Camino LS6

The parts are now safely stashed in the barn. Now I have to do some serious thinking about how I want to do this car. I still plan to begin with a thorough cleaning and an attempt to get it running. It is what comes after that which has me thinking. I'm even toying with the idea of selling-off the NOS stuff and using aftermarket pieces to do the car. Heresy, I know. The thing is, it is a base convertible automatic car, and as such has a limited ceiling of value. If I use all of the NOS stuff, then I ought to try to keep the car all NOS. That would cost more than I can reasonably do. If I mix the NOS stuff with aftermarket parts, what do I gain? Part of me thinks those rare NOS pieces should go to an LS5 or LT1 NCRS project somewhere. I'm just thinking it over.

I'm not too worried about any defects in this car - it has to be the most-tested car ever prior to release. I'm quite certain that GM has this one right. GM bet the farm on this car, if it weren't ready, they'd have delayed it (no matter the egg they'd have had on their faces).

I believe that Automobile Magazine has named the Volt Automobile of the year as well now. Saw a GM post to that effect on Facebook.

Bob Lutz has to be feeling pretty good right about now.

Someone needs to fire-up the grill for GXT's Crow Dinner.

I get what you are saying, but the car is quite real at this point, and has been in the hands of a sea of testers for quite a while now. Orders are in, production is started, the car is here. A year ago, it would have been another story.

This really was a given, MT really weights the COTY in favor of innovation and the breaking of new ground. The Volt simply owns those categories outright. This is perhaps the most legitimate COTY win ever.

Glad to hear it!

It is alot like that, Cubitar. I forgot to report - I now know that the top is white. The frame still has the remains of the original on it.

It's an amazing array of parts. Here are just a couple of highlights NOS GM carb rebuild kit NOS GM front and rear bumpers NOS GM door panels (slightly rough from storage) NOS GM Rally wheel centers and trim rings NOS GM door handles NOS GM Exhaust tips Lots more.

You aren't alone Cubitar, many folks are questioning what they are doing/not doing. Not a bad thing to do - taking stock can really give you some perspective. All the best to you.

My Tahoe is stuffed to the headliner with original and NOS Corvette parts. I am a happy man.

Thanks Stang, that's a great idea!

I think a similar restriction exists here as well. I mostly want to leave the old inspection sticker as evidence of the car's long sleep. Speaking of which, I need to find a way to read the faded info on the back of the sticker. Any ideas on how to do that?

Today I'm planning to collect the rest of the parts and shop-vac the debris out of the car. I did discover that the panel that covers the convertible top was once red - so I have to ask the previous owner about that. Maybe it came from the same car that donated the red seat. Inside the car I found the grille panel for the cowl, the rear valence panel, the actuator and armature for the wiper cover, a wheel center, a power window motor/actuator and some other bits.

Well, "legible" is often a stretch, but many have survived. I'll need to drop the tank anyway - so we will find out.

I'll have to see if things have changed, but an antique tag used to restrict you to daylight hours among other things.

To any Admin that wanders in here: Please move this thread to the Project Car Forum - it might start to get a bit boring/irritating in the middle of Lounge banter as I post updates more often. Right now, I am considering titling the Vette as an antique - that way I can leave the 1980-81 PA inspection sticker on the windshield. Thoughts? And oh, by the way, I got the original note back!

My Tahoe is closing in on 200k, so your Colorado is just a youngster. You had me worried with that thread title though - I had awful visions of The Curse having visited Big Red.

Poked around the car for a few minutes this evening - it's looking better than I thought in some areas. I removed all of the random parts and pieces that were just sitting inside it, and started to remove the metric ton of leaves from under the hood. One thing I'm sure of: hardware will be an issue. Lots of hopeless screws, nuts, and bolts were sitting on the floor. Tried to feel around the tank for a build sheet - no luck. I'll have to drop the tank.

Yes, but I don't have high hopes of finding anything left of the build sheet.

Not to worry Ocn, the Dodge is still tucked-away in its lair. The Vette is only making a pit stop there so I can clean it and attempt to make it run. After that it comes here for more extensive work. I now know that the car was built on 11/24/71 in Elkhart green with a saddle interior, but I still don't know if it came with a white or black convertible top. That bit of info isn't on the trim tag.

No question about that. Once I pick up and go through all of the parts that come with it, I'll have a better idea about the scope of the project.

I kinda like that about the headlights too - something sinister about it. There is a bracket for the hood that is not attached, but I haven't scienced out how it works yet. I don't think a standard prop rod is part of it. Yup, wide, fluted rocker trim would make the frame invisible once re-installed.

Pics: