7T1vette

Remove the HVAC blower and vacuum out the collected 'crud' while you have good access.

Love that Bridgehampton Blue!!!

StingrayLust

Looks like I'm not the first to think that rear end of the frame looked odd so I had to go and check, '75 and later.

7T1vette

Well, at least the prior owner had the decency to put a better frame under it....

Brandons72vette

Better? …I see an incorrect frame with rust. IF anyone was doing a frame swap…why wouldn't they clean it up and at least paint it and make it nicer? You're not going to believe this, but it sounds like we have a real honest seller, one who we all want to buy a car from.


Only goes to show that you can't trust anyone during a sale. If they say anything or don't, don't take their word for it.

1976 corvette

nice pictures. Best of luck with the restoration

Denpo

Well, you're not the only one that got tricked into buying a rust bucket .
Welcome to the club.

loup68

Yes, how were the rear bumpers bolted to the frame? I don't see how they could have been, at least not very easily. It must have some non stock brackets. Lou.

Texas70

Well, I have not even been in the garage since Keithinspace pointed out the incorrect frame on this POS. I am just now starting to get my blood pressure down where I can again make rational decisions. I am just taking a break before I just part this car out and write off the loss to a lesson in life.

The bumpers had some cheesy strap bolted through the frame hole to the end. They were basically non-functional. Looked like it belonged, but not what it should have been. Without a person being an expert on historical parts for a corvette, you would be surprised what unscrupulous people will do.

V8 BUG

Don't give up on it. Who cares if it has the "wrong" frame. Make it SAFE and have fun with it. I would take this as an opportunity to make the car better than the factory did. I bought a 76 that was far from drivable, paid what I think was fair to somewhat high price. As I get into it I find Bubba was all over it. It will need a full resto. The engine and trans was from a truck and the car had been side swiped but patched up.
You have a very nice looking Vette there. Fix it and enjoy.

loup68

Dwayne, I agree with V8 bug, don't give up on it. I am pretty sure that the correct piece for the rear of the frame is available as a repair piece for repairing a correct frame. Check into it. Otherwise, try to sell the whole thing to someone who will want to resurrect it. Too many have gone to Corvette Heaven, already. Lou.

68/70Vette

No, my opinion is that your dream should be a car that scares you. I have a 08 with a supercharged base engine. 580 rwhp at 6500 rpm, which means for 15% tranny and diff loss, the engine is producing about 660 hp. From what I've been told, and watching relevant YouTube videos, if I drive this car in automatic trannie mode and it shifts gears at anywhere, I could get rear wheel spin and loss of control. The car does have, of course, an anti-wheel spin feature. The supercharger installer told me that the supercharger would overwhelm the anti-wheel spin feature of the car. I'm very wary of this car.

I had a previous 69 Corvette with a piece part build L88 engine. 550 flywheel horsepower. Actually I had it detuned.. 12.5:1 compression ratio dropped to 11.5:1. It had no computerized anti-wheel control. It also could have a frightening experience.

The problem is that driving a DD dorkmobile everyday for weeks, and then getting into a high powered car can cause problems. I was talking to a man that owned a Ford GT 40 (supercharged mid engine car). He was pulling out of a parking lot and wanted to make a left hand turn. A car was approaching to his right and he wanted to speed up and pull out. His DD was a old Volvo sedan. Day dreaming, he did what would be a normal thing for the Volvo. He cranked the steering wheel to a hard left hand turn and floor boarded the gas pedal.....opps...the GT40 immediately lit up the rear wheels (no computerized anti spin on these cars) and he did a 360 degree turn. Fortunately no damage and the on coming car stopped.

Once again...if you're not afraid of your car, it needs more HP!!!

davidchristopher

Don't give up. If I was closer, I'd be right there helping you. That frame can be saved.

When I got my '73 I was sad to find excessive frame rot. I found another frame (from a 69) that needed LESS repair and I'm fixing that one.

Hmm. When I get the body off the car in a few weeks to start the frame swap.. how about this... I can cut off the rear frame rails - to replace the rubber bumper ends on your frame... and send them to you for the cost of shipping. PM me if you're interested.

