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09/17/2020
The body of the ZR-1 is unique from the base Corvette. In order to fit wider wheels and tires on the back for increased grip, the rear fenders bulge out an inch and a half farther on either side. The extra three inches give the car a subtle aggressiveness which I like.
King has suffered from too much Florida sun. The 25,000 miles on the odometer are not reflected in his paint. The front bumper is sun damaged, the rear lower facia is faded, and the side mirrors have lost all their shine. This is a tragedy. King has led an interesting life. He was clearly treasured at one time, evidenced by the low miles. He was certainly enjoyed, evidenced by the performance modifications. But somewhere along his story he was given up on, neglected, and subject to circumstances not of his own making.
He is one of 6,939 built worldwide, a small number if you consider they made 130,426 C4 Corvettes in that time. But it's not just the numbers. Rare does not mean valuable, as many owners of the Briklin SV-1 can attest. But the ZR-1 was a groundbreaking vehicle, and arguably the best unsung supercar of it's time. Certainly, it deserves a notable place in automotive history.
I will do what I can to restore to him what was lost. I won't remove every reminder of what he's been through, because they are the proof that he has a history, and we don't want to forget that.
The sun took it's toll on everything.
I was very happy to find replacement emblems in the boxes of extras which came with the car!
Engineers discovered while testing that the LT-5 engine produced excessive heat which diminished the function of the air conditioning.
Instead of creating a more powerful air conditioning system for the ZR-1, a specially coated windshield was designed to reduce the interior temperature to reach GM's air conditioning specification requirements.
The coating which they chose was a recent technology at the time, and the vendor, PPG Industries, experienced some defect issues.
The coating delaminated on some of the windshields which caused a fogged area around the outside edges of the glass. Some are not as noticeable, but others became almost entirely fogged.
You can see that King did not escape this eventuality.
I sourced a company who sells reproduction (without the delamination problem) coated windshields. They also wanted over $2,000 per windshield, plus the cost of installation. OEM windshields are still available for the purists, but they aren't less expensive.
I decided to spend about a quarter of that installed on a stock C4 Corvette windshield without the coating. Besides the cost factor, there were a couple reasons I did that.
First, for all of King's low miles, he isn't a museum piece. His previous owners have installed multiple aftermarket performance parts (which arguably make him better to drive), as well as an aftermarket sound system and 1995 ZR-1 wheels. So he isn't a Pebble Beach concourse example. If someone wanted to bring him back to factory stock for investment purposes, they can always replace his windshield. I also live in the north country, where air conditioning isn't a big deal. I'll drive him mostly without a roof anyway. I really hope his next owner drives him often, instead of parking him away for an investment return. But that's up to them.
One of the very first things was to buy King some new shoes. There weren't an excessive number of choices for him, since few vehicles currently share his wheel size. I settled on the Nitto NT555G2. It combines excellent grip characteristics with good street manners. I have confidence going forward that the tires can handle every bit of performance King will throw at them.
The inside of wheels is an oft neglected area of cleaning. Wheels really make a difference on a car, so it's important to keep that area looking good, free of corrosive brake dust and road grime which builds up over time and becomes more and more difficult to remove. I've got my work cut out for me here.
Overall, I'm pleased with the results. Between my prep and the detailers efforts, the wheels look acceptable. It's too bad the grime was allowed to sit for so long, but it's an easy area to overlook.
10/01/2020
King is back from the detailers! Normally, I would finish everything and then detail the car right before it goes to a new home, but this time I needed to see what needed painting, and what was only faded by the sun. The paint is the original coating applied at the factory. It's not perfect, but for 30 years old its not bad and looks amazing now! Next stop for the front bumper, hood, and side mirrors is the paint booth!
I really didn't want to paint the hood, but these blemishes are going to bother me if I don't. The hood is coming off!
The front bumper and side mirrors are the really important pieces to get fresh paint on. He is really going to look good!
11/26/2020
I finally got the nose back from paint! I installed new trim as well, since the old had sun damage.
The mirrors also turned out well! Both the nose and mirrors still need to be buffed out, but we will leave time for the paint to cure. I'm very excited to see King coming together. We are removing everything off the car to paint them to avoid unwanted overspray and masking issues.
11/30/2020
So, I thought everything was good to go. The other day I rolled up the garage door (it's been cold, so I've kept it closed). Walking up on the back of the car, I immediately realized that the buffing on the lower bumper cover had glazed back over with sun fade. Sometimes the oxidation is so bad it sinks into the paint and no amount of sanding or buffing will bring it back. I didn't want to do it, but since the hood was still with the painter anyway, I called him up and asked what he thought. We decided to go ahead and paint it, so I removed the bumper and drove it over to him. It's a pretty involved process , but really only took about 2 hours to do by myself. After I had it off, I was pleased at the condition of the car underneath. Despite his dirty, faded state when I got him, King is really clean under it all. I think that Florida sun and unfortunate temporary abandonment really did a number on him, but nothing that can't be fixed! He is worth it!
12/11/2020
I took King out to stretch his legs after a month and a half of laying around in the garage. For too long he's been in pieces, waiting for fresh paint and reassembly. The tragic sun fade is now gone, replaced by liquid black pools of reflection on every surface. Every bit of original paint was preserved wherever possible, but what was too far gone has been restored to a factory appearance.
He is such a blast to drive and gets thumbs-up wherever he goes!
02/25/2021
King and Ginger have been garage mates all winter, but will soon be saying their goodbyes. King has been adopted into a new family. We will miss him, but are happy he will have a good home nearby.
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