Yeah, I forgot just how bad yours was; clearly worse than the OP's.

 

My car's previous owner (1965 to his death in 2016) was an avid fisherman, and spent winters in Florida. The car appears to have had a bumper hitch. Based on how terrible the rear half was, and how comparatively good the front was, I wonder if he may have frequently backed the car down to salt water at the boat launch. OP's car doesn't look nearly that bad, just road salt and accumulated dirt and crud allowing things to rot.

One thing these cars have going for them today - it's highly unlikely anybody is going to repair or replace the chassis, and then drive it in snow and slush. Anything done today will likely outlast even the youngest current owner. So Con, probably now will be the one and only time you have to go through this.

 

My windshield wipers quit working a couple years ago. I bought Rainex. Even now it doesn't see bad weather, which thankfully we don't have frequently. My hope is if I do all this I'll still drive it.

 

OP; obviously your frame rust is not as bad as Don's (Railroadman) shown above.

Once you get a closer look at where the thinning is you'll know better what's required to fix it. But, if the majority of the damage is between the internal bulkhead and the end cap, as if often the case, you just might be able to get a good frame and welder guy to fix it in place. While it might be easier to actually do the work with the frame removed and flipped, the effort to remove and store the body may make it worth the effort to try an in-place repair.

See this video - although not done in place, it doesn't look that difficult for someone with the right skill set and tools:
Good Luck

 

OK, guess that may be a poor choice. I'm looking around. Norfolk had a Ford truck manufacturing plant until the mid 2000's. Hoping some of that talent is still around.

 

Con, just to reassure you - if you decide to pull the body, there are several threads on here about it, and many of us have done it, some guys have done many. It's intimidating the first time but people will help you. I was nervous as a cat and made several panicked calls to forum member OutOfSpec who was talking me through it, but in the end it wasn't all that bad.

 

If you have doubts, sell it. It will require more work than it's probably worth. Do an assessment first. If you decide to fix it, check out a whole new chassis rather than messing with that one.

 

Not everybody looks at their car like a used car lot salesman. The guy has owned the car 30+ years. I'm guessing it's more than just a dollars-and-cents decision.

 

Thanks for posting the video Easy Rhino. Though there's no way to know for until the frame's end cap is removed, but the OP's frame rust looks remarkably similar to MYM's and the video certainly illustrates how this repair can be made with the body on the frame. IMHO the ability to complete the repair with the body on the frame depends on how high the rust has crawled up the vertical portions of the frame and whether the rust has intruded into the number 3 crossmember. It also depends on the metal fabricator.

 

Exactly my thoughts. I know if I otherwise wasn't having to remove the body and there was anyway to work around it, that I would be interested in at least exploring the possibility of fixing it in place.

Of course, I personally lack the know how, skill, and tools to do what Midyear Mitch does, but I've just been turned on to his videos and he makes lots of this work look easier than it would be for me.

Be well. BTW, now that I'm retired and living closer to Lexington, I make the trip to visit my folks (Andover area) much more frequently.

 

That's your guess but my guess is if the frame is that bad, the whole cage is probably not far behind. It needs to be thoroughly checked out vs. the value of the car.

 

Midyear Mitch ain't no slouch ya' know. That dude's got some big ole jumbo Corvette *****.
PM me when you're in the area. Maybe we could catch a car show. There's a good C&C show on Richmond Road. They'll have everything from rats to McLarens. Here's a good guide to the area shows:
https://www.thecruisenightpage.com/calendar

 

Selling the car and moving on with life is a valid point and definitely an option. I understand the time, effort and cost to restore may/will exceed the final value. I have some family obligations but also have the luxury of working whenever I want, paying it forward for past sins I guess, so time is available. And my time in the garage is fun for me. This is the discussion my wife and I are having since we both have fond memories in the car.
The hardest part for me is estimating the budget. Money is not the primary consideration, but it is a consideration and I don't want to enter into this blind. I recall seeing restoration threads with budgets, so I'll do more research.
The borescope will arrive tomorrow, so probably Monday before I can look more closely. The hammer test has not revealed any other major areas.
Thanks for the advice.

