Neglected for 34 Years: 1975 C3 Corvette Convertible Brought Back to Life Part 10

[@Avenarius2906]

Thanx for saving C3 Corvettes! 👍🏼 Greetz from Germany 🇩🇪😎🇺🇸 My toy is a 79… ✌🏼

[@tomholz9928]

You are the Einstein of vettes!

[@ProtoType99468]

i've owned a 70 bigblock and a 72 350 , but an old friend of mine who owned the 72 w/removable hardtop put a sunroof in the original I was basicly a bills-free kid when i had my vettes but at least I knew not to do anything that couldnt be reversed

[@kirkendicott5521]

This brings me back to when I had my 70 and 72 coupes.

[@reddragon6613]

You did a great job on that interior, looks outstanding for an original car.

[@RestorationObsession]

She looks great, Ben

[@donnie2533]

Great video glad you posted

[@silvernblackattach]

Good job. All looks great.

[@LyndseyMacPherson]

Awww, I love this car so much! Was hoping it was a keeper. Hopefully, the owner will love it as much as you have.

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Thanks for the tip on avoiding garbage eBay parts from you-know-where.

[@russellanderson3281]

74 and 75 roadsters are rare and extremely kool

[@daved7024]

Great job👍 looks new compared to when you first got it. The owner should be very very happy with the result.

[@byronholt3993]

LOVING the Corvette content.

[@jeffmac3071]

I like the realistic rebuilds. You don't edit out the problems.

[@aceautonewportky]

You did a great job on everything you've done! You made it so that C3 will last a very very long time, I've enjoyed every minute, Thank you for the great content! You are awesome!!

[@johndonlon1611]

Very cool video series...thank you.

[@paulmoss7940]

Used to mess with some C3's a little. Love to see them with luggage rack ,chrome dist. cover and optional pass. mirror .High option usually sp. order and well cared for. Hooked my best friend up with last one loaded 74 454/T400 red/red 47k mi.orig.paint. I'm stuck in the past ,still rock a 96 LT4. Enjoy your videos, save the old wave.

[@flipflopping]

Hell of a job....very nice. I will be the first to tell you that I am not too keen on Chevys and I haven't been for a long time, but I cannot possibly hide the fact that there is something really special about the Corvette. You have to drive one and own one to understand. What I wouldn't give to have my '89 back.

[@vincerencher9128]

Great series on this car! It's cool when they come back from the dead!

[@brandonaaron2665]

Ben you did a great job sorting this one out. On to the next project!

[@woodchuck243]

Great series I recently got a 75 convertible and I enjoyed all the information helped me greatly can't wait for more keep up the great work and keep them on the road thanks

[@duncandonovan5270]

Good job done 👍

[@russelltrupia4479]

Awesome job it looks great

[@wyattoneable]

Awesome job getting the car to this point.

[@asteverino8569]

Nice work Benn The frustrations of parts replacement, sometimes. Glad to share it with you. We are not alone. 😀 Great results with your refurbish!

[@ronstjohn6780]

This is a great video series for someone restoring a 1975 Corvette. I am the original owner Of a ‘75 roadster and fortunately I’ve never had deal with any of these issues. Mine is a late ‘75 so it was interesting how the front carpet set was different because the factory was still using the leftover ‘74 stuff. I do believe that was the original front carpet. Hate to see this car go. I may just go back and re-watch the whole series...

[@repz0611]

Always love that orange 🍊

[@Lambykin]

Nice car! I notice in the last few moments where you showed the center console that the clock wasn't working. This could be repairable, and it's very easy to do - I've done it on a friend's 1976 Corvette. Naturally, you need to remove the clock. Once out, it's easy to get the back off. It's mechanical - not sure if moisture gets into these due to whatever, but you get yourself some PJ1 cable lube and spray the mechanicals. It's intended for motorcycles, but it's a very slippery lube that does not evaporate & works well for a lot of things. It worked so well that my friend's clock went from not working to working too well - didn't take long for it to gain quite a bit of time. The lube is intended to reduce a lot of friction, and this could be what has happened. Mechanical clocks are adjustable when you figure out the trick - unfortunately, I had to return the car and ran out of time to mess with it. My friend was happy that the clock was working at all. I'm not a Corvette expert by any means, but this might give some Corvette guys an idea for repairing/restoring the original clock. It's definitely worth a try instead of assuming the clock has electrical issues and you toss it into the bin. The lube can be found here, but it can be purchased at various places throughout North America: pj1.com/product/cable-lube/

[@RandBLSWorld]

Cool car ! I enjoyed this series

[@itsthemain420]

Looks beautiful

[@carlp3032]

Great work Ben!

