

The Corveep started with this 1968 Jeepster that a friend gave me in May 2014. After getting it running and driving it for a few days I decided it needed pepping up.

In early June I went to an insurance auction and bought this wrecked 2004 Corvette for $4500. I sold the body work from the doors back for $600.

Here’s the stripped frame before removing the windshield and roll bar.

With the windshield and roll bar removed it’s time to straighten the frame. The front frame rails were bent in several places and the motor cradle was broken. I straightened the frame and found a good used cradle on eBay.

In the meantime I pulled the Jeep body off it’s frame and cut the bottom out.

The next job was to slip the body down over the chassis and eliminate interferences. Those included a couple of inches off the sides of the A and B pillars and an inch or so off the sides of the dash. I also sprung the lower body sides out about two inches to clear the frame.

By the end of June the frame was straight, the body was down on the frame, the rear wheel wells were cut for tire clearance, and cowl was cut off just in front of the windshield.

With the core support, radiator, and front fenders located it became evident that a 7 1/2″ extension of the cowl was needed.

I first put a 1/2″ wide, .060″ deep kink in both sides of the parent metal so that the patch could overlap and lay flush on top. It’s July 9th.

Starting at the bottom, I bent up a section to match the shape of the Jeep. The holes are for tack welding the panel in place prior to stitch welding the seams.

Here are the first couple of sections tack welded in place.

The driver side is ready for seam welding. The cowl extension was complete by July 20th.

One of my favorite views is the rear showing the exhaust. I welded one of the rear fender sections that was removed for tire clearance into the rear skirt to finish off the exhaust opening.

By the first week in August, flares were installed, front bumper fabbed, the old gas cap cover plate was welded in place and the car is driveable.

Here’s a shot taken Labor Day weekend with the roll bar installed and the bikini top in place – summer mode.

Later in September I took it to the Los Altos Corvette show. They didn’t want to let me in until I produced a Corvette title.

It is now December and we’re now at the body shop getting ready for paint.

December 30th, fresh out of the paint booth with a shiny coat of Grabber Blue, a Ford Mustang color.