Mike's 68

C3 frame shop in or near Maryland?

Are there any frame shops in or near Maryland that can fix a 68 frame? I had an accident last summer that bent the front and back sections of the frame. I’m trying to decide whether to fix the frame or replace it. Are there any general guidelines on what can be fixed or when it is best to replace the frame?

The front is bent to the left (and maybe a little up), the front cross member is bent (a little more of a V than a U now) and the right engine mount is broken. The back is bent to the left also but not as bad as the front.

This web page has some pictures of the accident scene. http://home.comcast.net/~mikecorrea/...e/Accident.htm

0Road-Race Vette

I find it hard to believe the insurance did not total that car.
I would replace the frame based on what you are describing.
Have you fixed the rest of the body?

It hurts to see one of these cars in that state of being. Sorry for your loss.

http://www.2ndgenrestorations.com

Roughrider

Contact Mike's Auto Body in Thurmont. They do great work. They specialize in Corvettes...Mike Jensen, the owner, has a beautiful C3 and a C6. They restored my Avanti and repaired body damage (twice) from "incidents" my 17-year old daughter has had.

[URL="http://www.mikesautobody.net/index.html"]

You can call them at 301-271-7626. Ask for Mike Klein...he's the shop manager. He'll treat you right.

1982CorvetteDude

Let me know if your able to repair that frame and what it ends up setting you back.

Mine is tweaked a little and I was wondering if it can be fixed. Be a heck of a lot easier to get it straightened than trying to swap frames.

400hp427vette

Wow, with the work you have cut out for yourself, you have to left the body anyway no? My vote is for a new frame.

Mike's 68

I have the car on jack stands in the garage. In order to see what the damage was I removed the front suspension, the front fiberglass and started to remove the right rear suspension. Here are some pictures of the car in its current state.

http://home.comcast.net/~mikecorrea/...erAccident.htm

0Road-Race Vette

PM Sent

Sky65

I'm in Westminster too.
If you need an extra set of hands with anything pm me.

Tom

Mike's 68

Thanks for the reference I'll give him a call.

Mike's 68

Thank you for the offer, I'm still flip flopping on relpacing or repairing the frame. I'll PM you if need a hand.

Mike's 68

Does anyone know the rules for replacing a frame in Maryland? Specifically in regards to non-matching VIN numbers.

The closest thing I found on the MVA web site was this web page:

http://mva.state.md.us/AboutMVA/INFO...#reconstructed

The closet section was this: "How do I title a reconstructed vehicle?"

I've been meaning to call the MVA but I haven't had the time during normal working hours. Maybe next week.

Mad Vette

In your picture of the right rear frame shows that it's kinked, bends can be repaired kinks can't. I don't know if you can just replace the rear section or not but if the front is swayed also you will probably be better off just replacing your entire frame.

mrvette

Couple of thing, Tony's Corvette shop in G'burg Md....he was club guru for CCA there some 12 years ago when I moved south to Florida.....

WHEN I left town, Maryland did not reinspect cars, ever, and so it's between you and your insurance company...long as you retained title to the car, and it's not filed as a total through some back door I dunno about, you should be able to fix it without any problems with frame numbers and that

especially as no one EVER bothers to check them.....

for that matter, all you need is a clean title and a vin tag and you in ....no one ever checks that crap....

you could stick any engine in there and no one knows....

NOW, IF they have changed the laws for emissions checking or something.....well...ok....check it out....

come next year we all going to be in trouble keeping ANY car older then 10 years...BET on that....

Alan 71

Hi Mike,
I saw your post the beginning of the month but just realized you're in Westminster.
I don't know what your plans are for putting your 68 back together once you make your frame decision, but if you're not going to do it yourself, I can suggest a VERY good, VERY small shop in New Oxford, Pa.
Merry Christmas!
Regards,
Alan

Mike's 68

Thanks for the reference.

The car was not totaled since I didn’t make a claim with the insurance company. Since the accident was my fault (single car accident) I didn’t want to have to pay higher insurance rates on all 5 of our cars for years to come. Maryland still only inspects cars when you buy them and the emissions test doesn’t apply to cars older than 1977. So I’m good in those regards.

Mike's 68

I've been leaning towards replacing the frame, but I was concerned about mismatching VIN numbers, but it sounds like that may not be a problem in Maryland.

Mike's 68

Thanks Alan for the reference. I’m a bit leery of trying to “fit” new fiberglass (front clip and maybe rear too) to the car and try to get all the gaps right. I don’t plan on painting it myself either, I’ll let a pro do that. I plan on doing all the other work myself. Right now I’m leaning towards replacing the frame.

It looks like we have a few Westminster residents active in the C3 forum. Once I get my car back together maybe I’ll try to organize a C3 lunch somewhere in town. It would be nice to check out each other’s cars and compare notes.

STINGRAY1WORD

The price you pay to repair an old frame would be close to an upgrade here a link for a tube style frame.
http://www.sriiimotorsports.com/196382corvette.html

dbeall1968

I think a lunch for all the locals would be an excellent idea. pm sent

Nowhere Man

I am close to Westmister and no the area very well. try Caltriders garage in Manchester they have been repairing and working on vettes for the last 40 years. PM me if you need help