Racechic's blog: "Restoring a 1956 Corvette Race Car"

Today I got a lot more accomplished with project `56. I removed the remaining pieces and parts from the old frame. The front suspension, even the damaged side was taken off. Having never experienced this style suspension set up, I thought it would be a good idea to disassemble the damaged side first, just for a trial run. I even read through the service manual first to get an idea with what I`m working with. It`s a complicated system, but broken down, I could see where we could run into trouble if not careful. I searched the frame for all remaining clips and retainers. Good idea to save all those pieces saved, even if you plan on replacing them. With a little help, we got the frame out of the shop for the first time in years! Woohoo! Organization is key, so I cleaned up a bit, and got ready to start fresh tomorrow. I got the water pump off of the motor as well. This was ness. so I could replace the front motor mount cross bar. The cross brace sits behind the water pump. I cleaned all the surfaces on the water pump as well as the motor. It's also important to note that the cross brace should be cleaned of paint where the gaskets sit. Not doing this could result in a leak. It may be that I have a person interested in learning about the automotive world, so, I spent the remainder of the day exploring tools and methods. No work done to the car, but this could prove to be helpful in the long run with the projects in the shop.

Another successful day in the shop. I got the entire rear axle, rear suspension, and brakes off in one shot. Surprising, only two bolts broke in the process. A quick pressure wash and I removed the fifty years of build up off the whole assembly. Tomorrow, I'll good through, inspect all the parts, and give them a quick paint job. I've already ordered all new bushings for the spring hangers, sway bar links, and new axle straps. The shocks are being measured and new ones are on order. In the mean time, it's hurry up and wait for the parts to come in. If they don't come in within the next few days, I'll hang the assembly up temporarily, to get the chassis off the lift (got some other projects too ya know). Anyways, a heat job to the busted bolts and they both came out without a fight. I switched my attention to the front suspension. The R/F is gone. Only a few parts survived the crash, and even they are subject to a very close inspection to ensure their quality. At this point I think the survivors are the spring, the caliper, and the caliper bracket.... that's it. Everything else will be replaced. The right side seems ok for the most part. It's only connection to the hit was the impact transmitted through the steering. On order is all new tie rods, inner and outer, new toe links, sway bar links, and all the appropriate bushings. My boss gave me the insight on the motor mount bushings alone. The pair is almost $400.00! Continuing with the R/S, I removed the shock, caliper and brake pads to get a better look at a few hidden parts. All seem okay at this time. The front suspension is a very complex design. The control arms have two pins through them, that are adjustable. These pins support the upright, or inner portion of the hub (the part the wheel spins on). Like I said, even I have to hit the books tomorrow, to get a clear picture on how all the components come into play. The only time I've seen a king pin set up is on medium duty truck. Hey, at least they greased them! By the end of tomorrow, while waiting for new goodies to come in, my mission is to get all of the remaining pieces off of the old frame, and get the frame off the lift for the first time in years. Not too much left, but I have to check the frame over a few more times for any clips, pieces, or parts that may be useful for hanging brake lines, fuel lines, etc. I have enough to start putting the front back together. Enough for one day. I'll get to you tomorrow!

