1980 Corvette

I am constantly in search for a new restoration project and this weekend I took a closer look at this 1980 Corvette. According to the owner, it has been stored for a decade and is in need of serious restoration. Yes, it is a basket case but… It is a C3 Corvette and it is red!

The 1980 Corvette is not known for anything close to “high performance”. Instead, this is the start of the last body change for the C3 Corvette. For 1980 through 1982 Corvettes, the nose received a re-design as well as the rear fascia modifications. Regarding the engine, well, that is another matter completely. These poor cars became neutered victims of government emissions restrictions and thus, the California equipped engine produced something like 180hp, the standard engine produced 200hp and the high-performance version did at best a whopping 220hp. Oh how things have changed in 35 years; contrast that with my 2014 Camaro packing 400hp of electronic fuel injected power.

So what do we have here? According to the build decal on the driver’s door, this car is vintage October ’79 production of a 1980 Corvette. The paint is past its prime, the interior is nasty and the engine is not original. I have no idea how the engine is because it is not running. This is an automatic transmission car and it has power widows. The red paint is very faded but I think it must be the original color because there is not evidence of any other color in the jams. I tried to look for the plaque with the color code but did not find it.

In other words, this 1980 Corvette is in need of a full body-off restoration. However, as the following photos will show, there is some good: wheels are original aluminum options, it has original T-tops and the body panel gaps (especially the hood) fit exceptionally well. I found the spare tire and all glass is intact including trim pieces.

Front Nose

Since this is a 1980 Corvette, the nose section features the improved aerodynamic design. In my opinion, it is easier on the eye but not as nice as the chrome-bumper version. I suppose this is a plus for this Vette. You can also see what I mentioned earlier, the body gaps are all very nice indeed. Just by looking at the surface this indicates no earlier collision damage, otherwise why would all this fit so well, right?

Rear and Side Panels

The rear of the car also fits well. The plastic tail lights show some serious discoloration and weathering but the rear glass is in good condition including the rear de-fogger. The black trim is all in place, but it has peeled a little on the driver’s side.

T-Tops

Oh yes! T-tops are de rigueur on a C3 Corvette and this one has T-tops. I did not see any damage to the T-tops although I did not try to remove them. There is no telling how long ago it has been since they were last removed.

Interior

And now really ugly part: the interior. This poor Corvette has not been treated very nicely and consequently the interior is in very poor shape. The carpet is expired, ditto for the seats, door skins and dash. The console is also in poor shape.

The knuckle in the tilt steering is broken as well as the outside plastic trim on the steering stalk. I am not sure if the cloth seats are “original”, perhaps they were re-upholstered at some point in time but they will need full restoration – they are nasty!. Funny thing though… If you look inside the glove box, on the left are slots for 8-track tapes. Gotta love the 70’s!

What Next?

A basket case like this is not a deterrent to me. After all, when I first purchased bowtie6 many years ago, it was in very bad shape. Prior to bowtie6, I restored a 1984 Jaguar XJ6 which I drove with Corvette LT1 power for 16 years. It too, was in bad shape. Finally I have my cousin Jim’s machine shop and his ability to restore cars.

Since the engine is not original in this 1980 Corvette, my plans would be to replace it with a new LSx engine with a matching automatic transmission. My preference is always a 6-speed but that would need a new pedal box and that would add complexity. In my opinion the existing engine is just not worth it; instead an LSx will offer enough power to make this Corvette perform to modern standards.

Paint and body work don’t scare me either; I have access to paint guns, and a paint booth. Granted, I have never worked on a fiberglass body but the fiberglass on this car does not show any serious cracks or missing pieces. There will be a great deal of work preparing the body for new paint but that is mainly hard work and patience and even more hard work. Finally, there was a little damage to the tip of the edges on the hood near the windshield, but I can almost assume this is a common issue with these cars.

When we inspected the car yesterday, the area under the windshield wiper mechanism looked in very good shape and there was no evidence of poorly repaired collision damage. Again, the body panels fit very well. I also inspected the inside of the rear fender wells and there was no evidence of rust. The rear roll-pan where the spare tire does not show any collision damage either so all-in-all the car looks solid.

One more concern is that both door latches did not work so well. They appear to be gummed up because the mechanism did not release very well. The door latches did release but not smoothly.

