This is what it looks like today.

  This is what it looked like 7 years ago after I began restoring it. It had some body damage and bondo in nearly every body panel. The passenger door had been hit twice that I know of and had about 5 lbs. of bondo in it. The front end had been hit and needed to be replaced. The front end was pieced together from original GM glass panels. The bodywork and paint was completed by Gary Jacobs at Jacobs Custom Autobody in Centerville, Tenn. Gary used a base coat /clear coat process in the original cortez silver shade. The paint has lasted 7 years with very few chips and many weekend miles. I have driven my car to Corvette shows in Bloomington, Ill. and in Cypress Gardens, Fla. every year since. Currently the car has 140,000 miles on it and it is need of some transmission work. I am going to pull the engine and transmission this fall.

10/12  Well, I have pulled the engine and transmission out of the car. The transmission mount was broken and the input shaft to the transmission has some considerable play in it. This is probably due to the high mileage and the normal wear and tear on a 4-speed. The indication that something was wrong with the transmission was when I drove the car over 70 mph; there would be a considerable vibration throughout the whole car. I could change the amount of vibration by re-shifting the transmission. The vibration has gotten worse over the past few months and it was just a matter of time before it went completely out. I am still trying to decide how I want to build the engine before I reinstall it in the car. The original engine is being stored in my basement and I plan to upgrade the shortblock that was in the car. I would like more torque and more horsepower in the useable RPM range of a street car. Currently, the shortblock is a .030 over 350 with 2.02 heads and a L82 cam. I try to keep the car in stock condition with the original manifolds and accessories. 

04/10 I have decided to build a small block 383. I bought a nodular iron 400 crank and had the block machined to accept the crank. I also bought some Keith Black pistons, Crane Cam Kit, roller-tip rockers, Hayes clutch kit, Holley 650 carb., and Eldebrock aluminum intake.

07/30 I have assembled the engine and reinstalled it and the transmission back in the car. I am now connecting all the accessories and should have the car back on the road by next week.

01/02/99 It took quite a bit longer than I thought getting the car running as I had a bad clutch safety switch and the car would not start. Boy, did that have me rechecking everything and looking at the wiring harness. Now, I have the car back on the road with about 500 mileson the engine. Wow, does that 383 have some power and torque! This is the best way to get the original 350 HP back and run 9.5 CR. I would recommend this to anyone looking for more HP on the street.

01/11/99 I have made my reservations at Disney World for the regional NCRS meet and I am getting my car ready for the trip. I am looking forward to seeing how the 383 will do on the highway.

01/28/99 Well, the trip to Disney World/NCRS meet was great and the car performed well.

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  Last Revised: 01/11/99