[@stevegarrett4869]

My 74 corvette had about 30 condoms under the seat. Fortunately unused 😂

[@vettekid3326]

As someone that was driving those cars back in the 1970's a lot of people when adding a passenger side mirror in the late 70's would go with the Bullitt or "racing style" mirrors that were similar to those on 1977 Vettes and up. It just updated the car's looks a little.

[@socialghost4400]

This car pretty much confirms my ebay car parts buying experience

[@shawnguillory267]

I like the new intros you started doing with this series

[@1980bwc]

Hugger Orange has to be the most awesome color in GM history.

[@stephenholland5930]

Ontario Orange is also superb.

[@9898dt]

You're awesome Ben! One of my favorite channels! 👍😁

[@samuelsmith5098]

Heartbreaking! Someone else found it, got it to the Ben and is taking it home. Not on a trailer I hope. Great post.

[@rjensen6368]

Nice work

[@__hsalman__]

Nice video Ben 🙏🏻

[@goldenknight007]

My wife thinks I'm watching national geographic as I stare at my phone teary eyed, saying softly "oh poor girl...shes bleeding".

[@BillyRoberts]

I have a 92 Corvette that I just bought. Think my wife is jealous.

[@habercar]

Dude. Get an iPad. You can’t enjoy this on a phone.

[@johnrussell3869]

Omg those chrome mirrors were all the rage maybe 1974 i was a kid....Calvan store sold those haaaaa im old

[@neilschipper3741]

Great job! I've enjoyed the videos you made on this car. As one of your original subscribers, I am surprised you didn't show us washing the windshield!

[@tracktoys9269]

I have a 74, what is the spray you are using on the interior? That stuff works great!

[@Wooley689]

Came out nice. Please tell us what you used to clean the gauge lenses' and clusters with. I don't want to scratch mine up.

[@johnkelly6942]

I had 29,000 original mile, very original 1977 Trans Am with the same carpet issue. CHANGE IT! It was definitely the right thing on my car.

[@johnkearns3918]

Ben.... I have surely enjoyed watching this car come back to life. I recently made a deal on a similar 75 Corvette convertible that has 48,000 original miles with hard top. It is L48 / T400 and hasn't been started or moved from my neighbors garage in 29 years that I know of. The only things not original are the radio and engine valve covers (chrome), other than that it is pure stock so this series is a tutorial for me and I look forward to moving it home this weekend and getting started. I wish you had done a segment on the rear bumper cover replacement, that is the only body part that needs replaced on the one I purchased and would be curious about which rear cover ended up on the one you did? Nice work, and thanks again for the tutorial.

[@danmcclure6670]

Exactly my experience with eBay + I'm probably the only person in the state of Florida that has never bought anything from Amazon. Prefer to buy locally and Ecklers is just 5 minutes away but a lot of their stuff is imported too. Window sticker received. Hope you could use the license plates.

[@rn2cro03]

Looks great!

[@dannynoel993]

Back in the day the company only put a driver mirror on. The dealer could add a mirror. Or you could. There was a time when it was hard to get a Corvette sport mirror for the left side. I had that trouble in 1977 with mine.

[@brokenchainmx4350]

Love you’re Channel I’ve been into fox body’s my entire life recently started building a 81 C3 I’ve picked up a ton of helpful knowledge from your channel, keep it up 😁😎

[@timtaylor9080]

That's why when girls wanted to go for a ride in my care I always made sure they cleaned their feet!!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@houseofno]

I'm all for saving original carpet, BUT there's a limit to what you can work with. If it looks more like shredded wheat and coming off in pieces, there's no saving that. If I remember correctly, (I think) 1975 still had the fiberglass floorpans. The carpet doubled as sound insulation and a barrier against heat from the exhaust right under the floorpan. Pretty neat that you're basically sitting on a carpeted baking pan, right? I would recommend putting some Dynamat or similar material between the floorpan and NEW carpet.

[@karlmawby2921]

Built in USA, less troubles I have a 1973

[@skinnerhound2660]

Ebay parts, just saying. Great result, much respect. The interior turned out great however I would have got a bolt of original seat fabric from SMS interiors and pieced in a repair on the captains side. I've done it to unmolested original interiors with very presentable results. Cheers.

[@crazyoilfieldmechanic3195]

I'm pretty sure that you can get a kit to install power rack and pinion on this platform and it would be a substantial upgrade.

[@discerningmind]

Nice job Ben. I'm enjoyed this project but sorry to see the bother with power steering parts. I've heard a lot about garbage being sold on ebay. I think buyer's jump when they see great prices and seller's take advantage of that. It's much better buying from a local parts store as you're less likely to have a problem and if there were you can get an immediate exchange or refund. Doing that supports the local economy and lowers local taxes too. I suggest NAPA, they may cost a little more but they always have the best auto parts and their return policy is excellent.

