crawfish333

OK, I have owned my C3 for about 7 months now and have had a lot done to it so far. The car is low mileage (49K+) but it still needed some things corrected. (see below) I have decided that I will go ahead and get it painted after I finish with my current projects. I plan on getting this done in Louisiana at a restoration place that specializes in Corvettes that I used before when my 88 was damaged in an accident. My frame is in great shape, but it has been undercoated. I can try to get this stuff off but I wondering if I might ought to go a head and get them to remove the body from the frame to clean off the undercoating and paint the frame and the under hood areas. I wonder how much this would drive up the cost? These guys are really good and I understand I am going to be way upside down. I am not planning to sell this car, but pass it down to family. Here is what is done so far:

New Al Knock seats and cushions.
new pillar post
New timing gears and chain & gasket
Reinstall all original shielding
New Dewitt Reproduction Radiator and new cap
Engine cleaned and painted.
New intake gaskets
New cork pan gasket
rear main seal
Change to correct spark plugs, wires, and distributor cap as well as spark plug grommets.
new fuel tank, insulator and rollover valve
New Correct heater hoses and frame fuel lines and new coolant hoses
put in new parking brake slider (it was missing)
New parking brake pulley cable
changed cushions on rear springs
changed wiper arm door valve
New U-Joint on main drive shaft
New correct gas cap to replace B & S locking cap
New motor mounts
New Carb gasket

I also have an original AM/FM stereo radio and new bezil waiting to be installed. I am planning to order a new exhaust system from Gardner soon. I also plan on redoing the trailing arms, clean and recoat spring and differential.

The13Bats

Pulling the body off and to do the job of stripping the frame correctly really means taking it down to bare frame and tanking it, nothing left bolted to it, at hourly rates this will add up, depends if you just want it really need it or in between,

My 69 as example, i hit a pot hole break a rear strut, that leads to discovery of frame rust not too bad but it was faster to buy a donor chassis, got lucky it was rebuilt with all the vbp transverse junk,
And powder coated, cheap price.

All my other stuff engine etc was swapped over, now i did this because i want a like new or better than it was in 69 dd, and the swap was faster and cheaper than fixing my frame, which tony now has.

Your frame might be in great shape under the undercoating, in that if it was mine im too cheap to have it all pulled stripped and done just because, but i guess things could hide under the undercoating which while not pretty does a good job if applied correctly,

Its tough call, weigh it out if you really need it want it by what the shop will charge,

Can you post pictures of the frame?

doorgunner

with Bats.

Let the restoration guys check the frame areas that are known to have rust problems. Then you will know whether to strip the frame or not.

crawfish333

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a thumb drive at home with some pictures of the frame, but I am at the office right now. I will try and remember to post them later. The guy who pulled the engine does a lot of restoration work on Corvettes as well, and he and I spent quite a bit of time looking at the frame on his lift. In areas we looked at, we could find no evidence of rust. The shop owner looked at the birdcage area and said it looked good also. On the front of the frame where the frame bends upward, there was no undercoating and we could see factory chalk markings still on the frame. The metal there did not even show signs of surface rust. The car was a California car that spent most of it's life in Nevada and was not driven in the winter. (I am the second owner) So anyway, I do not think it has rust, but I agree that it should be looked at again before painting. I would hate to spend 10-15K on a paint job only to find out the frame is rusting.

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Can you post pictures of the frame?[/QUOTE]

The13Bats

This might be a case where for that 100%
Peace of mind you have a frame off done if you have the funds and want to be sure, some rust does hide where only a frame off shows it, my budget only allows things i consider musts, so i would have every eye at the shop look at it good, if it passed i would leave it as is, but your paint budget is more than i have in my entire 69 so its a bit different situations....

