Hi,

New to the forum. Just completed an 11 year restoration on a 74 Jaguar E Type V-12. I have previously owned and restored 1960 and 1963 Corvette rdstrs. Bought a 1977 Corvette new. So, I am looking for another nightmare project. I found a 1967 rdstr that is sitting upon a early 80's Corvette frame. My question is:

1. is this a really dumb project to take on because the frame is not a 67
2. or, are the two frames basically the same and I won't need to alter the frame.

Your imput and advice is most welcome.


Regards,


Dan Siegel

1950 Ford F-2 truck
1974 Jaguar E Type
2006 Mustang GT Conv 4.6

 

[QUOTE=Jaguarmaven;1569435190]Hi,

1. is this a really dumb project to take on because the frame is not a 67
2. or, are the two frames basically the same and I won't need to alter the frame.

#1 depends on the use you intend for the car and price of the car to begin with as well as how much of the work you'll do yourself. NCRS it would never be. #2 although I'm far from an expert on the alterations would involve, I believe, altering the front horn area of the frame, the back rear bumper bolt area and some of the body mount brackets. The kick up area has much different reinforcement but I believe can be left unchanged. There have been previous posts on this but I can't locate them now using this sites search function. You may have better luck.

 

You can also buy a brand new replacement frame for $$$ in the neighborhood of $5000.00. I know that's a lot of money, but I think you could also find an original 65-67 frame for $4000 or less, depending upon condition. Still a lot, but could be worthwhile depending upon the value of the car.

Modifying a later model frame for the '67 would cost somewhat less, there've been some on here who've done it, maybe they'll post some info.

 

When you say "early 80's" I hope you mean 80, 81, 82 and not 84-85? Theres a big difference.

Though the basic design of the frame is the same from 1963 thru 1982, there were many changes from year to year. Most of the major changes effected the front and rear horns and were caused by changes in the bumper systems over the years. 80-82 frames are the furthest from the 67 in design. Not only are the front and rear completely different because of the Federal bumpers, but the trans crossmember changed, eliminating the holes that the exhaust pipes must run through on earlier cars, because these cars had single exhaust and a catalytic converter. The biggest change in 80 though was the rear end and the way it was mounted. Prior to 80, all rears were hung from a rear crossmember. The 80-82 rear eliminated the crossmember and incorporated it into the rear center section itself.

If your plans are to biuld a restorod to similar toy, you can make the frame work. If you want to restore the car to original or something close to stock, look for another car.

63-67 frames can be found,but good solid rust free ones can be quite expensive. The 67 frame is repro-ed and is available for about $4,500 I think, but you would need to find a complete correct rear to go with the frame. The front suspension could be reused.

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks guys. I think I may pass on this one. If anyone is intersted this is the car:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=

I will keep looking.

Best regards,

Dan

 

Welcome to the forum Dan.

That car looks like a black hole that will suck money out of your bank account faster than a divorce.

With the economic problems (please let's not turn this into another OT pissing contest) there should be more decent cars for decent money, than usual.

Hold out until you find a good one.

 

Wooo, Yeah!!

I don't think it would take you long to be in too deep if someone gave you the car, assuming you were gonna try and restore it rather than part it out!! My opinion, it looks to be missing a lot of high dollar parts.

 

gbvette62

"Though the basic design of the frame is the same from 1963 thru 1982, there were many changes from year to year. Most of the major changes effected the front and rear horns and were caused by changes in the bumper systems over the years".

Hi,

Just for my own knowlegde, I am not familiar woth the term "front and rear horns". Are these the mounting arms for the bumpers?

Regards,


Dan Siegel, NJ

 

Dan,

I'm old school I guess, or at 54, just old, as my kids tell me. I started playing with old cars (there's that "old" word again) in the 60's, Ford T's, A's, & V8's; 33 Austin, 1910 Hupmobile, 23 Oldsmobile (I can't seem to get away from that "OLD" word), etc.... We allways refered to the front and rear of a frame as the frame horns.

Todays frames generally end squared off as a box at a crossmember, but early frames usually continued pass the front and rear crossmember and curved downward, creating what looked like horns. The radiator would be mounted to the front crossmember and the ends of the frame would continue forward 6 or 8 inches or so and would be clearly visable on these early cars. When bumpers started coming into use around 1920, the bumper brackets would be mounted to these "horns". Ford used a single, transverse spring, front and rear. The front spring was mounted to the front crossmember, so the frame horns just continued forward. Though independent front suspension was gaining more popularity in the 30's, most cars prior to World War II still used a solid "I" beam front axle and 2 semi-eliptical front leaf springs. The front of these springs would attach to the frame horn with shackles. Most cars had a similar rear suspension.

Old habits die hard, the front and rear of a frame will always be the "frame horns" to me.

Glenn

 

Thanks for the history lesson, it's good to learn the true origins of stuff like this.

There's a guy on the C6 forum that claims 0-60 road tests were invented about 8 years ago. He must be too young to remember the 0-55 tests, which were preceded by the 0-60 tests 50+ years ago.

 

Thanks. Now I understand what the "horns" refer to.


Regards,


Dan

 

So is it fair to say, that in order to mount 67 bumpers on an early 80's frame, you would have to weld the horns to support the bumpers?

The idea of a resto rod does intrigue me but I would like to be able to attach the bumpers. Can these "horns" be purchased or would they have to be fabricated?

Dan

 

Every part for any '63-'82 frame is available from Vette Products of Michigan (www.vetteproducts.net), plus complete GM-licensed assembled frames for any engine/transmission/body/year combination.

By the time you saw off the front of the frame and most of the rear of the frame to get rid of the late-80's frame rails designed for mounting energy-absorbing bumper systems, buy '67 front and rear frame horns and rails/crossmembers, fixture them and weld them all in correct location, you could simply replace the frame with the right one and move on with the project.

 

John,

Thanks for the info.


Regards,

Dan