[@jgrubbs3531]

Love the videos! Helping alot on my 76 vette.What do you clean and detail the dash/seats with? Thanks

[@emmetthaynesjr8897]

You are the man

[@jonblyth9317]

Did I miss the install of the front/rear bumper ends? I thought I'd seen all of this cars videos. Car turned out nice. Enjoy the content. Thanks.

[@craigroy3713]

Every C3 needs a Borgeson conversion.

[@griceldoarsineda7755]

When are coming to California? We need you here…

[@GeekGinger]

My 71 Camaro had the same aftermarket mirrors and the holes they made to add the passenger side were way off from where they should have been. I guess they thought a measuring tape would have been cheating.

[@GolferOnAndOffTheCourse]

Lol saw your van on the highway

[@TheCorvetteBen]

I don’t own a van

[@sdcoinshooter]

Ben, those pennies you found are mine, I lost them while riding in that car in 1975. May I have them back please?

[@davem6685]

What cleaning products are you using? Nice work.

[@fgb3126]

I hope whoever you did this for adequately compensated you. One thing you didn't show was the rear. I really hoped to see that. Well let's see one of YOUR Corvettes.

[@johnsarian_cu]

I've stopped buying from Ebay and especially Amazon. Except maybe cheap doodads and gewgaws LOL where made in China-lowest possible pricing is just fine.

[@rickallen6378]

Just wondering if you even attempt to get your money back from the garbage bay parts?

[@FMtriple]

Ben - It looks like you installed new front and rear bumpers between videos. I need to replace my bumpers soon. What brand / type do you recommend?

[@phoenixblack1220]

Awesome work! Question for you: What is a reasonable price to pay for a 1974 454 4-speed? Would prefer a convertible, but a t-top would be fine also.

[@resurrectionmotors2421]

Awesome job what a beautiful car . But I was curious why you had access to the seat belts did you lubricate the mechanisms I'm pretty sure you did

[@michaelstratton6701]

That system is prone to leaking, experienced some of the same problems, foreign parts are the problem

[@mrpesky163]

You forgot to get the option for "no holes where they shouldn't be" when you placed your Amazon order 🤪

[@johnfetzer9637]

Ben - what product do you use to clean the interior ??? I have no idea what to use.

[@tso115]

I had a 73 stingray and I kept finding cracks in the fiberglass I asked a vet pro and he asked me if I jacked up the front or back, he told me to open doors, t tops, hood to flex the car

[@TheCorvetteBen]

Your Vette pro isn’t one

[@teknowil]

might as well done a rack conversion

[@rschris]

Hey Ben, how can you get that template to align where the passenger door mirror would correctly line up ? Another great video by the way !!!

[@TheCorvetteBen]

They usually come with the new passenger mirror you buy

[@rschris]

@@TheCorvetteBen yeah I thought as much I bought a used one off eBay. Sometime ago and just finding out as I’m almost ready to install it… lol

[@freddieslaughter1107]

I would get the seats reupholstered, if you are going to replace the carpet.

[@terrywindsor1310]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@iamrichrocker]

Ben..how is the Mrs. enjoying her cruiser? update?

[@dannynoel993]

Does the heater motor run?

[@6331255]

Some times replacement parts not so good

[@fgb3126]

You appear to specialize in the C3 cars. Do you ever venture out into C2s or C4s?

[@fredmaxwell9619]

Look at all the good video content that is made by using quality eBay products from China. I kind of liked those bullet mirrors if they were they were the same color as the rest of the car.

[@davidroosa4561]

is that shifter original? it looks a little hokey. but it was the 70's

[@missionpassed4584]

It looks like someone put indoor house carpet and underlay in it

[@ckstaff]

So you may have replaced all the steering parts and in the end it may have just been that split in the hose? Like your ending comment, "are they ever done". I have a 69, had since about 2013, many times I thought I was done but have concluded as long as you own it, you are never done.

[@TheCorvetteBen]

No, the steering tan blew out and the pump sprayed fluid out of the top

[@peterpann9619]

Should repair the seats and door panels.

[@74pbg]

Hi Ben, Would you also sell cars to Germany?

[@jerryhawk8434]

A 75 only had 1 One mirror On the driver side 2 came on it if it was ordered I could be wrong but every 75 I seen had 1 side view mirror

[@TheCorvetteBen]

Passenger side could be added at the dealer

[@grabir01]

Last of the decent cars..

