c3 bird cage
 

Anyone know best way to replace birdcage on a c3. Everything that I have saw requires massive fiberglass repairs! Please tell me there is an easier way out there!! Also anyone know if you can buy a replacement cage?

What year are you working on ?

Profile says 75.

How Much Needs Replacing?
 

Can you tell us how much of the birdcage needs replacing? On my last project I replaced the entire window frame from the top door hinge up with a good frame from a doner wreck. I have some photos I can PM you if you are interested. The doner car was a coupe but only a slight mod was needed to make it work. I didn't have to cut one piece of fiberglass and you couldn't tell it wasn't the origional frame.

Been there - done that x3.

In one case I pulled the original and was able to weld in replacement parts.

The other two we obtained donor cages, had them powder coated then installed.

No easy way around this.

http://mcspeed.homestead.com/Vacation.html

You can buy bird cage pieces from Zip and from others as well. I saw a source for complete bird cages (new) for sale but I can't find the link.

http://www.zip-corvette.com/Zip/dept.asp?dept_id=2184

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Corve...Q5fAccessories

they show up every once in a while on EBAY.. you can buy some parts at the corvette parts houses.. call them up and ask...

do lots of research here on this forum and you will just about learn all you need..

Unless its a 4 speed or has lots of sentimental value I would consider another car.

Is there any place that sells replacement rocker channels for these cars or is it all just inserts?

Brian

did it, been there.And as said before, no easy way around it.

75 birdcage
 

No it is not a 4 speed. It is a customer car and he is set on spending the money. I have another shop looking at doing the glass work but it sounds like they DO NOT know what they are doing! Anyone send me a link or a pic of where the fiberglass has to be separated to replace most if not all cage?

Please do not take offense here but if you are the shop which has the "customer car" and are unsure how to proceed, consider subbing this part of the rebuild out to a specialist. Doing so will not require the learning curve you are starting by asking here, and have the benefit of limiting your liability and possibly losing your butt (timewise) since I assume said customer wishes a quote before proceeding? This is a large undertaking, and I for one would not accept a paying customer's car as my first transplant.....

customer could probably buy a nice C6 for what its going to cost him having a shop replace a birdcage.

sorry for the ignorance but what is the birdcage

Thats the internal metal frame for the body: Door frames, windshield frame, firewall, floor pan sections.

ahh...I see said the blind man to his deaf wife while peeing into the wind, its all coming back to me now

birdcage
 

I have informed this customer of the expense of this build in comparison to buying a newer or at least more valuable older vette. He wants this car built and business is to slow to turn down the job. I am more than capable of doing the job with little direction. Yes first vette but I am not worried about time, doing alot of mods LS1, coil over all round, only original piece of car will be body.

a couple hundred hours of work at a shop rate of 50/hour..... 10,000$.. anyone who pays a shop to do it is probably nuts....

Try vetteproducts.net they probably make most of the steel replacement parts out there right down to entire frames

Those numbers are about right, makes very little sense to invest this much in most C3s, but...............