 

I did a body off, it was straight forward but be prepared for 2+ years of downtime and $$$. Once the body is off you will start noticing other things that you will want to do. Just brace yourself for scope creep, time and money spent. ARE YOU SURE THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS ADDRESSED NOW? You will need to stash the body somewhere while working on the frame. (side yard?) and have a place for all of the other parts along the way like your pod idea, You will want to build a dolly to wheel the body around.

I have seen a compromise where the body was unbolted then blocked up with 4x4's so the frame work could take place, this might be a good compromise for you. You could get in with an angle grinder and cut out the offending sections, weld in replacement parts and be on the road after a couple of long weekends. You may not have to disconnect the steering or brake lines. But since you are not an experienced welder, I would not recommend this be your first project unless you find a good coach to help you..

The aftermarket has all of the ready formed replacement sections you will need.

 

Miked16 - The $$$ and creep are understood but why the 2+ years? Is it parts, or service availability, or personal time available? Maybe mid-project fatigue or some combination of all of the above? I'm trying to get my head wrapped around the scope of work now but was hoping to end up at the 1 year mark. Is that fanciful thinking?

 

Your time frame really depends on the condition of the car and what you want to do. How much time do you want to put into the process each day or week? I watched a shop owner do a complete body off resto on his 64 in six weeks. He owned a body and frame shop. All the components were removed and sent out to be rebuilt. One crew worked on the frame and another crew worked on the body. The engine, rear, transmission, suspension were sent out as were the seats, instruments etc. The point is, how far into the weeds are you going to go? A good rule of thumb, is to double your time and money budget and add a few more dollars and hours. That said, if you do the lions share of the work yourself, the process and end product can be very rewarding. Jerry

 

While the birdcage may be rusty, it could be simply that the weep holes at the end caps are plugged and trapped moisture in that area. A full inspection should be done to determine if you have rust isolated to the frame end cap area or have a bigger issue with the entire birdcage.

 

I totally agree it needs to be checked out. Value of the car is subjective, not everybody approaches it as a business decision. My car will never sell for what I will have into it, but I'm enjoying the project and really don't care what it would sell for. I equate it to somebody who spends 5 digits on fishing equipment and boat rather than spending $20 at the fish market.

t would seem that a bad frame would likely mean bad birdcage, but that's not always the case. Knowing the '64 I bought had a bad frame, I came very close to not going to look at it (1,000 miles away). Between Benton (ChattanoogaJSB) and my wife, they talked me into making the trip. The birdcage was surprisingly good. I had been willing to replace the frame, but not the cage.

I agree the project does not have to take anywhere near 2 years but also agree project creep is almost a certainty. If OP can determine the problem is localized, if OP can do a slight lift as MikeD16 says, and if a skilled welder can be hired, this isn't necessarily the kiss of death.

 

We lifted the body a few inches a year ago so we could add factory style shoulder harness anchors on our 66. The only surprise was the right rear bolt just spun because one of the rivets for the nut-cage had been missed at the factory. Separating the steering shaft from the flex-coupling was probably the most difficult part. About 8 hours and we had it raised. Dropping it back down took a bit longer and was probably around 10-12 hours. Wanted the body centered and bumpers straight and putting things back together always takes me longer.

Suspect it will take a bit longer on yours since there may be some rusted fasteners to deal with. Like others have mentioned, if the rest of the frame is good you could probably just lift the body straight up and leave it there while you work on the frame. We raised the entire car 12 inches to start with and that was just enough space to work under it. We did this in a 1-1/2 car garage space which was enough to work efficiently. More space wouldn't have made much of a difference.

Would consider replacing fuel lines, brake lines, and body mount bushings while it is apart. A good time to clean and grease the shifter too. While there are always more things that could be worked on these made the most sense to us.

Good luck with whatever direction you decide to go.

 

A good fabricator wont be inexpensive. Finding a good frame has become a bit easier with the proliferation of C2 restomods. Also there are good repro frames to be had.
If it were my car and I find out fixing the rust is not an option I would swap it all onto a good frame.