[@briang4470]

That's actually not true. I will admit that I do love classic cars because of the mechanical simplicity and analog feature but face it. These older cars would barely make it to 100,000 miles and once they hit that point they would be wore slap out. The engines would start to consume alot of oil, transmissions would leak and start to slip and usually the door hinges would be wore out and the doors would sag and have to be slammed to shut and the interiors would fall apart. But cars today will go 100,000 miles easily with no major repairs and will still be in good shape. Cars today are alot more reliable and comfortable to ride and travel in and are alot safer and fuel efficient but I will admit that the cars of today have very poor styling and are not always easy to repair.

[@grabir01]

@@briang4470 Strange.. My 68 had over 200k before I rebuilt it. My 71 about the same. MY 74 Duster has 84k and does not burn or leak a drop of oil. I had the top end of my 69 Buick done at 100k as I bought it used with problems and I knew it needed work when I bought it. The bump stick was replaced and heads done with a 3 angle grind, bottom end was perfect with over 100k on it. But again. I bought it used with almost 100k and it was abused. Has the turbo 350 which had some leaks that were fixed for next to nothing and it shifts and drives like new and this buick has the L77 350 4B with 300hp and 400ft lbs!!! I still have all these cars!!! They are wonderful and need nothing if you take care of them. So. Brian.. I have no idea what you are talking about! Let me know if you want some pics. I did have videos of them all on KZbin but have since removed them as I do not post or want to do anything to help KZbin any longer. What else do I have.. I have more stuff.. Sorry for all your bad luck there Brian.. Try keeping clean 20-50 racing oil in your old cars or change out your bump stick with a prefix so you do not need much zinc. Not sure what is needed to help you as what you are saying is alien to me. O yes.. 72 Dodge demon with over 120k autobahn miles on it. 318 wedge same as my Duster.

[@grabir01]

@@briang4470 o yes.. 74 Duster has the 727 Torque Flight. Does not miss a beat !! Very VERY reliable cars for sure.

[@grabir01]

@@briang4470 The only new cars that compare in reliability and quality would be Toyota or Honda.

[@briang4470]

@@grabir01 I'm just saying, 99% of older cars(pre 1980s) will almost always have had either major engine repair or a full rebuild usually right around 100k. These days you can get over 200k on most cars without even having to take a valve cover off. Just oil changes and basic tune ups and your good to go. Most cars these days even have spark plugs that will last 100k before needing changed. The old cars with point ignition would need the points adjusted and possibly replaced every 10k miles or the car would just run like trash and possibly die in traffic. The cars with early electronic ignition were better like the GM hei but even those systems still needed regular service usually around every 40k for a cap,rotor and possibly a module. I'm not saying that these olds cars are total junk. I'm a classic car guy myself and am currently daily driving a rusty 82 c10 with a 305 and th350 in it but like I said before theses old rides at 100k will show signs of extreme wear and usually alot of decay,leaks and just general issues where alot of these late model cars you can put 100k on them easily without seeing any signs of leaks,no major repairs and the parts just seem to hold up alot better. Domt get me wrong once these 2000s and up cars get to be 30years old yes they will all be clapped put junk but as of now they are superior means of transportation and get far better fuel economy and are alot better insulated amd sealed up because face it alot of these old cars had wind and water leaks in the cabins even when they were new because of the poor seal designs like the 70s gm Camaros and fire birds and the 78-88 gbodys used that stupid system where the doors had no upper structure and the glass just lays against a seal in the door opening and is guaranteed to leak going down the road. And the cars back then had very poorly treated and sealed metal from the factory and rust grows in almost all of the pinch weld seams on them and rust them out.

[@trentdawg2832]

Can a 6'3" man fit comfortably in a c-3........?

[@Tankapalooza]

Yep! Go over speed bumps slowly though…to avoid concussion.😬

[@budehrmann5902]

Ben. Corvette Stainless Steel Brakes in Gainesville Florida. They are the only suppliers that i know of that have original Goodyear manufactured in the USA hydraulic hose for brake hoses, etc. Everything else out there is Chinese shit! Let the buyer beware.

[@steveblankenship2413]

China part ?? yeah iam done with Ebay

[@xXcashXx3]

I never trust ebay and still dont

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Never had a problem with eBay. I've had a problem with some of the vendor's on eBay though.

[@dbvetter7485]

The guy that owned it was rich so he only had bills, no coins LOL

[@chrisholcombe137]

Definitely usa made first

[@billyhensley592]

Never buy eBay parts I learned my lesson a long time ago I bought a mass air flow sensor that had no guts just the shell screw eBay

[@mvb819]

That’s not a ‘75. The last C3 convertible was a ‘74 model.

[@TheCorvetteBen]

google is your friend. I have had multiple 1975 corvettes that have been convertibles