Daytona deerest


Bigsarg

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Yes, I had Hagerty Insurance on the Daytona, and now have an Aston Martin which I also use Classic Car Insurance for.  Really, the only way to go.  The insurance for my car as an 82 Corvette would have been higher each year and covered less.  I strongly recommend classic car insurance for any Daytona owners on the site.

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Sorry this accident happened to you, Bigsarg........but when the restoration is finished, you'll be riding down the road humming "In the Air Tonight" and feeling like Crockett!  :radio: :thumbsup:

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Looks like everything is coming together and looking super!  Obviously a labor of love for you (even though insurance is covering) and I bet the guys doing the fabrication of upholstery, parts, nameplate, etc. are enjoying the chance to work on this car as well.

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I'm amazed at just how little Damage there was. The car hit the deer and just bent the bumper bracket down about an inch. The nose took a good hit but just had gelcoat cracks. The body shop took it all the way down as deep as the cracks were to insure there was no delaminating. There wasn't. The fiberglass is thick on these cars. 

JN, classic car insurance (CCI) is the only way to go. It's an agreed value and really isn't that expensive compared to regular car insurance. CCI is a lot cheaper. The only problem I have ran into is the adjusters boss couldn't understand why they couldn't match 30 yr old Uphalstery. So the adjuster had to come and take pictures for her, to show it couldn't be matched. So they had to upholster all the tan. Which was everything except the dash. That was on my dime. 

Yes Vicegirl85, I think everyone working on the car was a vice fan, or likes it now. The younger guy never watched it before. But really thinks it's cool to have a Ferrari tuxedo on an old Corvette. The body shop has commented many times how well it was built and they have done an excellent job. The shop has built cars for SEMA. So I'm sure it is in great hands.

The Uphalstery kind of looked at me funny when I said I wanted pipping on the edge of the seats. I smiled and said "I know, it's an 80's thing". When he finished making the seat covers,  he remarked how the pipping really completed the seats. 

Tony D, you had better believe I'm going to have that song playing a lot while I'm cruising. 

Edited by Bigsarg
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Stinger, I am so eager to get the car finished and back on the road. Everyday I go in my garage and see the new Dayton 72 spoke rims, I had to special order, just sitting there. It's driving me nuts. But hopefully by halloween it will be finished. 

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Nice wheels! I see they're true knock-offs too are they not?

Hopefully you live in fairweather America where you can drive all year round. I put my boat back in storage last week, a bit early this year.  Next year I am taking the whole summer off to play and get a tan.  I'll have to work hard all winter to make this happen though.

Not sure where you live but in my travels I get jealous of the guys driving around with the tops down in AR, TX, FL and other sunshine states in the middle of winter. I am lucky enough to get away from the snow in the great white north on occasion, but I still love Niagara for what it's worth.

Hope you get the tires mounted and have no issues with weight and balance. Have fun and enjoy the ride!

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Edited by Stinger390X
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Stinger, I'm one of those guys, I live in Florida. And I also own a sailboat. You can say Miami Vice had a big impact in my life. 

The rims are true knock offs. I haven't decided which tires I should run. My 225/60R15 tires are fairly new. 

Arturo (Spyderman) was nice enough to send me info from an original building manual were it says to run 195/60R15s. He had a few Daytonas at the time and went out and took pictures of them and how their stance was. Each car having a different tire size. So it seems there are as many choices for tires as their are colors. 

Nice pic of you and your boat. That should be blown up and put on a wall. 

Here's a picture of my boat. My wife is on the back and I'm chillaxing in the cockpit letting her sail on autopilot. 

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Finally, i can start to see things getting done. 

Because I have the Ferrari interior my car interior will be "Ferrari with a touch of Miami Vice."  Where as the MVC is "corvette interior with a touch of Ferrari." I think the Black and Tan dash along with the windshield molding being tan is as much of the exterior look as the black paint job. These colors just make the car look a lot better than just being black and thus being obscured from being ascetically pleasing. 

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Looking good Bigsarg!

 

I don't recognize the sailboat? Is that a Hunter 38? Interesting aft deck area???

I love to sail as well as tear up the lake in a speedboat. I hang out with others that have these ridiculous boats like mine, but I also have many friends at the Marina to go sailing with when I choose. I started sailing back in 1967 and have always had a love for it.

Car is looking good! and kudos on living in the sunshine state. I used to travel there on business quite often but don't get a chance to go there very much lately. I liked going there in the winter to get away from the Ontario snow and cold.

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The car is looking great!  And I love that shot of your sailboat!  I envy you guys that live in an area where you can have toys like that year round....and more importantly: actually take the TIME TO ENJOY THEM.

I'll be 50 years old 3 weeks from today and am very fortunate to be in a position where I could've retired at least 10 years ago.  But I am also one of these guys that just "keep pushing" forward career/financial wise.  It's just in my blood I guess.   I wish I could relax but my body/mind won't let me (believe me, I've tried!)

Besides, I have an 8 and a 12 year old daughter.  So I have to stay put for at least the next decade :)

Enjoy the toys !!

