varkwso

At what level does the frame on a C5 become unrepairable (economically)?

I have a buddies 2003 C5Z that hit pretty hard at T1 at Road Atlanta.

It is pretty much a track car - even more so after this hit...

Any insight appreciated.

wallyman424

it depends on how much the rails deviated. Was the impact front or rear? I don't think realigning the frame on a frame machine costs too much money, but if the frame rails are FUBAR, then you're going to have to cut and weld in a new clip... that could get pricey.

Basically my useless response is... only a frame alignment machine can tell you.

gonzalezfj

I have seen Phoenix Performance repair C5Z frames where everything ahead of the firewall was bent out of shape.

Hope this one data point is of help.

Frank Gonzalez

varkwso

http://public.fotki.com/CasualCorvet...uff/2003-z06-/

here are some photos...

wallyman424

if i had to guess, I'd say theyre going to have to chop those rails off and put a new clip on there. Get a reputable shop to do it, and it'll be good as new. besides the rails, its just nuts and bolts to replace the rest.

drivinhard

Jeff I did not run this weekend (I did spectate and shoot video) but was bum'd to see what transpired. There was actually a lot of vette carnage this weekend

It was hard to get a good looksy at the rails with it under tarps/body pieces still around it, but I think it's salvagable for a track car. straightening in front of the firewall is the least expensive (no rear tub to remove/glue back, etc) *edit* I just looked at your pics, it's bent more than it looked at the track.

in any event, if you end up needing rails/bits: (firewall forward both rails are

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-p...r-project.html

I still do have some other stuff he may need as well (I gave him my contact info) but send me a list and I'll see what I still go

Falcon

What else got torn up?

drivinhard

Jason's tranny left him stuck in 4th for sun

and this was sun AM

sperkins

That broke my heart man -seriously. It literally sat there and burned for what seemed like days waiting on the firetruck. Nothing left in the engine bay but a big lump of coal.
Thank God he's ok.

varkwso

That is really tough

Having hard hits at Road Atlanta - the reponses there have been underwhelming.

Jason has an RPM tranny in his near future....or one of the LGM ones posted here on this board...

drivinhard

if he puts one of them LGM/GM racing close ratio boxes in, I'll just buy a honda and go run TTF .

How about that FTD

AU N EGL

chit

Jason

I'm with Mark, I didn't think it pushed that far. sumbitch.

ghoffman

And there was no fire extinguisher in the car why?

sperkins

There was - it didn't work. 3 others didn't work either. Had to wait about 10 minutes for the fire truck to show up.

Sorry for the thread hijack.

ghoffman

It sounds like a good lesson for all of us though.

Cobra4B

C5s are easy to repair. A good shop can section in a new frame section perfectly. The key is having a good shop who will follow the GM sectioning techniques properly.

As for fire systems... man that stinks... I put a new one in our Panoz last week and hope to never have to use it. But if I do that'd be horrible if it didn't work.

Falcon

The non functioning fire system brings up a good point.

MAKE SURE THE PIN IS PULLED ON YOUR FIRE BOTTLE BEFORE YOU GO ON TRACK!

davidfarmer

wallyman cracks me up....... a few years ago he backed his car into some "immovable" object at VIR, and was all upset about it. I did my best to walk him through disassembly and repair, insisting it is straightforward and not worth getting bummed out about.

Well, apparently it worked. He's now the corvette forum FRAME EXPERT!

Sorry, had to share!

Falcon

A couple of things I heard concerning this car's incident:

1. The fire system trigger wasn't pulled. The driver was in a hurry to get out and didn't pull it.

2. The driver's door was locked and he couldn't get it open because the fire had burned the electrical, and the door lock wouldn't work.