How much rust on frame is permissable. I had a call from my brother last night and he told me he stopped by a house yesterday during his lunch hour to look at a Vette. A '72 coupe. Not sure why he wants to buy a vette all of a sudden. sure it's not me . Anyway, he brought along a friend of his that is a mechanic and off they went. His overall opinion is that it looked really clean. Not a #'s matching, and the wheels are not original. Anyway, he got to looking underneath and found two holes in the frame. Both around the same area. Both in front of the rear wheel wells and about 1.5-2" in diameter. When asked, the owner staed that they were mouse nests. The owner previous to hime had medical problems on and off, and the car would sit for years at a time. He told the current seller that mice had roosted up in there. The seller told me brother that the Prev. owner seemed truthful, and the 5 years since he has owned it, the holes have not spread or worsened at all. They have been there for 15 years. So, is this ok? No other rust, anywhere they could see. They removed both kick panels, got flahlights up into the doors. Base of the wndshield is sound. All the chrome around the birdcage looks fine. Are these two smallish holes a worry? Can they be fixed? Should they be fixed? Would that stop ya'll from buying the car? Thanks!!!

 

If you could post some pics, that would be helpful. Can't really understand why these huge holes would be there.

Grant

 

I would think that 2" holes could cause serious structural problems. If it is only in that area, it could be repaired, but it would probably require the body to be removed from the frame.
I think I would keep looking.

 

The rear kick-ups are a common rust area as the design traps dirt and moisture.

It is repairable and should be addressed if you buy the car. Chances are, if you found some holes, there will be more hiding in areas you can't see.

Frame repair kits are available from the corvette vendors. They have to be fitted and welded in place. This usually means pulling the body off to sand blast the area and perform a complete damage assessment.

If you are up for the challange and you like the car, go for it.

Here are some shots of the repair for you.

 

Thaks for the replies so far. I hope to have pics up this afternoon. He realy likes the car and the price is good. 12.5, but I told hime to wait for a day or two....keep looking around, and I'll check into it. I also told him that he probably has room for haggling if this is a big job to fix. More later, thanks.

 

After I got the pics, I think he was exagerating a bit. But there is rust there. The "major" portion that you can see isn't corroded all the way through. That's good...right? So, not that bad? Surely isn't this 2" hole of cancer that I was thinking when he told me earlier. I asked him about the other side and he said there was just some brownish color, no rust. And that whole support bar was without rust, even the middle. Just this spot. Tlaked with the mechanic, and he confirmed. I'm going to go look at it tomorrow. It certainly sounds like a driver. And needs a bunch of new parts and pieces to get it nice again. But it was "Nice" per the mechanic. Current price is 12k. Thoughts?.....

 

It probably looks better then it actually is. Once you get the area sand blasted, you'll know how bad it really is.

It looks like a frame repair job is in order.

 

A hole through the frame definitely decreases structural integrity. I'm sure if you try, you can poke a screw driver through the metal surrounding the hole. Plan on at least repairing that section. And of course, once the body is off, be prepared to find other issues. I'm not saying to walk away but make sure you factor repair costs into the purchase price. $12k seems high to me for a car in need of structural frame repair.

 

That needs to be fixed. Go over a rough RR crossing and your *** will be dragging on the road.

 

$12,000 is way to much for a vette that needs frame attention i would think 5-7 would be more like a Fair price unless its a rare lt1 or big block.

 

I would not waste a penny on a C3 Corvette with that frame damage. You are seeing the peak of an iceberg. You asked. Make a rational, not emotional, decision.

 

The rust you can see is usually just the tip of the iceberg.

 

I could swear that I have seen dozens of threads with doing repair on the frame because of rust. Because of that little spot, the car is toast?!? Seems hard to believe, but you guys are the experts. I'll tell him if he wants the car, offer him 9 or 10k and also do a more thorough exam. If the birdcage is rusted, I even told him to walk away. But he and his mechanic buddy removed kick panels, and even some removed the top chrome moulding. So if he said they trusted the cage I can only take his word. It only looks as though this is the extent of the rust. I see so often on here that folks say....boy, don't do what I did. But then a few lines later say something like. "I suppose if I would have bought a 18k in the first place, I wouldn't have had to put 12k more into my 10k car." But isn't it true that even a 18k car is goint o cost you 4, 5 or even 7 k down the road.
Oh, BTW the owner states he has put about 10k on the car since he has owned it and the rust was there when he bought it. He drives it 2-3 days a week. It had regular plates on it and cd's on the seat. Is it possible it's not as bad as it looks???

