Stress fractures in body of C2

I'm not clear on what you are asking, was the entire car painted? If so the paint match is inexcusable along with the existence of the stress cracks. If all they did was the hood, you're on your own. I would never have taken the job without telling you it was going to look like crap without doing the entire car, you just described the results of not doing so. What your have described may well be paint failure and not a stress crack in the fiberglass or both???.

The newer Corvettes are not laid up fiberglass as is your '63 but a more advanced press molded compound. In other words if it has a stress crack it has been hit hard and more than likely broken, not just cracked.

Dad-I was just curious about the new body composition, etc, and if they'd came up with a solution to mitigate the stress fractures.According to your answer, it has been addressed, successfully. Thanks. I've owned my car since

1975 so I was well aware of the the existing fractures. I knew going in that just painting the hood was a crap shoot. The car had a new paint job a few months before I put it into storage in 1983 and hadn't seen the light of day until 2 years ago when the re-build was started. I was just a bit surprised that in this current era using their paint scanner, chips, etc. that they were unable to get the new paint color closer to the existing. Fortunately, it won't affect the way the car runs. I'm going to drive it home next week, approx. 800 mi., so I will get to feel it again. I imagine the thing I will feel the most is my sore butt and back after the second day- lib

Good luck on your trip. The ride would be worse if it was just a year older, I can still feel the pain of a 16 hour drive in a '61 back in '62, man that was a long time ago.

Many things have happened in the last 24 years of paint technology least of all the nearly outright ban of lacquer which would be my guess is the old paint job on your '63. Now it is nonexistent or way beyond the average shop doing a lacquer job. Unlike paint will look just like that, unlike each other. Painting one panel without the ability to blend the colors is going to scream at you even though red is not all that hard to match or at least hide the shade or two difference by blending.

Dad- Thanx again for more info. The painter mixed up some more paint this past week-end. My brother looked at the sample panel the painter shot and said it was very close to the existing. I gave him the go-ahead to re-shoot the hood and to blend into the top of the fenders and nose adjacent to the hood. I'm flying up tomorrow a.m. so I'll know then what I ended up with. At the worst case, it may be an color annoyance that I can solve in the future, with an outlay of cash. If all problems were that easy to resolve, I'd perhaps be a happier person.

Sounds like a plan, as long as he brought the old paint to the best polish it would take you should get an agreeable blend.

Have a great trip..........