Alan 71

Hi C,
The question of lifting the body or not is not an easy one to answer!
There's no doubt that it gives you the best access to the frame and running gear and also the under body.
BUT, it increases the amount of work you find you should do, and at least for a while you need a place to put the body.
Having your shop do it, as you mention, is certainly an option, but lifting the body and then doing what needs to be done is extremely labor intensive so it becomes costly quickly if you're paying someone to do it.
I don't know you're situation well enough to know if lifting the body is a good choice for you AND/OR the car.
SOMEDAY when this is ALL said and done what would you like the car to be?
Regards,
Alan

crawfish333

One other question, would the frame being on the car be a deterent from getting a quality paint job? I ask this becasue another guy post some restoration pictures in another thread that shows him getting his car painted with the frame on the car. Then later he showed the frame getting sprayed. So I thought, why would they spray the body with the frame on the car when they to separate the frame off anyway? Not being an expert, it would seem to me that it woudl be easier to paint the car with the body off?

BTW, I hope I can get a nice paint job for less than the amount I mentioned, but from reading this forum I assumed that is going to be about the going rate these days from a good restoration shop. I would love to be pleasantly surprised. I plan on painting it the stock color (targa blue) but adding a clear coat to the paint job. It should go without saying that I want it stripped to bare fiberglass before it is sprayed. I have not found any fiberglass stress cracks or splits but they may find some, but i expect any body work to be minimal.

crawfish333

I know this is a little too much to hope for, but I would like it to be as if it would have been if I went to the showroom on my 16th birthday in 1972 and bought it new. Your car would do fine.

But realistically, if I wanted a full blown restoration, I should have went ahead and started before I did this other work (including pulling the engine). I kind of regret that I did not consider this option then, but it is what it is now. So I guess I just want the car to look new as far as the engine, (it almost does now) interior (it is close) and body. I also do not want any rust eating up my investment.

Alan 71

Hi c,
Assuming that it's an option, there are two schools of thought about painting the body mounted on the chassis or not. Each have their strong proponents.
I think you must consider the shop's preference too. It always best to have them working in their normal fashion…..not asking them to change their 'sequence'.
Based on my exposure to Corvettes being restored, I lean toward having the body in place when it's painted. (Body on a completed chassis/running gear that's scrupulously protected from body shop debris and paint.)
I think the cost you mention for an excellent paint job is realistic.
You mention 'clear'… if you have the car painted with the modern paint systems it will have a layer of clear on it. At this time really the only paint not getting clear sprayed over the color coats is acrylic lacquer.
Regards,
Alan

The13Bats

In my case, food for thought,
I hired at my wife tinas insist the chassis swap, im very detailed mind, remember the little things i covered it with the fellow and he grossly low balled the job and time to do it,
He said a week i thought a month at 9 plus months took threats of law and etc to get him to return my damaged car to me, point,
He cracked the doors rear wheel wells, i assume dropped the body as other damage looked like that,
Never could i see painting a body off a chassis then trying to get it back on without damage, but a few gurus can do it, he isnt one of them
10k up is a realistic price for nice strip and shoot, i paid 8000 in 89 for just the shoot on my wide body,
I wasnt always this cheap.

crawfish333

The place I am considering is kind of slow but very good. They have done quite a few frame off top flight cars and they also did some nice work on my old C4 after an accident. It took them some time, but I was working overseas at the time and I was at work anyway so I just told then to do it at their convenence. They had my car for about a month if memory serves. I just emailed the owner of the shop to make an inquiry about the work. I hate to call these guys because they are usually in the shop rather than sitting behind a desk.

The13Bats

The guy that did mine has talent but not with people no tact at all, too much ego, he bit off way more than he could chew,
But had he just made right with what he damaged i would be happy.

In your case, will you keep and enjoy the car long enough to say you got your monies worth?
If yes, then go for a frame off get it just like new, not almost, that pretty much what i am doing on my 69

Mr D.

Just remember, when you hand this car off to a repair shop they are billing at $65-$110 per hour and those hour can add up quick.

At $85 per hour labor you will get 59 hours or 1 1/2 weeks for $5K

crawfish333

yep, I know it will be expensive. I contacted the shop in Louisiana and he gave me a rough estimate of 15-20K depending on what they have to do. I am 99.9% sure they would not have to replace any panels. I had thought i could get it done for 15K easily... so I may also look at some local shops here in the Fort Worth area. I just really like the work they do down there. At least I have an answer to the question: "frame off or frame on" to paint. (definitely frame on)