 

Thanks eastltd! At least I can give him that. He (and I...I fear, lol) is not afraid of getting dirty.

 

The simple advice.. it will be many many many hours of labor from the bolts beaking trying to get it all apart, , knowing how to weld and get the parts corectly in.
also you will be in the "while it is apart, I can fix this" mode also..
it will snowball into thousands of $$$..

run forrest run.....

 

I'm not saying that this is not repairable or that the car is not worth saving. But be aware that a frame with a hole in it IS compromised and should be repaired for safety and longevity of the vehicle. Once you start these types of repairs, it cost time and money to get back on the road. Just don't buy this one assuming it's a turn key and that the hole is not significant. There are many vettes out there for 12K that don't have rust issues. Make the decision without emotion. Get an estimate for this type of repair and deduct it from the price of a similar car without rust issues.

The fact that you started this thread tells me you probably already know all this but it always helps to hear others confirm your suspicions.

 

You must have some really tough mice there in Michigan. I never heard of mice eating through a steel frame. It sounds more like rust. If the rust has eaten through the steel frame in 2 spots you can bet on several things.
1. the surrounding area is also rusted and probably pretty thin.
2. That is not the only area that is badly rusted.
3. The chrome around the windshield rarely rusts. It is the frame under the chrome and stainless trim that rusts. They need to remove the trim around the windshield to check it properly.
4. The current owner knows even less about vettes than your brother does or he is full of sh--t.
5. Unless your brother loves a difficult restoration project he should run as fast as he can away from that car. He has just scratched the tip of the iceberg on this car.

What he should be told is to keep looking there are many vettes out there and he needs to look at quite a few to see what is out there and what problems exist. Turn him on to this form and read and research for a couple of months before he jumps into a money pit.

 

I agree completely.

So, how many vettes has he looked at? Or is the the first one?

 

I hear ya. I am an innocent victim here. He wants a Vette, and ya'll know what hat's like. But I told him about 15 minutes ago to offer him $6500-7500 if he REALLY wants it. He told me I was crazy. WEll....then we had some brother talk for a few seconds, and I once again stood my ground. I am not partial or biased, and I think he thought I would be. But he liked this one. Apparently he knows a guy, who knows a guy that's a good body guy, and he saw the pics and told him he would be able to fix that. "Ya, you can fix it...but for how much?" I told him that he might end up [aying 25k for this car by the time it's "Fixed."

It's the funniest damn thing though....he's the smart one of the two of us. I think it's more frustration and dissapointment for him. He has been looking for "The" car for some time. But as far as actual leg work it's been about 5 months he has been looking. He refuses to buy anythng off the net, and wants to be able to see it. He really likes this car...other than the cancer, and unfortunately I think he may get it. He has been looking for a '72 in Steel Cities grey and he tells me the body, chrome, engine is excellent. "Hell, I'll replace the whole damn frame if I have to." If you have siblings, you know that at this point arguing is only going to make your voice hoarse. So be it. I told him to check out Zip and look at their frame sections for sale, and start buying them . I think he got pissed Men and cars. Man when we get something in our head we can really act like morons. No worries. Thanks for all your comments! Much appreciated.

 

That's to bad.
I'm afraid it's going to cost him a but load of cash plus the house.
Plain and simple that the frame is rat ****, but the emotion has the better of him.
I had my heart and mind set on a warbonnet yellow coupe, and still want one, but like I read, the car a person is looking for may not be out there or limited, and a person will or can pass up a lot of very nice cars cause they want a certian type or color. I did miss out on two but was not ready to buy ($$$)at that time.
I changed my thinking & now have a 70 that is originally luguna grey and will paint it back to original color. The rest of this car is solid and original, and I found it cause I waited for the best car not the color and my rebuild cost is less then I had budget for.