The interior will be the most challenging aspect. I did notice the speedo looked odd. From what I have researched Corvettes of this vintage had the dreaded 85 MPH speedometers installed. This one did NOT have that; it was a normal speedometer. Not sure what that means, perhaps this is because it is an October 79 production run.

The seats seem to be intact but the outside cover trim pieces are cracked. I am not sure what availability of these pieces will be. As for the rest of the interior, well I suppose that will need patience and a lot of work.

In Conclusion

I did not make an offer on the car. Unfortunately the owner did not have a clear title and without that, I will not buy the car. However I think there is potential. Needless to say, we did not talk money yet but I am sure this car can probably be purchased at a low price.

OK. I am a firm believer in buy the best car you can find. However in a case like this, there is potential and if I were to buy this for a reasonable price then all for the better. These are not super desirable C3’s but this is a C3. I have always liked the aero treatment and I think they just look bad ass…

Finally I am going to reach out to you and ask for your opinion. If you have owned (or currently own) a late C3 like this and would like to add any words of wisdom, please let me know in the “Comments” section below. I also would welcome any advice on what you would consider a reasonable purchase price.

I have seen so many pictures of late C3’s this weekend my head is spinning! And what makes this so hard to figure out is all those pictures are stunning! A 1980 Corvette rebuilt is a looker for sure!

Thanks and look forward to any info, suggestions, etc.

TR6 Front LED Bulbs

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The missing Triumph TR6 front LED bulbs came in this week. I say missing because the “kit” I bought included the wrong front LED bulbs: for the 1972 TR6, the bulb must have two “filaments”. In other words, these bulbs double as parking lights and turn signals.

Today’s featured image shows the bulbs installed and in their “park light” mode. I left the lenses off to show off the amber color and just how bright hey are!

And one more picture, this time a closeup showing all the little light emitting diodes and why the coverage is so great.

Multiple rows of LED’s providing full coverage

LED Lights for a Triumph TR6

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Today, I installed a long overdue improvement on bowtie6: a set of LED lights for a Triumph TR6. The “kit” consists of all new 360 degree replacement LED bulbs. This means, the new bulbs have diodes on all sides and give a much brighter beam compared to the traditional bulbs.

The advantage is obvious: a much brighter indicator with little or no heat dissipation. I’ve seen the effects of traditional bulbs on the TR6 tail light clusters: damage can occur and this replacements are expensive. The downside is this improvement is a little on the pricey side. I’ll explain shortly…

This picture shows on the right, a traditional front side-marker light bulb as fitted to a 1971 Triumph TR6. The bulb on the left is the LED replacement, with amber light emitting diodes. Yes, the replacement bulbs are available in different colors depending upon their intended use. As you can see, there are four diodes around each side and one on the tip. This provides the 360 degree coverage.

All bulbs in the kit came individually and carefully packaged in a box. Shipping was not too bad, however the kit was $125.00. Yes, rather pricey but worth it.

By now you are asking for proof. Well, take a look at the following pictures. The first picture shows the “stock” front-side marker light:

Followed by this picture, showing the replacement LED bulb in action:

The difference is noticeable and I must say, the picture does no justice. In person, the LED replacements are much brighter.

Moving along to the back of the car, this picture shows the new LED bulbs on the left and the traditional bulbs on the right:

The picture shows the red “running” lights and the white back-up lights in the “on” setting. Each LED replacement is much brighter with a richer light beam and full coverage. The amber turn signals are not “on” unfortunately, but believe me they are very bright now!

Here is a close-up of the rear running lights with the LED bulb on the left and the traditional bulb on the right:

: Left side with LED bulb

: Traditional bulb

Finally, if you decide on getting one of these LED kits let me save you some aggravation. The manufacturer’s website has a mistake on the bulbs required. The front turn signal bulbs need two “filaments”. The website has the replacements are only one “filament”. As a result, I will need to order the a pair of two “filament” amber bulbs.

Also, don’t forget the resistance of LED’s is different from tradition bulbs. Therefore you must change the flasher to one compatible with LED bulbs. Otherwise, the “blinking” won’t happen properly.