SB64

Now there a forum member for ya, ready to help. Don't give up on it. You can get allot of the frame pieces. With some creative welding it can be fixed. Let the vette live please.

Navy01Coupe

Have a (maybe several) beer(s) and let the blood pressure come down. I had a starter from a boat in my '70 and I know there is some rust on the frame that will need some serious repair. Focus on that you have a GORGEOUS car that will turn heads. You didn't buy the car to sell it and make money. You probably bought it because you always wanted one and now you have it! Enjoy the joy and pain and let people tell you how awesome she is! THAT is always the best medicine.

joewill

Do you know the ownership trail of this car? These cars have many owners.. looks like a lot of this damage is decades old. Are you sure you have justification to blame the guy you bought it from?

I guess it is too late now but perhaps you could have dumped the car for a loss and saved a lot of time and grief. You have to put some sort of value on that vs. working on that car that you are not enthused about... it is a big formula for failure.

rusted cars do trade hands all the time, at a reduced price, but as long as you and the buyer agree to its condition then all that matters is the price.

there is nothing wrong with selling a rusted out car.

Sunstroked

Personally I would part it out. It's 1 thing to start out with a 70 that has some issues. It's another to start out with a conglomeration of parts that needs virtually everything replaced. You'll have way more money into it than it will ever possibly be worth. Life's lesson learned.

keithinspace

Mr. Texas70, PLEASE don't let it bother you. It is one of those things. I am absolutely certain that things will work their way out and you'll know MUCH more about your car (than you ever wanted to know) when you're done working through these issues.

I had to pull my engine after 8 months of ownership. Owner wasn't unscrupulous at all, but it was one of those things. Once I got over the initial range of emotions, I dug in and made the engine MINE. You'll do the same with the whole darn car. It looks GREAT and there is lots there to work with. Don't lose sight of that fact.

keithinspace

On one hand, I totally agree.

A quick story: I just fixed a persistant fuel/carb issue where something was getting past my filter and into the secondaries, making the float hang up. Turned out to be the filter itself and the crappy flash chrome peeling off the inside of the casing DOWNSTREAM of the filter, but that's not the point.

While I was cleaning the float bowls, I went ahead and took the slack out of my throttle cable. Turned out I wasn't even opening my secondaries half way (double pump carb).

Took my son to a soccer game and HOLY CRRRRAP what a difference. Fast as all get-out. This is a solid roller 0.590 lift, 290 duration, 10.5:1 350, so it isn't wanting for power.

Took an intersection with a little hump under part power and got noticibly sideways when the weight came off the back wheels. Freaky fast.

Anyway...I WAS thinking about a Vortec supercharger on this engine.

I am no longer.

I'm going to fish the last 40 or so HP out of replacing my intake (Winters dual plane to a new Air Gap dual plane) and putting in a cowl induction diverter to match my L88 hood.

So I agree with your point all the way to where it gets stupid. I'm a SOLID 400 at the wheels. Has to be. Don't think I need any more. If I put a supercharger on this engine, I'd be uselessly lighting up 1st and probably lighting up well through 2nd. At some point, I've done enough.

And to your point with the Ford GT...I've almost done that. Doing a u-turn in front of Target and the engine stumbled a bit. Touch the gas and I find myself in this LURID power drift. I handled it well and looked like a hero, but it tought me a lesson.

Texas70

Finally getting this crazy train back on the tracks.

Picked up a 1969 frame and associated parts from a forum member that wanted to clean out some space in his shop. It was a great deal and much appreciated. I have been trying to find the time to make a 2.5 hour trip to pick up a rear clip from another forum member. Wanted to go Sunday, but ended up getting a late start. I sand blasted and painted the frame Saturday and was really worn out by Sunday. On a side note, I am not that impressed with POR15 semi-gloss. It does not dry uniform in color (at least for me). I tried twice and finally gave up, it will do the job of protecting the frame but there is a mix of gloss and semi-gloss in color. Maybe after it dries a few days it will even out. Not that it matters, I do not plan on ever seeing most of it again after installing the body.

I will be posting up some photos of the progress soon.

Brandons72vette

Cant wait to see your progression. Glad you are not going to quit on it.