore the interior and all the
various accessory systems. I originally thought this final stage
would be easier. Was I ever surprised!
P-19
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEXAS CHAPTER NCRS MEMBERSHIP ---------RENEWAL FORM
Name:________________________________________ Street Address_____________________________________
City___________________ State ____________Zip Code _________NCRS Membership number ________________
Phone:___________ E-Mail Address________________________________ Corvette(s) Owned__________________
Dues Schedule 1 year $20.00_____2 Years $38.00__________3 Years $54.00 _______
Please remit your check or money order (no cash, please) with this completed form to:
Mr. Bill King
Texas Chapter NCRS Membership Chairman
email: [email protected]
2805 Royal Drive
Telephone #: 903.983.2712
Kilgore, Tx 75662
WEBSITE: www.ncrstexas.org
THE
TALEPIPE
11