Here is the corrected list of bulbs if you wish to know:

1156-A18-T in Amber – required 2 for the rear turn signals
1157-R27-T in Red – required 2 for the rear running/brake lights
1156-CW18-T in Cool White – required 2 for the rear backup lights
BA9S-RHP5 in Red – required 2 for the rear side marker lights
BA9S-AHP5 in Amber – required 2 for the front side marker lights
1157-A27-T in Amber – required 2 for the front running/turn signal lights

1940 Ford Taking Shape

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Jim’s 1940 Ford Standard

Today, I stopped by Jim’s shop – as I always do on Saturdays – and found the 1940 Ford taking shape, essentially fully mocked up. My cousin Jim has put a lot of effort into his latest creation. So I took a bunch of photos so this blog post would show off the current progress.

So the following pictures show the front of the car. I’ve talked about the aluminum hood before because, well… It is just awesome. The heat extractor comes right out of the pages of the sales brochure for the 2014 Camaro SS (like mine). This aluminum hood is light as a feather too. But… The hood is not the only remarkable detail. Take a look at the grill, the “Ford” emblem latch release and the frenched headlights…

Pretty nifty, huh? Well, there is more… Next, let me show you how the doors are shaping out. There has been a huge amount of work done here:

Check out the door/body tolerance…

In an earlier article, I wrote about how Jim had chopped the top on the 1940 Ford. It required not only cutting the posts, but also adding material to stretch the top to compensate for the change in the roof’s geometry. This change also forced alteration of the rear windows. The next challenge required altering the shape of the doors. As you might have imagined, Jim had to cut and add material to the doors so they would fit properly. And if you haven’t noticed, check out the precision in the door/body gap. It is very tight.

Artistic Features

Jim builds cars to suit him and by definition this means some features might make sense just to his tastes. “Must be nice”, huh? I call these “artistic features” and the 1940 Ford already has several…

Trunk Hinges

Here is the completed trunk hinges shaped to match a person’s hands. The aluminum hinges are made from a milling machine, files and an air powered engraving tool – that is all! Before you say “Nah!”, ask yourself how you would craft this from a thick chunk of aluminum?

Door Handles

Jim’s skill are once again showcased in the door handles for the 1940 Ford. Take a look:

This door handle is made, not bought. I asked Jim about it, and he said in his mind it represents a vase with two rose buds in it. The rose buds have petals and yes, this is all hand-made from aluminum. The button operates a latch mechanism of Jim’s own design (more pictures later).

Here are a couple of pictures showing the door handle from a few a couple of feet away:

Running Board / Exhaust

Because Jim wanted to keep things simple under the frame, he made the running boards serve two purposes: a) finish the look below the body and b) exhaust. Yes, these running boards serve as exhaust pipes. You can see this in the two pictures in the previous gallery and in the next photo:

Back of the Car

From the back of the car we can see the recessed tail lights. You can also see the scars on the roof of the car from the welding of more panels used to solve the missing material from chopping the top.

The Engine

The 1940 Ford has been designed to use a Chevrolet LSx engine…

And as a bonus, you can see what the hood latch mechanism looks like. Yes, this is yet another bit of Jim’s handy work. The latch has been made from scratch and features a hinge for the hood, opening forward. The “Ford” emblem (seen below the “V”) is attached to a rod that actuates the latch release.

Doors

Here is the inside of the doors. This looks very simple but it shows the door latch release mechanism and the power window actuators.

A great deal of time and engineering went into this effort. You see the rods that actuate the door latch from the inside have to clear the window runners.

Summer Sabbatical

Goodies from my Garden

Today’s post tells the story of my latest “experiment”: as you can see in the featured photo it shows just a small sampling of this year’s bumper crop of hot peppers from my little garden. My garden is not elaborate, just a couple of planter boxes with some good soil and several tomato plants with some habaneros peppers, red-hot’s, Tabasco brand peppers and serranos for good measure.

The tomato plants consist of three Roma tomato plants which have produced some awesome tomatoes for pasta sauces (Wifey has made some amazing dishes with the Romas!) and two other plants yielded some great tomatoes suitable for awesome Caprese salads with my own grown basil.

Good times.

