BurnedVette1980

Hello forum I am new to this forum and have a question on my "new" 1980 vette. I acquired it from a friend in the towing business at the right price, FREE Unfortunately the story behind the car isn't so good. It was a victim of a chop shop and the people decided to cut the rear fenders wide open for some reason, ruining the fiberglass body. Then once they got word that the chop shop was under surveillance by police they lit a phone book on fire, threw it in the rear window bay, and rolled it out into the street where it burned for a little. The rest of the car is in great condition except the rear body portion. I purchased half of a 1981 vette with intent of removing the bad and replacing it with the new. However I have searched for answers with no leads which is why I am here. The birdcage is intact and still good. Please help me and tell me how I should go about this!?

Pictures of the car

http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9542cafc.png

BurnedVette1980

I'm guessing I should pop the rivets on that portion of the body and undo the body mounts? Is that the solution?

markids77

First things first... can you title this car and register it for street use where you live? Will the title be "clear or "salvage"? These questions must be answered before you jump into a project; spend lots of money and time and find you can't drive it because the state will not issue a license plate.

Do not ask your buddy at the towing yard about this... he probably knows, but the answer should come in written form from a supervisor at your local DMV offices. It should be in written form so you can show a copy of the decision to any DMV employee at the time you finish the project and go to register the car... no arguments later that way. Do some research, and if it's a "GO" we'll discuss how to proceed.

BurnedVette1980

I have all the documentation from the Ohio DMV that the title is clear. Not salvage. Believe me I wouldn't be bothering with it if it wasn't a clear title. haha

markids77

OK then. Get a clear title in your name and then we'll talk about how to fix the car. No, I am really not trying to give you a hard time... I have been down a similar road and I ate the cost of the project because I failed to secure all he paperwork BEFORE I started spending money. The only guarantee you have that you can use this car is a clear title in your name... you have to do that before you start.

BurnedVette1980

Already done my man hah. Its in my name full and clear.

markids77

Cool. Now go over to the C3 parts section here and read the "sticky" about how to post photos directly to your thread. We'll need to see the fire damage to the back floor, some shots of the interior panels around the back glass, and detail shots of the inner wheel wells where the choppers cut the bodywork. If the fire got into the gas tank area, and or melted the rear bumper those areas should be shown as well. Your repair will be much simpler if the floors and surrounding roof/glass support structure survived the vandalism.

BurnedVette1980

The only part on the car that was effected by the fire was the carpet. (now in a garbage can) and the outer fiberglass body, everything else is in good condition. I've seen others projects where all that is exposed is the frame, gas tank, suspension, and birdcage. I am looking to get to that stage. Basically chopping off half of the car, and replacing it with the new one. I posted a link to pictures in my first post.

markids77

Links are a pain in the @**. You'll get a lot more participation here if you post pics direct. If the floors and window surround are not toasty I would recommend you simply repair the cut out sections and call it good... but I can't tell from your link photos just how bad the damage is. Sectioning the entire rear body structure of your car is a MAJOR undertaking... and why go through the pain if you can spend two weekends patching the cut damage and drive the thing? Make sense???

BurnedVette1980

BurnedVette1980

Yeah definitely makes sense all though the housing lip of the rear window is toasted which caused the glass to shatter. The rear deck in the bottom left picture is brown an became so soft that there is now a silver dollar size hole in the burnt fiberglass.

markids77

Show us. A lot easier to repair spot damage than replace from the doors back!

Easy Mike

Post better pics of the actual fire damage. What you have might be repairable without resorting to rear clip surgery.