EmTee Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Laser printer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 I used an ink jet. I was just going to try it to see if it would actually work and it did. That leaves me with a bunch of options for other stuff. They offer silver too. The clear vinyl overlay will help protect it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Oh, that's better (I don't have a laser printer). Did you spray a clear sealer over the ink? Otherwise I think it may smear if it gets wet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 I put clear vinyl over it. The same vinyl a sign shop would use. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Interesting, I tried something small at one time out of curiosity with my ink jet and it just smeared. I didnt think to clear over it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 On 5/11/2024 at 9:33 PM, Laughing Coyote said: A few days after getting the spring swapped out I was looking at the old one laying on the shop floor and I had a thought. I had an old guy make me a knife out of an old buckboard spring. He told me it's the best metal to make a knife out of. So I decided to make the neighbor that gave me the Vette a little something. So I took the upper 1st spring from the stack and started to make a knife for him. The hole is where the bolt went threw the spring stack. He's been a great guy by letting me use all his tools, lift, tire machines, and anything else I needed. He always tells me he's glad to see the car getting the love it needed and he still really likes the looks of the C3. I finished his knife today and gave it to him. He was really blown away by it. I told him it was from the old leaf spring that was on the car and wanted him to have a piece of the car. First knife I ever made. I always figured that you're an artist masquerading as a mechanic. This proved it. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 The Corvette saga still continues. Last time I had it up on the lift I noticed the front lower A arm mounts are pretty trashed. I'm going to take the entire front suspension out and replace the ball joint, bushings, and new lower mounts which will require fabrication and welding skills. Good thing I noticed it. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 You should see the way that Trans Am stub frames were welded, not sure if they were done by human or robot at the time but either way they could have used a few more lessons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 The mounting plates are suppose to be sitting flush to the cross member, The drivers side has a 1/4" gap. So something happened that wasn't too good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 13 minutes ago, Laughing Coyote said: The mounting plates are suppose to be sitting flush to the cross member, The drivers side has a 1/4" gap. So something happened that wasn't too good. Accident damage? Do you see any signs of collision repair on the body? Those welds don't look original to me, but who knows...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 It's been wrecked at one time. You can see the key holes along the frame from straightening. So yeah, it's had a hard life. I've been going through it and verifying everything. The manual shows measuring points and specs. Fun times. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 4 minutes ago, Laughing Coyote said: The manual shows measuring points and specs. Fun times. Fun indeed! It will be interesting to see what your measurements reveal. How does it handle now? I suppose at a minimum, if the lower control mount position is OK you could at least remove the mount and reattach it with some shim material to eliminate the gaps and those sketchy welds. That tear probably warrants some gusseting also. Maybe reinforce both sides while you're at it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 It's a common problem with the C3 that if a wheel hits a curb hard enough it bends the lower support mount. I have new ones for both sides. Once everything has been removed and cleaned up then I will bolt the lower mounts in so that they can be moved for alignment. Then I will measure from the center of the rear axle to the center of the ball joint and adjust it until it's at the specified wheel base. Tighten it down and pull some other measurements from a designated spot on the frame for both sides to make sure they are the same. I know the drivers side is 5/8" forward and it's the bad side. It steers fine, but has a little pull to the left and turning doesn't have the same response. Grabs nice turning right, but not the same to the left. The car has had a hard life, but getting better each time I fix something. New mounts. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 (edited) Besides the bushings and ball joints are 52 years old. Time for new anyway. Edited August 21 by Laughing Coyote (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 20 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: Besides the bushings and ball joints are 52 years old. Time for new anyway. I am surprised (actually I guess Im not) at how many times I see cars for sale. They look really nice, might have a new shiny paint job, but when you look close at the pictures of the underside hardly ever see new body bushings. These are actually not all that hard to change and I have yet to see 40+ year old ones that dont need replaced! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 Today was tear into the front suspension day. Had it all torn out in 3 hours. Now the fun of cleaning up everything, paint and re install. You could see how bad the mounts are. Pretty beat up and it's going to be metal surgery to fix this mess. Once it's done I will have piece of mind that it's safe to drive and correct. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 Starting to make progress. Cleaning bolts and parts. Got all the bushings out and painted up the bushing shafts. Sand blasted the upper A arms and shot them with some semi gloss oil based paint. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 7 Author Share Posted September 7 Go the upper arm all ready to go. Removed the silver powder coat off the lowers and got them painted today. Will put them together after they dry a day or two. Have all the other parts and hardware ready to go. Sunday I will be doing metal surgery to remove the lower mounts that are all jacked up. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 9 Author Share Posted September 9 (edited) Got the messed up brackets off and started getting it all cleaned up. Still have more clean up on the passenger side. Will tackle that tomorrow, it's been a long day getting this stuff cut out. You can see how badly bent the one bracket was. This is why the wheel was more forward. I will be glad to start getting it back together. Had some action shots. Edited September 9 by Laughing Coyote (see edit history) 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 Wow -- I have to think this will make a big difference once you have everything back where it belongs and aligned! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 10 Author Share Posted September 10 More progress this afternoon. Finished the rest of the old weld clean up and mounted the lower arms to where they are supposed to go. I will still have to pull the measurements and get them in the exact spots per the service manual. Then tack it all in place, pull the arms, and weld them up. Go the tie rod ends in today and the idler arm so I have to tear into that too. Lots going on. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 11 Author Share Posted September 11 All measured and welded in. Next up is to get some paint back on the frame and parts and get it ready for re assembly. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursst Posted September 11 Share Posted September 11 Wow, great work. I'm always amazed at what previous owners will do to completely destroy a car and it's up to a future restorer to undue all the terrible things that have been done. Your work on this car is masterful. You'll have an amazing driving car when it's completely dialed in. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 During the week I was also working on cleaning up the drag link. I have new tie rod ends and idler arm going in too. The ball stud metal cover was wrecked (imagine that) so I tried to straighten it out, but it was so warped that I couldn't get it back into shape. I decided to pound it flat, design a new one in my plasma table software and cut it. I think it came out spot on. Also got the newly installed parts painted and letting them dry for the next step. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 Great job on that strap! Is your machine CNC? Its amazing what having the right tools can do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 Yes it's a CNC plasma table. It's the workhorse of the business. Always running and makes things easier. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 15 Author Share Posted September 15 Finally got it done. Made some aluminum tie rod end connectors. Everything went together well and measurements are all good on each side. Have a friend that lives close by that does alignments so he will be helping me out on aligning everything back to specs. It's good to know that it's safe to drive and I won't have to worry about it anymore. 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 Nice job! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 15 Author Share Posted September 15 My friend came by the PO shop and aligned the front end. What a night and day difference in the way it handles and steers. Now hopefully I can get more seat time before working anything else. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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