The '79 Corvette

Like most red-blooded American males, I've always admired the looks of the Corvette, (with exception to the '84-'90 "C-4" body style). I was at a Jaguar Club of Houston meeting and was talking to a couple of new members. I told them that I wished I had a Corvette next to the Jaguar to make my garage "complete". After all, I had a spare slot and I wanted a sportscar that I could actually drive while the Jaguar was being finished. They said "we may be able to help you with that". They had a '79 in their driveway that they wanted to be rid of, so I went over to take a look. It was silver with T-Tops (like all the coupes had); had L-82 emblem on the hood with L-82 gauges (140 mph speedometer). The engine compartment looked pretty good and clean. The car had apparently been "souped up" a bit with dual headers straight out (no cat. converters); a Carter carburetor with Edelbrock pancake air cleaner (they had the original air cleaner as well). We took it for a ride and it ran okay although somewhat rough. While looking under the car, a voice in my head echoed "you don't really want another project car, do you?". But the price was right and I had a little play money. They were also motorcycle nuts and it just so happened that I had an old Yamaha Virago motorcycle that I bought for near nothing from my next door neighbor (it was his, they divorced, he left town, she didn't want it). My wife was very upset with my having the Virago, but that wasn't the first or last time for that! I had to replace the master cylinder and I could never get the carb leaned out. It fouled plugs so bad, they had to be cleaned every 30 miles or so. The Yamaha experts could never fix it. So I made the Virago part of the deal, trading it and some cash for the Corvette. Basically, the car was sound but was in dire need of a new interior. 

  So I commenced to tear everything out. I had to completely remove the
  dashboard and remove all of the gauges for painting. While they were
  out, I had the clock reworked over to quartz movement (it now keeps
  perfect time). I replaced all of the clear plastic gauge covers, and
  installed a new plastic gauge cluster and lower center consoles. They weren't very expensive which is about the only thing good you can say about plastic parts. I put in new leather seats (the correct Recaro style), door panels, carpet, and a new set of tires. So after that, the car looked pretty good and I was basically satisfied not to go any deeper. However, when the car got hot, the brake pedal would sometimes fade all the way to the floor. This was at the very least, a bit disconcerting.

Then one day I was out driving around when all of a sudden a loud squeal started coming out of the left rear trailing arm. It was very loud and quite embarrassing (that's some hot rod you got there, fella!). I figured it was a bearing about to go out, though it didn't have the usual low rumbling sound that bad bearings make (and when you hear that, it's far too late!). So I tore into the trailing arm and removed it from the car. After removing the dust shield, the cause of the noise became apparent. A small piece of metal had become lodged between the dust shield and the brake rotor and had been squealing like a stuck pig! The part looked like a spring from a damn clothes pin. I should have just re-installed the trailing arm and be done with it. But nooooooo! I had to be a "restorer", rationalizing that preventative maintenance should save me trouble in the end. Besides, it was dirty and nasty and unclean! I couldn't have that on one of my cars! So, I pulled the right side off as well. I first had the arms powder coated black, then had new bearings installed. Of course, this required a special set of tools, so I had to pay someone to do it. Next came new U-joints and shocks, dropping the rear-end unit for new paint and to replace the rubber mounts. Boy look at those brake calipers and master cylinder! No wonder they were fading! Another call to The Stainless Steel Brake Corporation and a complete replacement set was on it's way. New master cylinder and brake assist booster from Chicago Corvette. This also meant new stainless brake lines as well. The dust shields were re-plated in gold cadmium.

Up front, I had been bothered by the chrome oil-pan the last owner had put on the car. I removed it and had it powder coated black. The original replacements are bare steel and develop surface rust quickly. While I had it off, I put in a high-pressure oil pump for better circulation and engine protection. The power steering hydraulic ram was leaking a bit, so I replaced all of those components.

I then tore into the front suspension, replacing both upper and lower ball joints on both sides...but not before re-spraying the arms black with 2-part automotive paint. All new rubber bushings and new shocks went in as well.

  So the car now looks, drives, rides, and performs like a dream...and it
  stops on a dime! 

I joined the National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) many years ago, even before I bought my 1979. My brother had a couple of '69 427 cubic inch convertibles, one of which was a Top Flight/Bloomington Gold winner; an awesome car that made the cover of the "Vette Views" book. I think he has since sold that particular beauty, if not both of them.

My car took 6th place (out of 8 places) in its class at the '99 Corvette Expo at the George R Brown Convention center. It's no 1st or 2nd place, but hey, I'll take it (at least I beat out 2 other cars!). I didn't even know that the cars were being judged!

All things considered, I love driving the Corvette for it has exceptional handling on the open road at speed. And inside and out, it looks better than most '79's on the road today.

In December of 2001, I decided to put the car up for auction on EBay. Although I still liked the car, my interest in it began to wane for I had begun to concentrate on finishing the E-Type. I no longer wished to sink more money into the Corvette. The economy was tightening up after the events of 9/11, and I needed some cash to purchase a non-linear (computer-based) editing system for my business.

My congratulations to "Bill" of Phoenix in acquiring this jewel on 1/4/02. I know he and his wife will have many years of fun with this car. And I know he will continue the restoration until it's perfect. This car couldn't have found a better home.