How a Hot Rod Should Sound!

A quick video of the engine start. Ignore the dog barking in the background.... he appreciates the sound too! Gotta love the deep throaty sound of the 454 big block and its true dual exhaust.

Buying the '72

For several weeks, I scoured the internet for the right car for me.  My criteria were...

• C3 generation corvette because that is by far my favorite body style... I really like their sexy curvy look and believe the models from '84 to current have body lines that are mostly too straight and boring in appearance

• '68 - '73 model year because I wanted true dual exhaust, no catalytic converter.  The '74 model year also qualifies but I don't like the way the split rear bumper looks.

• Not concerned about a "numbers matching" car.  I knew I wanted to do a frame-off mild restoration modification ("restomod") and altering a numbers matching car would mess with my conscience.

• Currently running and driving.  I wanted to be able to enjoy it for a bit before the long restoration process began.

• As little rust as possible.  Yes, the body of these cars is fiberglass, but the uninformed doesn't realize that the frame, bird cage, etc, are steel and have certain areas that are notorious rust concerns.

• Big block engine... for the sheer horsepower potential!

• Manual transmission... a car like this begs to be shifted manually!  One big problem... I've never driven a stick before!

Oct 11, 2013

With that criteria as a guide, I searched for just a few weeks and came across the one pictured above and was drawn to it right away.  It fit all my criteria, plus the price was right in my mind since it could benefit from a restoration... but that was my plan anyway.  Unfortunately, the car was in Arizona (low rust probably!) and I'm in Missouri so going to look at it would cost me a plane ride and trip away from work/family.  But the folks at the classic auto dealer I got it from were very helpful in sending many pics of the car plus a video of it running and driving.  They did have it listed on ebay though, so once I realized I liked the car, I pulled the trigger quickly before it was bought out from under me.  A couple weeks later it was delivered and I've been enjoying it ever since!

Rekindling My Passion for Classic Corvettes

I've had a passion for classic Corvette's for as long as I can remember.... in particular the C3 generation with their "mako shark" body style.  As a teenager I fell in love with the 1980 model and pictures of that car on my walls got me through the rigors of college. I kept telling myself... graduate, get a good job, and then you can buy that car for yourself.  I did just that and eventually got that '80... black exterior, white leather interior, small block engine, automatic transmission.  I think I bought it around 2001 and it only had ~25k miles on it at the time.  She was a blast to drive.  Here's a pic of the car...

I eventually sold it as my wife and I were starting a family and I thought I had out-grown it....  I was wrong.

Fast forward years later and the itch to dive back in had grown to a fever pitch.  I started researching on the internet, came across a great website in The Corvette Restoration Page and thought... hey, I think I could also restore a classic corvette even though I had never done anything remotely close before.

Next post... my criteria for the next corvette and buying it sight unseen!

First Post - Venturing Down the Rabbit Hole

Join me and watch as a I partake in a restomod of this 1972 Corvette Stingray coupe.

This will be completely a proverbial trip down the rabbit hole in a couple ways.  First, I have never blogged before so that will be learning experience in itself... but so far Google Blogger seems fairly straightforward. More importantly, I have never done anything remotely like a car restoration unless you count the bike I tore down and rebuilt as a young kid.  My hope is the blog will help me chronicle the adventures for myself as well as friends and family plus hopefully keep me motivated to keep plugging away on the car to keep the blog updated.

So here we go!  First post in the blog... next up will be a brief history of my obsession with corvettes and then how I found my car and bought it sight unseen.

Thanks for reading!