In your experience, what has been the average bird cage condition of the cars 68-72'ish that you've looked at?

I'm not talking about the cars that are known to have sat outside in the rain. I mean the ones that have at least been garaged, not necessarily restored at any time.

I'm trying to determine if this is an area that always seems to require repair after this many years or if there are plenty that are still good to go out there.

After reading the "Top Ten" list of things to look out for I have a handle on what to walk away from, but what about the gray area? What would be the lowest level of condition that you'd purchase but not have to dig in and repair? Is there such a thing?

Thanks in advance for your wisdom!

 

Hi SfA,
I don't think there's an 'average'. Each car is what it is for various reasons…. good and bad.
There are certainly many rusty cars and we hear about and see the examples of really rusted cars that people find or end up with all the time. But I believe there there are still lots of 68-72 cars with little or no rust.
Some people are willing (and have the skill and determination) to deal with a rusty car. While other people continue the search for a rust free car.
I think you need to do your homework well so you don't end up with a rusty car after thinking you were buying an un-rusty car.
Determining if a car is rust free; was rusty and has been repaired; or is rusty; or is rusty and attempts have been made to conceal that fact; takes time and knowledge.
A car that shows some rust when it's completely together, or just the kick-panels have been removed, will most often have more concealed rust that can't be seen until the car is disassembled.
Regards,
Alan

 

[QUOTE=Alan 71;1587363257]Hi SfA,
I don't think there's an 'average'. Each car is what it is for various reasons…. good and bad.
There are certainly many rusty cars and we hear about and see the examples of really rusted cars that people find or end up with all the time. But I believe there there are still lots of 68-72 cars with little or no rust.
Some people are willing (and have the skill and determination) to deal with a rusty car. While other people continue the search for a rust free car.
I think you need to do your homework well so you don't end up with a rusty car after thinking you were buying an un-rusty car.
Determining if a car is rust free; was rusty and has been repaired; or is rusty; or is rusty and attempts have been made to conceal that fact; takes time and knowledge.
Regards,
Alan

QUOTE]

Thanks Alan. I agree with the homework and am not planning on purchasing for 2-3 years at least. I have 12 week old twins at home so I have time to study up on the subject when they are napping.

 

I'll add the windshield header as another reasonably easy area to inspect. The visors and trim will need to be removed to see this area. If you find anything but surface rust here it may be an indication the windshield frame has been compromised. Repairs to this area can get expensive if rust has penetrated the lower portions of the windshield frame making removal of the front clip and firewall necessary to do a proper repair.

 

For what it's worth I would focus my search on cars that have spent most of their lives in dry climates. Ask how long the owner has owned the car and where the previous owner was from. Shipping from one state to another is cheaper than repairing a rusty one.

 

I got lucky in that my car was an old show car, painted burgundy and all the w/s cage area was painted nicely and the w/s reinstalled/replaced....now I notices some problems still, since it's a convertible, I pulled off all the trim, and wrapped the header stainless with black vinyl, allowing the rag top to seal much better, upon replacing all the stainless trim, I first totally packed the gaps with black RTV, and had it oozing out from under the trim as I placed it back.....then took a nice neat bead all around to fill up any body gaps, no more water inside.....

the frame was/is fine.....

 

My 72 sat outside neglected for many years, but no frame or cage rot! How can that be? It lived its life in the desert. It had a little rust in the windshield frame corners but nothing worth fixing. Bead blasted the rust out and epoxy painted. Find a desert car.

 

When looking at a potential car for sale I would look first at the windshield posts. You can look at the bottom area where it meets the dash without removing the trim. If it looks like the area is bubbled or showing signs of rust chances are good that the rest of it is in poor condition. Check the car's frame for rust also. Many sellers are not going to be willing to let someone come over and start removing all the trim etc. so it is important to know what to look for and where.

 

I agree with the some of the other posts in this thread ==> go West young man. Before I bought my '71, I looked at cars that lived their lives in the Midwest and North Carolina. I found the mid-west to have a lot of birdcage, radiator support and frame rust. The North Carolina cars were somewhat less rusty than the Midwest cars, but some still had some bad birdcage and radiator support rust. My '71 lived most of it's life in the Los Angeles area and has remarkably little frame, radiator support and birdcage rust. Good luck with your search and don't settle for a rusty one. You'll be happier in the long run.

 

Good to know there are still decent ones out there. Thanks for the pointers!

 

I've had a number of these cars and I'm going to say the majority of them have had some sort of rot in the upper windshield and corner, to the point I find it normal. Maybe it's the locales I've lived in. I just don't find that to be the deal breaker some do.

I'm much more interested in the side rails and kickup areas on the frame. That sort of rust damage is far more telling to me than upper windshield holes that can be repaired. Obviously, that's not the lower cage damage that requires a nose removal to fix.

 

Did you actually go to CA to purchase it? How did you get it back. I wonder what the cost of transport is on a vehicle like that if you wouldn't want or be able to drive it home?

 

That's what I did. Acquired mine from Arizona and had it shipped to Missouri. Starting a restomod now and fortunately have been able to break every nut & bolt loose with just wrenches and the occasional PB Blaster treatment. Rust condition looks good so far

 

Yep! Having grown up in South Dakota, rust on old(er) cars was just expected, and a complete pain in the butt. Our '77 spent it's life in Texas and Arizona before we got it, and I've run into the same thing. Wrenches alone almost always get things apart, and the frame etc. is very solid. It's a really nice change from the rusty stuff I grew up with.

The interiors and rubber parts on the other hand, are a different story after time in the desert

Adam

 

ABSOLUTELY! My transmission cross member was packed solid with AZ sandy dirt

 

I did not buy my car from a California owner. My ’71 Corvette was purchased by a gentleman in Michigan in the 90’s who had it transported from California to Michigan via truck. When bought the car in April 2014, I considered hiring a truck to bring it home. Instead I opted to spend that same money to have a local mechanic in Michigan check it over and make repairs that would allow me to safely and reliably make the 250 mile drive from the Lansing area to my home in Akron. The mechanic had the car for a week and fixed the inoperable turn signals, installed a new wiper motor and replaced some power steering components that were causing excess play in the steering. I did not price the transportation cost to bring the car from Michigan to Ohio, but I did get an estimate of $900 to transport a C3 Corvette from Raleigh, NC to Akron on an open air trailer. As a side note, after a couple of conversations with the owner of this particular Corvette in Raleigh, I was convinced that it was “the one”. After seeing it in person, I walked away after discovering the car had 50K more miles than advertised as well as significant birdcage, frame and radiator support rust. This is another lesson that others on this Forum preach – never buy a C3 without first inspecting it in person! Pictures can hide a lot of warts and owners can misrepresent the condition of the car.

 

No kidding:

 

WOW... that's not good.

 

Yeah, that was a fun repair...