I'm restoring my 63 convertible that had a frame swap before I bought it. I just pulled the body off and there was a combination of stacks of shims and rubber body mount cushions between the body and frame. I know that 63's had an aluminum spacer and shims only. My question is, is there any difference in a 63 frame vs 64-67 frames? Are the mounting points on the frame higher on 63's? Will I be ok just ordering the 64 up mount kit?

 

The 63 frame is a one year only part.
You can see this by looking at your AIM . I bought a kit from Quanta with new bolts and shims for my 63 .
It depends on how you want to restore your car .
Other members will give you more details.

 

why a one year only frame?

 

Because it is a 63.
The cars evolve from a production stand point . They had engineers who looked for cheaper ways to build the cars and make them easier to produce .
All for the bottom line to increase profit .

 

And adding rubber to the mounts added quiet to the ride.

 

The body mounts are unique to '63.
See link below...
Body Mount Differences on C2's

 

Yes, the frame mounts were lowered in 64 to allow room for the rubber bushings. If it’s a 64 frame as evidenced by the lack of the corner reinforcements behind the seats and the lack of clearanced areas in the rear kick ups for disc brake calipers, then 64 body mounts should work.

 

Not exactly. They added gussets and other features to improve strength and rigidity...

 

Yes your correct . I should have mentioned that as part of their evolution . Just assumed that would follow .
New engines (BB) and all the other changes to the cars .

 

so after 63 were the frames improved and stronger?

 

Yes .

 

when did the frames get gussets in the corner at the kick up and cross member?

 

That I don't know . But I am sure there are members here who do .

 

The triangle shaped gussets that went between the frame side rails and the differential front crossmember were added in 64. 64's are easy to identify by the small round hole in the center of the plate. In 65 the gusset plates were changed and the small round hole was replaced by a larger triangle shaped hole. The 64 plates were interchangeable, while the 65-74 plates are different left and right.

The trailing arm bumper brackets and location are different on 63-64 frames from those used from 65 onward.

The "keyholes" were added to the 65 frame side rails, as was the indent in the front crossmember to clear the big block crank pulley.

In 1969 a pair of gussets were added to the frame extending upward from the differential front crossmember to the frame kick ups on each side,

The 68-72 frames are very similar to 63-67 frames and are easy to convert, resulting in quite a few modified 68-72 frames under midyears. 73-74 frames are close too and are fairly easy to convert. 75-79 frames take a little more work to convert, but are far from impossible to convert. 80-82 frames are the most different mainly because of the way the differential mounts, and take far more work to convert making them the least desirable candidate.

 

In light of this my response above referencing 64 frames lack the corner reinforcements was incorrect. I thought they were added in 65.

 

Each year from 1963 till 1967 every frame had differences they were all unique. 64 is the only year that changed the design, a frame gusset midway through the year, those Gussets turned out not to be such a great idea the way they were designed with the flanges looking up. They caught dirt and debris, which laid there and didn’t drain out through the holes and ended up rotting out the frames. What I think is funny is people still say that 64 to 67 cars ride better than 63 because of the rubber mounts. Not possible because all 63 to 67 were bolted solid at the radiator support and all the bumper brackets through the body in the front. The Firewall body mounts were aluminum pucks in 64 to 67 bolted solid to the frame. There’s another body mount in the convertibles right under the door that is bolted directly to the frame in all 64 to 67 convertibles. they added the rubber mount to the next body mount in front of the rear tire. The next body mount also is rubber, but the rear bumper brackets are bolted so to the frame solid to the body so there is no movement even with the rubber mounts. In 68 they decided that the rubber mounts were creating cracks in the bodies so they eliminated them and went with aluminum pucks on all locations.

 

Early 64 frames lacked the corner gussets. My late Jan car for instance does not have them.. There were also inboard body mounts on the rear crossmember beside the drive shaft.. They disappeared by 65. Body never off the frame.. Still original paint.

 

You are correct, I believe they were first used during April 1964. Even though I think I reread my post a couple times, I probably should have read it once more, because I had intended for it to say "...were added in late 64".

Below is a picture of the 64 only gusset, and the 65-74 gusset.

1964

1965-1974

 

I really appreciate all the help for my question, and I learned a lot more in the process. I finally got my 63 shop manual out last night and found a print for the vertical locations of the body mounts. Comparing it and the 64-67 prints I found online, it appears that the 63 firewall mount location is approximatly 3/16" higher than the later frames. The convertible only mount under the door is about 1/8" lower, the mount just behind the door is almost 3/8" higher, and the rearmost mount is about 1/8" higher than the 64-67 frames. If I had only thought about it, I would have known where to look before asking here. Thanks again Scott