New to this Forum. I have a 77 Corvette I restored years ago, Just built a 400 Small Block, with all aftermarket parts for the car, and just got it installed in the engine bay. Still have to get header transition pipes made, and with my schedule I will most likely not get it ready before snow flies here in PA. So....will be ready next spring.

 

Talk about clean and sharp! You have a beautiful car, thank you for sharing!

 

I also own a 2006 Corvette, base model, manual transmission Z51 in Daytona Sunset Orange Metallic. Its my daily driver here in Western PA, and drive it almost every day except for the rare times it snows. I have put 40,000 plus miles on it in three years......its a fun car, but will never be the cool machine my 77 is. I restored teh 77 body off five years ago, and am now on the third, and hopefully final engine, after having many issues with the "professionally" built first engines. This time....I built it myself, and we will see how it runs next spring....but I am confident it will be everything I want it to be.

 

And FYI, I am a life long Harley guy. I have a 2004 Road King I bought brand new in 2004, .....currently have 138,000 miles on it. Upgraded it last year to a 98 cubic inch....and it has never let me down. Its a fine machine. Also just bought a 1972 FLH Electraglide, original paint,...one owner with 69,000 miles on it. Found it 40 miles north of me. I love the Shovelhead engines better than any, and it needs some work after sitting a couple years since owner died....but hopefully will have it up and running next year. Its not my first Shovel....but this one I hope is a keeper. The second picture is the original owner and his son....and the son is now over 30 years old......very cool.

 

More pictures of the 77....the first picture was a Corvette Central pick for their annual calendar a few years ago.

 

I am third owner of the 77...original sold at Yenko Chevrolet in Pittsburgh,.second owner new Eighty Four, PA,....and now me. It had 63,000 original miles on it when I bought it is 2011. Spent FOUR years doing complete body off restoration, with all steel parts powdercoated, everything rebuilt, upgraded to composite spring, Bilstein shocks, etc etc. It is the original 77 single year Orange color....but repainted with two part urethane...very nicely done by HarborVette in Erie PA. Original interior was tan, but I converted and dyed it to black. New leather seats. I drove it with YJ8 aluminum factory 15 inch wheels for a few years, but decided to get more sticky rubber....which required I upsize to 17 inch Torq Thrust wheels....HUGE difference in handling, and I think they look good. I started with a ZZ4 Short Block, AFR head, etc ...350 cubic inch, but after a couple years wanted more low end torque, so had a builder build me a 406 Small Block in a Dart SHP block, AFR heads, etc.....but had nothing but problems with the engine, and had a second builder try to fix it,.....and then more problems. So....I sold that engine, and started over myself with a CNC Motorsports 400 SBC short block,...added 195 AFR Street heads, and built the rest myself. Cammed for low end torque with Mike Jones cam, more than high RPM HP. I am hopeful I got it a good engine this time,....we shall see. I am running a Jodys Transmission M23Z Autogear 4 speed transmission, 355 rear end for now but will eventually replace with a Gary Ramadei Tuned Posi 336 rear end. I have no interest in 5 speed modern transmissions.......and work hard to keep the original character of the car, just well built and strong is my style.

I average 5000 miles a year when the car is running, but unfortunately due to the 406 engine problems,....its been off the road for three years now. That hopefully will come to an end next spring, and I start driving it again.

 

Very Nice pictures of the toys, Thanks for sharing. The detail on your 77 makes my 77 look a little sad, but I still like it. Hope the new engine works out.

 

My next project is to get a set of mandrel bent transition pipes made from the 3 inch collector on my American Racing headers to the StainlessWorks 2-1/2 mandrel bent exhaust. I have nobody local to me to help me, so I am going to have to find pieces, custom fit them, and then send them out for proper tig welding. Its a real pain.....I never did it before, but I have no choice. I would appreciate any suggestions on idea, vendors or best way to get this done. Exhaust fitment has been a problem for this car from the beginning.

 

Have you thought about learning to weld? There has to be someone in the area that has the equipment that could weld it up for you even a Midus shop maybe. Had a neighbor once he didn't advertise as a welder but a steel building builder, he could weld aluminum like I never could. plus truck frame repairs. Could there be an automotive shop or Hot Rod shop close that welds. The Last dairy barn we built we had a mobil welder guy come in to weld the stainless steel pipelines. They can be pricey but do increadable work. that could be an option also.

 

I have a MIG welder, and have a very amateur ability with it. But.....not going to tackle stainless 16 gage mandrel bend pieces. I might be able to tack them. I was told by one exhaust company that its important to back purge the pipes with some type of gas......so, its one of these things were I think its better to leave to professionals....assuming I can find one. Every time I let someone else do ANYTHING on my cars, they screw it up. There are several large companies that sell mandrel bends,.....and offer custom welding,...so its a matter of buying the right pieces, cutting and fitting them, then shipping the parts to them for pro welding.