1971 Chevy Corvette Stingray Project Car - First Impressions

Whether attending a black-tie charity event, making a new professional acquaintance, or driving our Corvette to the local car show, we all like to make a favorable first impression. And while there's something to be said for a ratty-looking car with over-the-top performance, the fact is that most often our vehicles are initially judged by their appearance, not their horsepower. Such is the case with our most recent project car, a '71 Stingray we picked up on eBay for around $5,600. Granted, getting a running, driving chrome-bumper Stingray with an array of new suspension and drivetrain parts for this price was a good deal, so we didn't expect our purchase to be all that aesthetically pleasing-and we were right.

There's no doubt that our... 

   

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There's no doubt that our Stingray appeared used-very used, in fact, with oxidized, over-sprayed paint and two missing center caps. We saw potential, however, so we decided to make our used Corvette look its best.

Though the car looked pretty bad when we picked it up, we knew we'd be able to improve it significantly with a little hard work and the right tools and products. Mechanically, the Vette was pretty sound, but we found several issues that needed to be addressed, in addition to some overdue maintenance tasks. Last month, we performed an overall vehicle inspection, took care of a few fluid changes, and corrected most of the electrical and mechanical issues so we could get the car back on the road. Now that our Stingray is a pretty reliable driver, we want it to be less of an eyesore while cruising the streets.

Although making our Corvette presentable seemed an insurmountable task at first, we could still discern considerable potential through the oxidized, over-sprayed, years-old paintjob. Under their own discolored, thinning paint, we also had a decent set of 15-inch GM Rally wheels to work with, albeit minus two center caps and all of the trim rings. The interior, meanwhile, was mostly complete, and the carpet, door panels, and dash cover were fairly new, having been replaced by the previous owner. The sunvisors were missing, though, and the red seats didn't exactly match the black color of the rest of the interior. Numerous minor defects littered the remainder of the cockpit. While these will make it tough to pull off a show-quality appearance, we'll do the best we can. The undercarriage, though rust-free and recently restored with new suspension bushings and brakes, was dirty and somewhat discolored, and it would benefit greatly from a fresh coat of paint.

After washing the car to remove...        read full caption After washing the car to remove any foreign particles, we began by wet-sanding. This step is only mandatory in extreme cases such as ours, where the car is covered in overspray.	If the paint is badly orange...        read full caption If the paint is badly orange peeled, or has large scratches, you can begin wet-sanding with as rough as 1,000-grit paper. If the paint is thin, however, you risk sanding through the paint and ruining the finish. We began with 2,000-grit paper and lightly sanded the car to remove overspray.	When sanding a car, either...        read full caption When sanding a car, either while doing body work or wet-sanding paint, always use a sanding block. This foam block will prevent you from applying too much pressure and distorting the painted surface with finger marks.
Plenty of water must be used...        read full caption Plenty of water must be used to carry away the paint, dirt, and grime that wet-sanding removes from the car. With this job comes the potential of sanding through the paint, so if you're not comfortable performing this task yourself, we suggest visiting a reputable paint shop and having it do the job for you.	For areas that are too tight...        read full caption For areas that are too tight or contoured, where using the sanding block isn't feasible, use the edge of your hand opposite your thumb to apply pressure. Though you may be tempted, don't use your fingers, as they can cause depressions, or finger marks, in the paint's surface.	Sanding large panels at 45-degree...        read full caption Sanding large panels at 45-degree angles will make them look straighter once the job is finished. The key is to sand as little as possible to remove imperfections and the top layer of oxidized paint. Body lines should be avoided or protected with tape, as it's easy to sand through the finish at any sharp edge.