 

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Stinger, Thxs,  my boat is a Hunter 42 Passage. It's a center cockpit. I've been an avid sailer for most of my adult life. I lived on a lit 26 footer in Hawaii for a few years. So when I retired (2007)  I wanted one that I can sail thru the Panama Canal one day. Here are a few vedios of boats like mine

 

Mvice, Thxs, the car will be done soon. I hope. 

Retirement is nice. It will happen for you too. It's inevitable. You have an open invitation to come down and go sailing when ever you want Brah

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Nice interior on the boat.......reminds me of Crockett's in "Love at First Sight." :cool:

Trump couldn't have a nicer boat...... or maybe he could.  :p

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Tony, Thxs. The Miami Vice boat was a classic style boat. His was an Endeavour 42. I like the classic sailboat much better than the B&R rigged modern sailboats. They are much easyer to sail. But the Hunter Passage 42 is a fast sailboat. 

If trump has a boat. I think it would be so much nicer than mine. After all he's going to be our next president. 

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I wasn't happy with the gap between the Black and Tan on the dash. You could put a penny in it. So I had them take the dash out and reupholster it. It looks a lot better flush up against each color. 

Pictures

1- dash with gap

2- dash redone with no gap

3- door card: it looks so good just plain with no arm rest. I think I'll have it installed like this and then later when I want a change have the lens shape armrest/pocket installed. I'm still indecisive. What's your thoughts? 

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Hi Bigsarg,

Sorry that it happened to you, but the end result & improvements to your car looks to be great!.

I am just starting to work on my own Daytona project that I have had stashed away in my shop for the last year and could use some help/suggestions based on where you are at:

1. Could you the specs on your Dayton wheel order.  It looks like you did a custom order so I am curious as to what exactly was 'custom' and what to ask for when putting in my own order.  Look forward to seeing them mounted to see backspacing and how the tires sit in the wheel wells. 

2. It looks like your car used to have the flip down style headlight doors, which is what my car has now.  I am fine to leave them, but curious as to what the motor mechanism you had on your car to get them to flip down.  Mine just has a bar that connects the two doors so they are always down right now

3. ...Alternatively, I have considered to use the plexi to be more accurate to the Vice car, like you are doing.  Are you mounting the plexi overtop the existing body... or did the body shop have to 'carve' the section down lower to recess the entire plexi a bit into the body/make more flush when mounted?  

Thanks!

 

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My doors had a pull cable that ran from under the dash to the mechanism that pulled the arm down which then would let the doors fall open. I had to replace it and bought a long pull cable from a lawn mower shop. 
If you go with the plexy. It goes right over the nose area and your emblem will be put on with double stick tape. A few tabs will have to be fashioned to
mount the plexy (pic 2). The picture is of how a Rowleys car looks. Also their nose emblem is inset in the fiberglass. But they are the only ones that do that. I think. Rowley's plexy kit is nice. But I think the only advantage is that it may keep the plexy from cracking at the screw holes, cause it distributes the load across the hole plexy. You have the square headlights, so tinted plexy would be more Miami Vice accurate. I know Arturo, Spyderman, knows where you can get that. He is also the most knowledgeable person on these cars. He's owned over 40. Ya, over 40. (Daytona Whisperer) He will definitely be a great source for parts and any questions you may have that I can't help you with. I usually just text him and he will either call me or text me back. I have bought the trunk chrome tail light handle, side markers and amber tail lights. All at prices that beat everyone else and all parts were new. He's a very nice guy. If you call Rowley, Bob only really knows things about his kit.  He too, is a great source for information. 
If you have any other questions, fill free to ask. 
 
Picture:
 
1- spec for rims. Takes about 4 months to get them
2- the tabs that a Rowley car has for plexy mount points

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thank you sir, very helpful!    please keep the pictures coming as you make progress.   look forward to seeing the interior completely, it is going to look great! 

one of these days i need to start a post with progress on my ride too...

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Playboy, yes you really need to do a thread on your car too. I know I'd like to see another Daytona being upgraded. There is not that many Daytonas out there. 

My best guess is that there's less than a hundred still on the road today. 

All the console pieces are done. There is a black body colored fiberglass insert that goes it the middle. 

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Vicegirl85, Thxs. It will be interesting when it's completely finished; to drive it again with all the changes I've made. It was such a blast to drive before. I can only imagine.  

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Playboy, #1 shows the pull cable for the headlight doors. It had a motor mount, but I guess the previous owner opted for the simple pull cable instead of replacing the motor when it went bad. You can see it in the picture but it was completely under the dash and obscured from view. 

#2 shows the black fiberglass insert and the stick shift that made it still look like a 4 speed. I left the clutch pedal too. I read that thieves today can't drive a standard. So I decided to leave it. It fooled the techs at the tire shop. The first tech came out looked inside the car and went back inside. Then he and another tech came out and the second tech got in and I watched him try to put it in gear and say "I know how to drive a stick shift."  I walked over and told him it was a automatic and to just push down and shift it as a normal auto. They both just had big sh.. eaten grins and said that's AWSOME. Younger generation seam to love the car. They don't know what Miami Vice is, but putting a tuxedo on a 30 year old corvette makes it interesting. I think the black tan combo has such a classy look too. Seams to really be an attention magnet. 

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Your pics are all really helpful, bet you can't wait to be done!  

I will definitely need to make a posting for my project, will get some new pics the next time I am out with the car and post them up...

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