Weapons grade spirits…

So back to the hot peppers… Many years ago, I lived in Aiken SC. Not far from Aiken is “The Garden City”, the home of The National: Augusta GA. One of the specialties of one of my favorite restaurants in Augusta is a “Cajun martini”. Their trick was to let hot peppers infuse in vodka. So, I went to Costco and purchased some Kirkland brand vodka – the bottle said it is made in France but the price was good so I figured why not.

Half the bottle of vodka went into a Mason jar and I added the habaneros. The rest of the vodka remained in the tall bottle (pictured left) and I added the red-hots in there. After a couple of days, I took a whiff – yikes! Good stuff! Today, I poured the liquid in some saved bottles and placed them in the freezer. I’ll add a post later with taste results.

Weapons grade pepper flakes…

Finally, my friend Thom was kind enough to take several Ziplock bags full of my hot peppers and prepare them in his food dehydrator. And of course, I now need to shop for a dehydrator – so if you have any recommendations please let me know in the Comments section at the end of today’s post. Amazing thing these pepper flakes!

I’ve been adding this extra condiment to pretty much everything! The heat is not unbearably toxic, instead it is very tasty indeed but not for the faint-of-heart. One thing though: even after being dried and chopped the fumes are still there. I’ve had several episodes of sneezing during dispensation.

Other Stuff

Nest Thermostat Review

Several of my friends at work have been telling me about their Nestthermostats and how much they like them. I’ve stayed away from the Nest devices because they are a) rather pricey and b) I already had a programmable thermostat. But, I decided to do some research…

As it turned out, Nest had price reduction this summer and I took the plunge. Against my better judgement, I ordered a thermostat from the Nest website rather than from Amazon. Yes, I would have received it free of shipping charges and with 2 day delivery, since I have Prime but I figured I’d order from the factory, and hopefully get a latest version of the thermostat.

This order was doomed from the start. It appears that there must have been many folks just like me on the fence about the price and they too, ordered thermostats taking advantage of the price reduction. After a couple of weeks I started calling Nest customer service and as expected the other side of the phone call was answered in some foreign land with reps that have a very poor command of the English language. Eventually after many attempts, I finally spoke with someone in the continental USA and they explained demand went through the roof and inventory went the opposite direction. They asked me to be patient and that they would knock off another $25 plus reimburse shipping in return of not cancelling my order. After a few more days I received my Nest Thermostat.

The device reminded me of unpacking my iPhone and iPad. The thermostat is exceptionally well made, impeccably packaged and well documented. It even includes a very nifty screwdriver with a very comfortable handle. Installation was a breeze and this thing just plain works. After a “learning” period the thermostat has settled and the one thing that stands out is how constant temperature is maintained. My old thermostat just did not have this level of accuracy.

The thermostat can be controlled from an iPhone as well as from the device itself. And I must reiterate the app is very handy. Now I can control the thermostat away from home and best off all Wifey has the app too – so she can adjust the device. Happy Wifey, happy life.

Roku Review

And another cool toy purchased lately was a new Roku 3 device. With all the awesome content available for streaming I figured I’d give one of these a try. This time I did order from Amazon at a good price and in 2 days I had the device at my doorstep. The device is really nice and as advertised it powered right up and immediately started working with very little fuss.

Unfortunately due to the way my house is designed the wireless signal did not prove to be strong enough for the Roku. I don’t have any issues with my other devices (even the Nest thermostat) but for some reason the Roku just could not lock in a strong enough signal. So, I crawled under the house and ran a physical wire between the router to a switch that allowed me to finally hard wire the TV, the Roku and the DirecTV receiver. Amazing how well all this works with a wired signal.

Streaming is awesome. So much available content and all with flawless performance. A real gem this Roku device has turned out to be. My favorites so far:

Netflix streaming is great. I changed my DVD subscription and the streaming version is a must-have.
Amazon Prime offers video too. Awesome content there too.
FilmOn – this is free and is simply amazing. Basically you can watch live British TV. It is soooo nice to be able to watch F1 races on the British feed and not have to put up with Leigh Diffey’s annoying voice and idiotic commentary on the NBCSN broadcast. Incidentally, the British version of the coverage is superb. Much more insight and certainly not “dumbed down” as is so much the norm on NBCSN.

And I guess I have tried to cram way too much in today’s post. Sorry about that…

the bowtie6 blog

For this Triumph TR6, the road goes on forever and the party never ends…