Good news

With time to spend this weekend on disassembly, the windshield came out to reveal the extent of the expected rust in the windshield frame and support. The seller was very up front about the rust in the windshield support and it figured into the selling price. It's a common problem with C3 Corvettes as I am learning, and though a long process, repair is straightforward with a lot of support from the aftermarket.

The mystery was why a previous owner installed a replacement windshield with roofing tar. Though the windshield came out without much effort, it took quite a long time to remove all of that tar. Yet as awful as that was, it kept the windshield frame in great shape. About half of the frame still bears the original paint. Rarely do windshield frames look this good.

The hideaway windshield wiper system with its troublesome vacuum-operated door is seized and clearly hasn't worked for years. The wires leading to and from the switch inside the car were even cut at some point. The cam that is installed in the engine is probably the reason since the engine won't produce enough vacuum to operate it or the headlights. This will be another difficult repair, but such an elegant albeit complicated system will be fun to make work again.

Rust is never good news, especially when it comes to Corvettes. So when it became clear that the rust in the windshield frame was minor, it was such good news. There's only one spot on the passenger-side A pillar that will require a patch to be welded in. The rest is just surface rust that can be ground off, treated and sealed up before paint.

The worst spot for rust is in the windshield support on the driver's side. The good news is that there is no damage on the other side of this and in the lower portions of the birdcage so the cowl will not have to be separated. Once the front clip is separated from the rest of the car, a better view of this rust damage will be possible. It's a good guess that it's just the one part that will have to be replaced. Years ago, the somewhat complicated part would have to be fabricated, but now a new, stamped part is about $250.

What a mess!

The interior is going to take a lot of work, but any car being restored will look like this at some point. Old, damaged wiring needs to be replaced to help avoid a fire and it's clear that mice have spent time in this car. There are several options in the aftermarket for complete, factory-style wiring harnesses.

One thing at a time. Right now, it's rust that's the enemy.