Sue's 59 Corvette project....

[busterwivell]

Loving this build. Keep us posted on updates.

[BamaNomad]

This project got put on *pause* for a year or so, while Richard was renovating a building he purchased, moving parts/cars from a property in TN that he had sold, etc, so hopefully we are nearly back to working religiously on this project (I know Sue is in favor of this!).. Richard and Sue left his past weekend and won't be back for a few weeks, so what I'm doing right now is 'catching up' on our past work on this car.

The Engine and Transmission installation waited awhile due to several shipments of the Bell-Housing which came in damaged, but finally they got a good one and the drivetrain was installed on the chassis.

Here are a few photos of the process of installing the flywheel, dual-mass pressure plate/clutch, etc. There was a fairly complex shimming arrangement we went thru before mounting it all up.

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It will use a hydraulic clutch just as their '56 HT did...

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[BamaNomad]

Engine and Trans installed on chassis

Once a good bellhousing was received (Lakewood/Quicktime Safety Bellhousing), and the Flywheel and Pressure plate was prepared, the engine was set into the chassis and the transmission and clutch system was installed. The transmission is a Tremec Super Magnum 6-speed.

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When two old men are doing such jobs, we rely on any help we can get when lifting heavy objects...

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[BamaNomad]

Making sure the Body clears the drivetrain..

Once the Engine/Trans assembly was on the chassis we rolled it back under the body and lowered the body back onto it...

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By the time this last photo was taken, Richard had already designed/machined some special bracketry for firewall mountings.

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And we installed the Holley mid-mount front runner accessory kit. I think both Richard and myself can 'bless' the Holley Midmount accessory kit for anyone considering such.
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This kit keeps all the accessories very close to the front of the block by providing a completely different water pump housing with all the mounts included for the accessories. The water pump internals are separately replaceable thru holley. The gen V LT1 kit also included the 'Super Damper' as shown.
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The continuation of this thread will likely have to wait a few weeks until Richard returns from their trip, as he also designed custom mounts for the firewall mountings for the Vintage Air evaporator and lines, the CPU, Oil/vapor separator, master cylinder and hydrovac units which I had little to nothing to do with and thus have no photos of those parts... (Maybe he can post some photos and explanations for those items from his phone/laptop while he's away?)..

[carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)]

beautiful build.---------> what you do after lunch?

[enigma57]

Beautilful! Well planned and executed. What a wonderful car this will be when done!

Happy Motoring,

Harry

[WagonCrazy]

dang, that's gonna be a saweeeet Corvette restomod. Keep posting progress pics. This makes me want a 59 vette restomod some day.

[BamaNomad]

My personal opinion is that the '59 and '60 models are the 'best' of the first generation Corvettes (in spite of the fact that the '62 got the 327 engine)..

Beginning with the '58 models, they got a little wider on the inside and had more space and legroom for a larger person. The '58 has some undesirable features like the 'rub-board' hood which holds water/dirt and is non-functional and totally unnecessary. The '58 also has the 'trunk irons', again which are totally non-functional, unnecessary weight and cost to rechrome.
The '61/'62 models, while they got the 'ducktail' rear clip, which is OK to even a nice feature, they also 'lost' the teeth grill making the '60 the last model with the toothed grill.

1959 and 1960 models are almost identical with the only difference being the direction of the seams on the seat upholstery, and one can always swap in a '62 or later 327 ci engine..

Of course Sue's '59 is getting a 500 hp engine and 6 spd transmission which is even BETTER... but I've cautioned her that she must be very careful 'using' that much horsepower in such a lightweight and short wheelbase car! (they can swap ends with you very quickly in this situation!)..

[Al_Dente]

Well, in that case, if Sue's not living alone, pulling the stunts that you've just mentioned would more likely turn that Corvette into a Widowmaker, rather than a Widowermaker

[BamaNomad]

Richard sent me a text today with additional photos (of work that he did all by his lonesome), unfortunately since I wasn't involved with that work, I have no idea what to say about the photos.. so maybe he will post some of those with some text to go along with them...

[TrifiveRichard]

I will, although it may take a little while. We’re in CO right now, having driven from AL. We'll be here a few more days, then on to CA, be there a little over a week, then drive back to AL. I’ll update when I can.

[BamaNomad]

Richard! Good.. I received the photos you sent, but without some 'information' on what, why, and how I'm afraid the photos wouldn't mean much.

[enigma57]

Look forward to seeing the pics when you are ready to post them here!

HB

[BamaNomad]

The next photos will have to wait until Richard returns from his and Sue's trip... maybe soon!

PS. Richard did allow me to use his paint booth while they were away, and I spent parts of 3 days this past week cleaning, hanging, and painting my black parts (bumper brackets and others), and my interior garnish mouldings, etc (all remaining parts that needed to be Victory Red)... so Thanks Richard. I'm going over this afternoon to clean up and pick up my red parts!

[TrifiveRichard]

Progress Update

We finally returned from our trip to CO, on to CA, back to CO and then home to AL. While in CO, we stopped to see Laszlo in Ft Collins, enjoyed talking with him and his wife, and seeing the updates to his 56 Nomad. We were on the road for 6 weeks, enjoyed it, but glad to be back in the shop!

I?ve started back on the Corvette, working to get ready to spray epoxy primer on the complete body. There were 3 areas that needed work: pedal modifications, bonding backing plates to the firewall, and prepping the underside for priming.

Pedal modifications included revising the clutch 'rod' attachment point to the pedal, addition of a clutch engagement switch and addition of clutch and brake pedal stops. The following pictures show the pedal assembly mods and the assembly thru the firewall. I use the clutch and brake switches in series to control the trans reverse lockout solenoid. Also, we're using a Hydoaboost power brake booster on the Corvette. I used one on the 56 HT, and I won't go back to a vacuum unit again.

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There are 3 backing plates, 1ea for the clutch master cylinder, the gas pedal, and the a/c evaporator unit. The backing plates for the clutch and gas pedal are to distribute the force when the pedals are pushed. They are machined out of aluminum and panel bond adhesive is used to attach. Gas pedal bolts thru the firewall are only for bonding, holes filled later. The gas pedal is mounted to the plate with 3 bolts, and the plate allows for 3 mounting positions. I believe the center location is correct, but this allows for adjustment. The gas pedal was provided with the GM Connect and Cruise kit and connects to the ECU, no mechanical connection. For the a/c, I made a bracket that attaches to the evaporator unit, and it bolt to the firewall plate in 4 places, makes it easy to install. The holes in the plate are for bolting up the ECU mount and engine fuse/relay assembly on the engine side of the firewall.

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The last activity has been scraping and sanding undercoat from the rear wheel wells, and filling unused holes. The body was soda blasted some time ago, but not the underneath side. Gary pressure washed it with Simple Green and got most the crud, but not the undercoat. it's taken a couple days, but the wheel wells are now clean. Also, in the picture, you can also see the cutout of the spare tire well needed to clear the C4 IRS rearend.

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