Corvette Toddler Bed, suggestions/ideas welcome
 

Been working on this idea for some time now and I am getting close to making it happen.

I located a 1974 Corvette complete from clip with hood and headlight bucket housings for $200. The downside is it was smashed and needs substantial repair to put the left and right side back together. No worries though, becuase it appears I will have to section this in the middle anyway to transport and set it up in his bedroom.

The goal is to build a basic frame to hold his bed. The bed will rest in the engine bay opening. The clip will be painted in black imron. I will wire the parking/blinker lights as night lights. I have a pair of C5 hub bearings to mount to the frame and a pair of C5 wheel/tires to put in the wheel well just above the floor so they will turn (still on the fence with this because I don't want them to turn so easy that he can get hurt on/with them in anyway.

The plan is to cut the clip at the door edge flush with the wall and paint a murral on the wall that looks like an old-school auto shop or race shop (tire rack on the wall, cracks in the cinder block wall, goodyear hoses/belts on the wall...etc. Instead regular furniture chest of drawers, he will have tool boxes in the room with the wheels removed. This will be something he can take with him later in life when it is time for him to fly.

A couple of issues I am having is what to do with the hood? I want to put the hood on the clip so that after the bed is made it can be lowered to complete the look and keep the room clean looking. I need the hood hinges and hood to be 100% safe. That leaves me either propping the hood up permanent, or no hood at all. That part escapes me at the moment.

I project total cost on the bed to be under $500. The wall painting will be done later, and the tool boxes will be a different purchase later.

Any other decoration thoughts? Car parts that can become part of his room as furniture?

The room is 14 x 12.

Thanks!

Get a new Z-06 and let him sleep in it at NIGHT...LOL

What a great idea. For the hood to open it would have to have some kind of locking mechanism, such as a pin in the prop rod, so that it couldnt be kicked out during sleep.

Maybe another idea would be to cut a hole in the hood so you could leave it closed. The hole could be like they do for blowers, but bigger, and box it into the mattress, and let him sleep in the hole area.

Definately let us see the finished product.

Can the wife sew? How about doing a comforter in black with shapes sewn in to look like an orange engine with silver valve-covers, gray intake, gold carb, gold brake-booster, gray master cyl, gray radiator, etc... he could have a 14" round "Air Cleaner" pillow that goes in the middle when the bed is made :willy:

Can you be my Dad? :D

Cool!!!!!!!! Yes, my wife can sew and she loves the idea. We even talked about making a pillow that looks like a blower that can sit between the sewed in valve covers.

:thumbsup:

What about using two hydraulic hoods shocks like modern cars use? One would work but two would be better so if one failed, the other would still hold the hood up.

All I know is...please post pictures when you're done.

THIS...I have GOT to see. Sounds killer! :thumbsup:

I wish I had a room like that when I was a kid. My room was just wall-papered with Hot Rod magazine pictures. (literally)

Mike

No garage theme is complete without nudie calendars :D