Smilie 388

Hello . My winter project on a 1964 convertible has expanded from rebuilding the rear suspension to a frame off rebuild . A good friend of mine asked me to look at her vert as it's never had the rear suspension serviced in the 30+ years she's owned the car . Someone before she owned it restored the car . At some time before 1980 ( when she bought the car ) someone torched off the drivers side sombrero mount and brazed it back on . The repair looked terrible so I was going to redo it . I was going to remove the gas tank prior to repairing the mount and found that the fuel line was rotten and weeping . Well once I pulled the body to change the fuel line I found that the rear frame gussets had been packed full of mud and rotted the ends of the frame rails . I sand blasted everything and braced the frame with a steel framework prior to cutting out and repairing the rust . I also had to replace the last mounts on the frame as they were rusted away to paper thin .
When I finished welding everything and got the frame sitting squarely on stands the last mounts are 1/2 inch higher than the dimensions on the frame pics I have . The ends of the framerails are 1/2 inch higher too .
When I cut off the bracing it didn't spring so I think this may be the way the frame was before
There's a big dent on the trans crossmember right at the corner where someone whacked something big .
The question is : should I worry about getting the ends of the rails straightened down at a body shop or can I just shim the body to the frame I have .
Thanks in advance , I've learned lots about this car on this forum , Leigh
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/l...64%20Corvette/

ragtopman

Ok, I will be the first to respond.

And let me start by saying that the frame is the foundation to the car and if the foundation isnt right, the rest of the car wont be right come assembly time. When ever I have done a frame off, and it comes time to mount the body on the frame, the frame gets leveled first, and then set the body on the frame.

Lets say that the closest point between the body and frame is 1/2 inch and the most is 15/16th of an inch, you know what has to be shimmed to get started. Lets say that you have shimmed up those dimensions, and the doors shut nice and the gaps are right but where those gussets are that you had re-placed/re-welded(providing that car VIN is correct for gussets)are still out of whack, you either have to move them up or down(yes, cut them out).

If by chance everything is good but your datam line is off a bit in the back, yes, you will need to enlist the help of a body shop/frame rack and pull the ends of the frame down.

Hopefully I have answered your questions?

blue63cpe

I like the threaded rod, thats a wtf.You do great work its looking good. Get a good pic of your vin# on the frame cause there back together you will never see it again.

Smilie 388

Well I spent a bit more time measuring and checking stuff and I think the majority of the difference is in the floor . Going by the floor the #4 mount is out 3/8 to 1/2 inch . I was trying to use a laser level I had laying around but it's not parallel . I laid a straightedge across the 3 mounts on the frame rail and under the # 4 mount . The difference on the datum plane measurements works out to 7" . Using the straightedge it's 7" from the top of the # 4 mount to the bottom of the straightedge so I think I'm OK .