Today went as well as yesterday! I again got a very late start (up too late posting on fubar I guess). Plus a few other little projects around the factory that needed attention first. Now, without a body.... there's not much left to the car. Four bolts and the engine and trans. come off together. I used the forklift (yes, backyard again) seeing as how there isn't an engine hoist... yet. Plopped it on the ground with some support, then started making the comparisons. The new powder coated frame is off of a '61. Still a C1, but of course, a few minor changes from the previous models. Some for the better. I'll also have to make some modifications for the roll cage. Because the front took such a hard hit, the front cross member bent, which is also the part you suspend the control arms off of. Anyone who's seen how large/thick this piece is (there's a pic of it on the new frame) will know how big of a hit this was. So, a spare of those was sent and came back from powder coating as well. In one photo, I specifically pointed out the the shims that go between the frame and the cross member. Many models didn't come with these, but they were very useful. The shims help with a touchy steering problem, by adding more caster to the wheels. For those that don't know, caster is, for example, the difference from the wheel on a bike, way out in front of the handle bars, vs. a wheel on a shopping cart, the center of the wheel is behind the bracket that connects it to the shopping cart. Every wonder why those wheels on shopping carts wobble fifty times a second..... well, that's the caster (or too many times running into the curbs in the parking lot) . Too much isn't great either. Ever wonder how hard it is to turn a long forked bike ? Not as easily as the shopping cart...... Now, imagine that on a car (less exaggerated, of course). The feeling to a driver is the same. Shims in and the cross member tight, I started the oh-so wonderful greasy step of removing the parts from the old frame, cleaning EVERYTHING, inspecting each part, then installing them on the new frame. So far, no hardware has been reused. The old stuff is, well, old. Although this is a restoration, it might not be to factory specs in the end, hey. It's a race car! I'm not worried about how shiny it is, but more the integrity of the pieces and hardware being used. Do we want it to look good? Sure! But the strength and quality of an old bolt is better sometimes than the new shiny ones you got at the dollar store. Safety comes long before pretty, although usually the two go together. So far, that has been the case. Most of the bolts' threads are pretty rusty, or non existent. So, they got replaced. No work that I touch, that goes that fast leaves my hands without knowing it's to the best of my ability (all of my work for that matter... not just the fast stuff). And so it goes. Cleaning and inspecting is one of the most important parts, especially with race cars! It may take the longest out of all the stages, but it's worth ever second! This project required a slightly higher level of organization, seeing as how it's getting pretty much stripped to the bone. I've organized all the hardware in individual bins per item removed, and marked what they are. Usually, we throw everything in a big pile only to spend time trying to remember months down the road where everything goes. Although the project has taken big steps in two days, I won't have any idea how long it will take to get parts, so, better be safe than sorry. Speaking of parts, along with inspection, I started the LONG list of parts needed to fix the damage, and the parts that need replacing from normal fifty year wear and tear. Although a lot is being replaced from the hit, we've decided to go ahead with some other fixes..... all new custom exhaust, new shocks, etc. These parts may take a while to get my hands on, so know that as the pics come out, you may see some old junk going back on. Never fear! I want to make the new frame is a rolling chassis as soon as possible to free up a lift again. The junk will get changed when the parts come in. Stay tuned!

Day 1: So, after a few trips to Switzerland, I got sick of looking at my boss's 1956 Corvette, sitting on a lift in the garage, not having been touched since it was crashed in a race over two years ago! Background: My boss's first race car. Hit got hit at about 85mph. The frame is bent, body cracked up real bad (It's all fiber glass).... Well, put it this way. The motor shifted over about three inches.... Got to love racing. He walked away. To continue, on my last trip I found out he had another frame sitting in his other garage! I pulled it out of the rafters, stripped off the remaining parts, and sent it out for powder coating. Now the project begins. It took longer to clean off the three inches of dust that had accumulated than to get the car prepped for "separation". I figured out a way to suspend the body from the ceiling (I know, kinda backyard), then lower the frame, engine, trans, and pretty much everything else on the lift. Very surprised to find I didn't miss a thing! Not even a few wires or something (all gear heads know there's usually a few wires that you forget and you test the tensile strength on). Two big chain pulleys and a few straps, and the puppy was off! Simple car though. Not much to it. Come on, she's 52 years old! Anywho, with the body gone, the frame damage was more apparent. You can visually see the motor sitting sideways. The front suspension is toast on the R/S, where the impact was the greatest. I don't think any of the steering components survived, even on the L/S. Enough for one day (well, not really a full day when you get up at 1pm. Hey! A little slack! On still on east coast time! Six hours difference ya know! Tomorrow will be the motor/trans removal.