So... I've got this '73 Corvette- took it in on a trade a couple of years ago. This winter the wife talked me into switching my projects around so the corvette was roadworthy first. I'm going to use it as a commuter so she's got the Chevy Titanic here for when she needs to shuttle the little one around.

Well, when I started taking a good look at it, I found "some" "rust" in the birdcage.



Yeah. Spray foam. ugh.

I pulled the rest of the interior trim, and found that to be the worst of it. I managed to find a windshield frame on ebay for $100 - and I grabbed it quick. Shipping was fast and it arrived before christmas.




So next step was to pull the windshield - which to my amazement I managed to get out in one piece without any damage. At least not until I set it down, when it cracked all the way up the middle. Oh well.

Sidebar: I discovered that the BEST way to pull the glass- for future reference - is to piano-wire the side and header frame, but when it came to the bottom, a long, thin, flexible serrated blade to cut the sealer out of the bottom.

When the windshield came out, it took the passenger side of the header with it. The only thing holding it together now WAS the spray foam.



The other side was just as bad:



But once it was out, the side pillars looked great (strangely) so it's just the header and corners that need replacing.



So I set out to separate the corners from the side pillars.

And, here's the test fitting:



Whew, that was a lot of work.

This is the only other area that needs attention is this tiny little spot.

 

Wow, nice work. How is the bottom of the bird cage?
Keep us updated with progress.

 

Thanks! This is a nice change from my other project ('51 chevy) that I've been fighting with over the years.

There's only one rusty/questionable spot at the bottom of the windshield frame, where the corner meets the footer. It's the size of a silver dollar. I'll just patch that part. The rest seems solid from what I can see. Surface rust, but nothing serious.

I'm surprised, actually, given the condition of the car overall. I was expecting much worse.

 

Wow, I never knew that they got that bad. Really good job getting it back together like you did!

 

I think we're due for an update

Since my last post, I've done a lot of teardown, a little crying, and a lot of fabrication. With all of the rust in the header, I decided it would be a good idea to check the rocker channels again. I started getting ready to pull the body off. Most of the body mount bolts were... uh... easy to remove. They snapped off pretty easily.



Once the mounts on the passenger side were free, I started thinking... rusted bolts that bad didn't bode well for the rest of the frame/rocker channels. So I started digging deeper.

Starting with the driver's side, I pulled the rocker channel covers off and did a quick inspection- and they're shot. Really bad. They'll need to be replaced on both sides.

What worried me even more though:



This was hiding behind a really well applied layer of undercoat.

The frame rails are goners. On both sides.

I was faced with a decision- scrap the car, or find a replacement frame. The frames I was seeing on kijiji and elsewhere were way out of my price range- $2000.00-3000.00. Except for one, which needed work, but was better than the one under the car - and I snagged it for $800.00.

It too had some rust issues- in the usual places- but I felt it was repairable. I blew out all of the crud inside the rails ( a blow gun with a length of brake line attached works great, btw), and wirewheeled the rails to be sure. It turns out it's pretty damn solid. No hits that I can see, and only surface rust, except for near the end cap.

The repairs are all needed at the end-cap area where the frame kicks up for the suspension.

Passenger side (the better of the two):






Lot's of rot there, but I thought I could fix it.

Driver's side is much worse, but it's all in the same area:







I'm working in a very small shop- so I only have room to work on one side of the frame at a time. We walked the frame in passenger side up and rather than call a buddy to flip it back over, I figured I'd just start on the side I was looking at - so...

I started cutting out the weak/rotted metal.



And began fabricating patches for it.





Once the patches were made I welded them in.



Even though a good chunk of the endcap was good, I removed it completely to be able to access the back side easier.



I also replaced the gussets on the inside, as they were thin or rotted out.

Here's the end product:





I'm going to rebuild the passenger side shock mounts while I have it on it's side, and then wirewheel the rest of the frame and give it a good coat of paint.

Once that's done, I'll get a hand flipping it over and repeat the process on the other side of the frame.

It' amazing how quickly a "freshen up" turns into a frame off rebuild.

 

When I was car shopping, a forum member suggested grabbing the top of the windshield frame and vigorously pulling and pushing on it. If the windshield and frame broke off, you'd pass on the car

I never had the guts to do this. I did, however, look at a few that I'm pretty sure would have broken off.



David, VERY nice work!

 

LOL- I'm going to use that!

...I get asked quite often as to what to look for in a used 'vette, and I always finish their sentence in my head with "so I don't end up like you..."

Gonna go out in a minute to start on those shock mounts. It's fun. I like it.

 

Subscribed. Looking forward to your updates for reference with my '75.

Mike

 

Whatcha doing with your '75, Mike? Nice to see another Ontario shark getting done

 

I'm in also, giver' hell David. Where's home?

 

I'm in the smallest garage in Brant County

 

Nice, I used to date a girl in university from Paris.

 

If it's the one in your profile pic, hope you kept her

I'm not at all far from Paris, just a stones throw away.

I do wish I had a bigger workshop - as it is I'm working on the frame on it's side next to the car. Very tight space.

 

I will be doing a full frame off restoration. I pretty much broke the Corvette buying rules set out here, but I saw it with the body off the frame and it looked real nice. PO had already taken it apart, stored everything, chassis still has full original drive train. That is where I will be starting, bushings, brake/fuel lines, new bearings where required(Probably all), etc. Will be doing it bit by bit. Still need to find a driver's door. I have the original but it is rusted in the lower front area like most.

 

I've not even started looking at my doors. What were the tells? How could you tell it was rusty?

 

The lower front curved area of the door is rusted through. About a golf ball size or so. The remainder of the door is in decent shape. I have looked at some used ones at two swap meets and they all want around $350 for a door. The fella I bought from had already found a passenger side door and included it in the deal. I have all of the original parts including the doors. $2500 delivered to my house. I couldn't go too wrong with that. Had a '77 32 years ago, so I know what I am getting in to.

 

AH- Hmm, why not just weld in a patch?

 

I don't weld, but I do have some connections. I have even thought about getting into welding, but the cost may not be worth it. Believe me, I have thought of that option very seriously.

 

Update: Rebuilt the passenger side shock mount. This is the driver's side, but the passenger's side was the same, so let's pretend this is the 'before' pic:



One side done:



And the finished/painted product:



So now I just need to wirewheel the rest of the frame, clean it up, shoot a coat of paint on it and it's ready for 'side b'.

 

Do it. That and my 4 1/2" grinders are my best tools. I'm in no way a pro welder, I've been welding since around 2009 or so -casually. I was welding body patches into my '51 almost right away though- after a bunch of practice passes and some 'teach me' projects (a barbecue out of an old drum, stuff like that).