Hi again, I’m looking at this car with a new (press moulded) front clip installed.
The old panels were cut off, just forward of the cowl area on top and retaining the original fender vents lower down.
Is this an acceptable way of doing it ?
If the owner didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t have known, but on closer inspection, there’s some excess bonding adhesive that’s oozed out behind the joints but that’s about the only clue I can see.
It’s been painted now for about a year, with nothing obvious on the outside, except the control arms on one side have been replaced.
Body guys please chime in.
Link to damaged car in below post

 

I am not sure what you are asking. This is the quick and dirty way to replace a clip, but obviously not the "right" way. It is a shame they cut up a pm clip. Are you looking at a driver? Then it doesn't matter in my opinion. But if you are looking at an investment, find one that has never been hit, or at least fixed all the way.

 

Link to car at auction site before repair

 

Mine was similar to that damage on the pass. side, but the entire front was pretty much untouched including the driver's side. I bought my '66 with a heck of a discount due to the non-proper repairs. I since put it right, but other than a daily, I'd never have lived with that.

 

That’s a perfectly acceptable way to replace it IMHO. Panel adhesive is always going to show squeezed on the inside.

If the fits are good and the lines are crisp it wouldn’t bother me a bit. It’s a 60 year old Chevy.

 

Looking at Corvettes for the past 40 years, I've always observed that most any non-factory splice joints between panels eventually show.
Installing a correct PM front end is relatively straight forward if you're patient and a little careful to get good prior alignment with test fitting.

 

I would never buy a car at market value with a repair like that. The strength of that front end is where all of the panels are glued all the way to the windshield at several locations. A car that was cut in front of the firewall at a shop near me was taken off the frame for a restoration years later and the front end literally cracked because of the weight of the body panels. One that is glued all the way back would never do that. The factory knew where the strength was in these body panels.

 

Correct replacement:



Quarters are assembled post Clip fitment. And most definitely NOT cut forward of the hood cowl & bakside vents....

 

This was a common practice back when these cars were really driven. My Chevy dealer did it every time one came in that needed an upper surround replaced. This cuts the repair time down since the body man didn't have to remove the windshield and chrome trim and all the extra fitting work associated with it. A wide strip was cut from the crashed upper surround panel and used as a bonding strip under the two joined pieces. It's undetectable and if the prep work was done properly by clean sanding all the adjoining pieces, it will last as well as the rest of the dozens of other seams on the car. I had a new 65 and a new 67. Friends worked at my dealer in the body shop and the general repair garage. I've seen this work done. Here are a couple of pictures showing how and where the cuts were made. It's easy to see how this makes replacing a front clip way easier for the body man. It probably saves a full two days of labor. Ray Schiro (Corvette Specialist) wrote a book outlining the procedure. There are probably plenty of cars around repaired this way. Like it or not, it's undetectable and a common way of doing it. I wouldn't sweat it on that car. More importantly, was the frame pulled and fixed correctly. Like you said, you would have never known it was done that way. BTW, I don't have dog in this fight, just reporting what I know to be true...

 

I cannot disagree with you! It appears to be a real time saver (Labor)! If not just for the windshield removal and replacement issues that could result. However, not for me!

 

So, to sum up, not the “best” way to do it, but unlikely to fall off

 

in due time that seam will show, then everyone will know the short cut the shop took

 

Not if it was done right. I have done panel repairs from 20-30 years ago that still look good. And now you have better materials than I did back then.

 

I recently saw a ‘67 that was done up this way with a half front clip splice. The cut line at the fender peak bled through and was easy to spot.


John

 

Just posting "done right" without any reveal of techniques other than the little that was posted is remiss. If you leave a panel bond with different substrates side by side, it'll show. If you glue your bond properly, then grind that down and glass over it, leaving a panel thickness of glass in all are areas, then straighten, it'll be fine. Anything less, it'll likely reveal itself. Fiberglass moves, moves with heat, moves with stress, and it's always moving......work with that.

 

Thats what I meant when I said "done right " Quite often you can find a factory original w/ factory paint and you will see the seams showing through. I have always advised grinding back the seams and glassing over them. I used to work in a Chevrolet body shop and I was the only one that could put up with the "Corvette itch " ! The old body guys taught me a LOT. God bless em.

 

Was at an NCRS regional meet a few years back and there was a really nice Daytona. Blue SWC. However, the entire rear section of the body had been spliced onto the rest of the roof and rear quarters, about midway through the fender well. You could see the splice line from about 20 feet.
Probably the worst fiberglass repair I've ever seen on a Corvette. Yet there it was being judged by NCRS.

 

When a seam shows through, you can be sure it was done improperly. The entire car body is assembled with seams and bonding or backing strips. It's nonsense to think that any seam will fail other than it was not prepped right or bonded right, especially if the joint was assembled using epoxies. They don't fail, period. It's a simple process. Failure to clean, thoroughly sand, and remove every spec of paint is usually the problem. Operator error is the root cause.

 

There is a big difference between a "good enough" repair to an old used car and restoration work. There isn't any good reason to do this on a decent 67 Corvette. If that was their strategy, you can be confident none of the repairs were done to a high standard. There are simply too many cars to pick from these days to settle for that one.

 

It’s no different than replacing a rear quarter panel. It’s all in how the splice/work was accomplished. I replaced a quarter panel on my 66 back around 90 or 91. Still looks perfect. Yes, that was over a factory bonding strip but there is nothing magical about a bonding strip. You can make one of those for just about any repair. It’s more about how you fiberglass in the repair than anything.