Well, I finally got serious about getting into some of the heavy work. Oh, and learned if you don't have the correct parts, you'll have a hard time trying to get things to fit. As I previously posted, I've been doing feel good cosmetic work, kinda avoiding the heavy stuff.
The first thing that had to be done was remove the hood and get all the metal reinforcement plates and brackets riveted to the front clip...very important for an all fiberglass structure that has to bear significant loads...and work I had expected the painter to have done when he put the front clip back on. He mounted the hood w/o the reinforcement plates, etc., etc., etc.
In the process of this work, it's become obvious that the painter/body guy, although great at what he does, didn't know all he thought he did about C3 Corvettes nor did he follow my advice and instructions. I told him he shouldn't paint the front clip or try to fit the front bumper cover before the clip is mounted on the car and all the metal reinforcements and bumper brackets are installed. It goes to the final shape of the fenders where they meet the front bumper cover...it is not a metal car!!!!
I gave him the factory Assembly Instruction Manual (AIM) and a copy of the Dr Rebuild catalog (it has great diagrams - it helped me rebuild the steering column) along with all the reinforcement plates and bumper mounting brackets. Why is this pertinent? As I have done the work illustrated below, the installing of the reinforcement plates and the alignment of the fenders to the mounting brackets has caused the fiberglass fender panels to flex and cause stress cracks in the paint and the bumper no longer lines up perfectly. The final shape of the front of the car is not determined until all the metal parts are attached and aligned. There is now glass work and touch up painting in the future.
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Metal reinforcement plate for the hood mounts radiator mounting bracket riveted in place. I had to get a new one for the right side because the old one was cracked.
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| A critical reinforcement piece. |
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| '73 was the first year for the federally mandated 5 mph front bumper and this was GM's solution - throw a plastic bumper cover over a bunch of collapsible, crunchable metal brackets. |
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| The large round section of the bumper support/bracket system is the vacuum storage tank for the pneumatic head light system. |
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Re my comment above about the correct parts. The part in the upper center and left is the bumper support bracket that attaches to the frame and where the large bolt is, to a collapsible u-shaped bracket that then attaches to the inside of the metal inner bumper is the correct '73 part. I ordered new ones because the old ones where slightly damaged in a front end hit. I wanted new ones - thank God I didn't scrap the old ones. Well, the new ones are for, unbeknownst to me, '70 to '72 brackets for the old chrome bumper and about 2" longer than the '73 brackets. You can imagine my frustration until I figured it out. Plus, I don't know if I still have the receipt for the wrong parts!!!
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The metal inner bumper. The fiberglass bumper cover is not yet installed.
SUSPENSION ADJUSTMENTS |
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| This is the ride/performance adjustment bracket for the Vette Brakes and Products (VBP) Performance Plus suspension system. The 4 lb fiberglass transverse spring replaces the front coil original suspension system. The stock A arms are also replaced. The ride performance is adjusted by moving the bracket along the 4 holes. All the way in is a soft GT ride and all the way out is max autocross handling. They are set to next to max perf/stiffness. I added locking washers to the four mounting bolts for obvious reasons. The locking washers are actually for the inner primary to engine case mounting bolts for Harley big twins. |
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| The rear spring and adjustment brackets. |
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| Phone camera flash reflecting from the CT Classic Vehicle plate. After market LED back up and tail lights |
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| Even managed to line up the exhaust system. This is the MagnaFlow 3" system for the C3. Obviously, not the correct rectangular tip. |
