'92 ZR-1 Repair & Restoration

[bdw18_123]

7/23/10:

I've started helping out my buddy Evan (eguyett1985 on CF) with the repair and restoration of the 43K mile '92 red/black ZR-1 he bought. He decided to let me do the thread posting and updating on this project.

So now I've got 2 ZR-1 projects to work on!

Here is the link to the initial thread that he posted on CF telling how he acquired this ZR-1:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-z...-opinions.html

But here is a partial quote of his initial post on CF if you don't want to or can't view the link for some reason:

eguyett1985:
"... The car is Red/Black, 1 owner, both tops, window sticker, etc. Now here's the problem; the car had a minor electrical fire underneath in the trans tunnel, the reverse light switch shorted causing the harness to catch fire briefly which scorched the LH side of the floor next to the transmission and the area of the firewall below the wiper motor. The owner opened the hood right away and put the fire out; the underside of the hood is completely undamaged as is the engine and the interior. The car was fully insured and the body shop and the insurance company were unable to locate a replacement harness over the past year and the car has sat in my friend's shop with a pending lien sale against it until last week when the body shop got title to the car. Unfortunately, the owner sent the insurance company the title he had in his possession 2 weeks earlier and accepted a payout on the car. So now, I have been offered the car with the necessary minor floorpan repair made and the engine and trans on a pallet at a great price; I have located a perfect replacement harness and can put the car back together in short order. ..."

We are not sure exactly how the fire started. Evan mentions in his post in the link above about the reverse light switch causing it (not sure where he got that info), but we are thinking now that it may have started around the VSS sensor since it seems like the fire would have traveled up towards the engine, not back towards the rear (though I guess it could have traveled back along the wire harness a little way). If the fire had started at the reverse switch, I think the shifter/VSS sensor area would not have gotten burned as bad as it did. There was also a patch of something melted onto one of the exhaust pipes near the front by the transmission, so it's also possible that the fire started as a result of the wire harness touching the exhaust.

Now for some pictures!

(The pictures in this post are a bit slow loading, so they may not show up at first. Just be patient, they will load.)

First, a couple of shots of the exterior. Engine bay area has already been degreased and pressure washed(no pics of
that area yet), exterior has also had a quick wash. Overall, this car is in very good condition (other than the dust,
dirt & fire-damaged areas )




Here are some pictures of the repaired fiberglass area on the driver's side of the transmission tunnel. Evan's body shop
friend did the repair (same guy he bought the car from). The fiberglass didn't completely burn through, it was just
brittle and weak from the fire.

The repaired section is going to be sanded down so it is smoother, then a quick spray of red paint so it blends better
with the surrounding area.