Ive been lurking for awhile and reading and gathering lots of information thanks to sites like this..
I picked up a '79 last summer.. found on eBay, wasnt really looking for it, at the time the price seemed right to me considering its shape. I dont know much about the cars history except it was thoroughly abused, and then ended up sitting for many many years to rust away.. (your probably thinking "wtf did he buy it then?" yeah, so am I, ebay... ) I even bought it with half an engine, so Ive never driven it (not like its driveable anyways)
I wanted a car to work on and build up myself though, and the C3 has been my favorite car since I was like 5 so I just did it..

Ok the front end has been replaced in its life, due to an accident I gather, and apparently hit again because the front driver side corner fiberglass is in need of serious bandaging. I have a silver front end and the rest of the car is black (original color). Also has an '80 rear bumper cover Ive just come to find out..

Im about to take the body off the frame so I can blast it and repair and paint it but now I think it might be totally fubar. I see the front driver side ear that comes off the crossmember mustve been smashed in, and a new one welded on.. the dimensions for that peice seem alright and the bumper bar and all that stuff bolts up to it fine... however something I noticed when we were bringing this car into my garage bothered me but I didnt know what to think about it
the car has 255/60/15 tires on it, at full right turn everything is good, but turn it full left and the passenger side front rubs on the body (I might have that backwards but the front of the passenger tire rubs)
Is it safe to assume my car will ride down the road diagonal?
Will it be possible to take measurements and find out if thats the case?

 

Don't worry about it too much. If the frame is bent, you can get a good part out frame for around $500. The main thing that can screw you is birdcage rust. Once you get the carpet and windshield out, you will be able to see what you have under there. I bought an 80 about 6 months ago and found a bad frame under it. I got lucky though and have almost 0 rust in the bird cage. I should be pulling the body soon on mine.
What plans do you have for the drive train and suspension? also please post some pics so we can see what you are dealing with.
The frames are measured across the body mounts in a criss cross manner.
Go to www.hemsinc.com and order the factory service manual for you car. It will cover all deminsions and procedures for this.

 

Theres the mess.. thats how it looked when I bought it, right now its nearly stripped

Im still trying to figure out what all makes up the "bird cage". The whole car is rusty, the front end really bad, I think it might have sat in the weeds.. the floorpan appears that it had been replaced (judging by the underside condition its great, also that it wasnt put in all that great, few missing rivets and what not) but the inside is all kinds of rusty from the leaky t-tops I guess.. still really solid though if I can i will just blast that and repaint it also

 

All in all Welcome to the Forum and congrats on the C3 purchase and HEY! if your happy with it to H%%% with everyone else.
You've got a big job ahead and good luck with it all.
Anything need known about a C3 can be found here as I'm sure you're quite aware of by now

 

The birdcage is basically the interior floor, firewall, and piller post frame. If you do a search on birdcage rust, you will probably find a lot of threads with pics and how they fixed the problems.
Your car looks like a pretty good project car to me. Just remember, any problems you run into, there is sombody here thats already delt with it. just post a thread with your delima and you'll have plenty of help. It's a great site and has already helped me in a lot of ways.
Good luck, take lots of pics, and keep us posted.

 

Welcome Good luck with your project - mine's in pieces too

 

Birdcage.

 

Thanks for the welcome, and thanks paul I was looking for a picture like that
I need to order the service and assembly manuals definately..

wanted to give you an idea of what I was trying to say in my first post, I was outside last night taking some more measurements while the body was still on. My passenger side tire not only rubs the front, it also hangs lower by about an inch while the car is in the air.

Driver side
Passenger Side

disregard the guy on the ground

I dont know anything really about aligning a car, but both sides are angled towards the driver side.

 

It took a few looks to understand what you where saying... but I get it... the driver's side is correct but something is bent pretty good on the passenger side. after the body is off take the frame in to a body shop( after your inspection) the frame can most likely be straightened. On the plus side your frame looks pretty solid.. just surface rust. It could be worse, with holes and or chunks of rust falling off! If you can deal with getting it straight you should be on your way to a good start

 

Anyone know what needs to be removed with an 80+ rear bumper when doing the body lift? Right now thats all thats holding me up and I cant see what the heck its still fighting me on... I thought it could slide right up over the crash bar.. the plastic headlight holder thing is not even attached to the crash bar either... the rear just doesnt seem to want to move

 

The rear bumper cover needs to come off.

 

Ugh

You mean i gotta fight my way in there just to snap off another 14 or so little rusted studs?
Oh well, thanks for letting me know before I broke something

 

Yep, but it's really not all that bad. Just have a 1/4" drive ratchet handy. IMO the rear is much easier than the front.

 

Vette Frame


Didnt go as smoothly as planned.. but I didnt destroy anything.. I dont think
#1. I was doing it by myself unfortunately
#2. I couldnt seem to find a happy place to lift it from it was always front heavy, even though theres nothing but headlights attached to the front anymore
#3. I had to actually walk the body away from the frame because theres quite a pile of garbage in front of the garage door it was parked inside of that I have to run to the dump ;0
That was hard because my garage floor isnt very good and it was considerbly heavier then I expected it was going to be for some reason

all in all it went ok, now I have to figure out if theres anything wrong with the frame or not
then find some parts to sell so I can afford the sand blaster :P

oh and as for that damn rear bumper cover, mr. reciprocating saw paid a visit again because those top bolts were so rusted I couldnt even find a socket to turn them

 

Looks and sounds exactly like my project. If you have the windshield out you can pick the car up from the holes in the birdcage at the kick panels and behind the doors. The balance point for mine was about 8" in front of the upper windshield frame. I also used a ratchet strap to the radiator support to support the front end.
[url]