C3 Race Car Build

Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
Thought I'd start a little thread as I'm bound to need some help over the coming months.

I decided earlier in the year to build myself another race car, I've currently got a sixties Cooper S that I've owned for 25 years. May come to regret it but I decided on a C3. I couldn't really find something suitable here at the time so I imported a project car from the States. Arrived last week, a little petrol down the carb and it started straight up and drove into the garage.

Just started getting it stripped, interior is mainly out now along with 2 mouse nests, a wasps nest and one dead rodent. Body mounts on the birdcage don't look too bad. Just have to wait and see what the top of the chassis is like when the body comes off.

i-tDzcvhV-M.jpg


i-Ptwdh9W-M.jpg

i-MZ8NszQ-M.jpg


i-KzX2MFB-M.jpg

i-PckZng7-M.jpg
 
Invetterate

Invetterate

CCCUK Member
Sounds like a splendid project! Please take plenty of photos - may be a series of features for Vette News!

Good luck with it all. I too look forward to watching progress and I am sure there will be plenty of "helpful" advice from members.....😬
 
Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
Not sure what series to run in yet which is a bit of a dilemma as HSCC and CSCC 60s ones don’t allow fender flares which was my original intention.

First help required! Is it normal to have sealer between the top of the wing and windscreen?

3975
 
kentvette

kentvette

CCCUK Member
Having owned a beautiful 1966 Austin Cooper back in the early 70's, and regretted letting it go, I'd be interested to see photos of the Cooper S!

Good luck with the Vette!
 
johng

johng

CCCUK Member
I can only speak for my 78, but that has a fibreglass panel shown with the red arrow, which is rivetted and glued to the steel corner panel at the base of the windscreen. (most of my steel panel had rusted away!) The winscreen also bonds to this panel, but I don't believe the screen should be directly fixed to the wing.
John

3978
 
Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
Thanks John. The construction of yours looks just the same as mine, minus the gunk. I’ll dig it out and see what happens, probably asking for trouble!

Couple of Mini photos.

3980
3981
 
Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
kentvette said:
Wow! Now that is smart! It looks like a "race" version of mine. Love that it so stock looking, right down to the correct chrome trim around the wheel arches. I bet that is fun!
Click to expand...

It’s been a bit of a nightmare this year, handling has been all over the place and I’ve parked it in the scenery twice.

Trim, bumpers, lights and bonnet all off, blimey there’s some heavy stuff on a Vette.

3982
3983
3984
 
Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
Started stripping paint, bored now :sleep: it’s had a shunt in the left rear at some point that’s going to need a repair and it’ll need a new front lower valance. It seems to have been sanded to fibreglass previously and the yukky yellow put on top of high build primer. There’s the odd places you can see the original silver.

3988
 
Last edited:
Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
Dug out the gunk at the bottom of the windscreen and one side seems ok but the other has a small hole, think I'm going to have to take the screen out, which was probably the only decent part on the car!

i-7WSWnTf-M.jpg



Got some more paint stripped over the last few evenings, and it's looking worse than I thought, the front end has been repaired numerous times so I'm probably going to bite the bullet and replace it. Originally I thought the shunt at the rear had basically split the body along the panel seams but that's not the case, it's also broken the left buttress itself and the rear window surround as well as some of the internal fibreglass.

i-8QrWQvB-M.jpg
i-MMrqrbL-M.jpg
i-Dsv9Wh3-M.jpg
i-FWzc22w-M.jpg
 
Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
johng said:
Not looking good, when I took the windscreen out half the corner panel came with it!
Click to expand...
I put a little camera inside and it didn't look too bad, did you just decide to sacrifice the windscreen when you took it out?

sublimemike said:
Shut lines don't look too bad at least. Pity you can't put some L88 flairs on it once you've got the body issues sorted.
Click to expand...

The other side isn't as good :rolleyes:

Daytona Vette said:
It is all in the repairs and the prep - Good luck with it and enjoy
Click to expand...

Thanks
 
Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
Daytona Vette said:
So you are going to race the Vette, have you any ideas on what the spec is going to be re; engine, box, suspension etc?
Click to expand...

Yes, we’ll I did have but the unforeseen bodywork may have eaten into the engine budget.

Intended spec was M22 gearbox, L88 engine (454 +30 thou), suspension is pretty much limited by regs to what it left the factory with but with a few tweaks and different geometry.
 
johng

johng

CCCUK Member
Oneball said:
I put a little camera inside and it didn't look too bad, did you just decide to sacrifice the windscreen when you took it out?
Click to expand...
My plan was to take out the screen and then re-use it, but it didn't work out that way. I managed to slip whilst working on the car and the tip of my drill touched the screen and cracked it:mad:
As it happens I don't think I would have got it out in one piece anyway. Around the top and both sides it was reasonably easy to cut through the glue, but in the passenger side bottom corner there was loads of glue and I really struggled to cut it. I did cause another crack doing this. The drivers side bottom corner on the other hand was really easy as there was no metal left for the glue to stick to!
 
Oneball

Oneball

CCCUK Member
Windscreen out, yep broke it too, 3 sides free and just went crack as I was losening the bottom. The frame isn’t looking great. Someone has been there before with the fibreglass.

40164017401840194020
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top