1980 Corvette... 20k mile "Survivor"

[imported_Luster]

This is an ALL ORIGINAL 1980 Corvette. Right down to the tires. Nothing has ever been done to the car except the battery. Original old single-stage enamel... hard as a rock and paper thin!!!

20,000 miles, original belts, tires, hoses, paint, interior, everything! These cars are called "Survivor" vehicles and can achieve certification at big Corvette shows like "Bloomington Gold". Survivor vehicles achieve the highest honors at Bloomington.

So that was the goal of this complete detailing... DON'T USE ANY TOUCH-UP PAINT ON ANYTHING! Just make it super-clean.

CLEANING:
Cleaned engine bay with Purple Power, Rust Dissolver and dressed everything with Stoner Trim Shine.

Cleaned undercarriage and wheelwells with Purple Power and Rust Dissolver. Rinsed with water. Sprayed with Chem Guys Undercarriage spray.

Cleaned interior and carpets with Tuff Stuff, by hand, rinsed carpets with a wet/damp towel... air dried.

Polished wheels with Simichrome polish. Cleaned wheels with Wesley's Bleche Wite. Dressed with Chem Guys VRP.

Washed car with ONR. Polished with PC 7424XP/M105/LC Yellow, followed by M205/LC White.

LSP was Wet Diamond x2, followed by Z8.

Before:

AFTER:

 

[imported_Luster]

Ready for Customer Pickup::thumbup:

 

[imported_RaskyR1]

Wow!


Awesome job Bill! I would be afraid to buff on a car that old with original paint...especially white! Those older single stage white paints are definitely hard and it looks like you got great correction. Wheels and under carriage turned out great too!

Well done sir!

 

[Tuck91]

Awesome work Bill :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Everything just looks simply perfect! :thumbup::hurray:

 

[imported_Mr. Clean]

CLEANING:
Cleaned engine bay with Purple Power, Rust Dissolver

Is that an Eastwood product? How long have you used it? Your impressions? It looks like it worked pretty well on the valve cover, but not as well on the undercarriage area. Maybe because you can't acheive the dwell time, assuming that is needed for best results.

I had a vehicle recently that I could have really used that product on the hood hinge area. It wasn't rust pocked, but had a bit of surface rust.

Did the owner really drive that away? 20 y/o original rubber parts...that doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

[imported_Luster]

Is that an Eastwood product? How long have you used it? Your impressions? It looks like it worked pretty well on the valve cover, but not as well on the undercarriage area. Maybe because you can't acheive the dwell time, assuming that is needed for best results.

Permatex Rust Dissolver Gel from O'Reilly Auto Parts. It's red in color and I brushed it on with a paint brush, let dwell for about 5 minutes and rinsed with water while agitating.

The exhaust was pretty far gone. In some spots almost rusted through, but he want's to keep it as original as possible for as long a possible.

Did the owner really drive that away? 20 y/o original rubber parts...that doesn't sound like a good idea.

:iagree:Yes, he drove it to my place and drove it home. I would be worried most about the tires. They have plenty of tread, but definitely some weather checking and cracking...

He's going to put some new wheels and tires on it so he can drive it, and keep the original ones in his garage.

 

[imported_Luster]

Wow!


Awesome job Bill! I would be afraid to buff on a car that old with original paint...especially white! Those older single stage white paints are definitely hard and it looks like you got great correction. Wheels and under carriage turned out great too!

Well done sir!

Thanks Rasky... I wouldn't say "great" correction, because there were still some swirls remaining, but, like most 30 year old vehicles, I didn't really want to bear down with pressure!!!:scared:

 

[imported_Mr. Clean]

Permatex Rust Dissolver Gel from O'Reilly Auto Parts. It's red in color and I brushed it on with a paint brush, let dwell for about 5 minutes and rinsed with water while agitating.

The exhaust was pretty far gone. In some spots almost rusted through, but he want's to keep it as original as possible for as long a possible.

Yeah, I wouldn't expect much help on the exhaust, I was looking at the spare tire "bracket". The surrounding paint looked pretty good, but the rust areas didn't look to be as improved as the valve cover area.

:Yes, he drove it to my place and drove it home. I would be worried most about the tires. They have plenty of tread, but definitely some weather checking and cracking...

He's going to put some new wheels and tires on it so he can drive it, and keep the original ones in his garage.

I would trust a 20 y/o radiator hose or fan belt, if they are really 20 y/o or perhaps OEM replacements.

 

[imported_Flash Gordon]

Sweet ride Bill and nice detail.I had a 78 Pace Car it was 1 of my all time favorites. I can still remember the way the interior smelled in all those model Vettes

 

[imported_Mr. Clean]

Duplicate post:redface:

 

[imported_Luster]

Sweet ride Bill and nice detail.I had a 78 Pace Car it was 1 of my all time favorites. I can still remember the way the interior smelled in all those model Vettes

If a 78 Pace Car is really well preserved, it will really hold its value well.... I've seen them go for $30k in mint condition.

The worst part of those cars was the silver leather seats... it just seemed to deteriorate very fast.

But I certainly love the look! One of the best looking Vettes ever....:thumbup: (Hey, it's my thread, I'll hi-jack it if I want to!!!:w00t::notworthy

 

[imported_broker99]

great turn around. All ready for another 20K miles and the next 29 years.

 

[imported_Jokeman]

Looks great!!!!

 

[imported_Luster]

great turn around. All ready for another 20K miles and the next 29 years.

Yup!