I finally got back to my 73 restoration after almost a year. I have the frame/chassis all done and just waiting on the body. To tell the truth I had been putting off exposing the windshield frame after the horrible shape the main frame was in, and after reading the posts about repairing/replacing the windshield frames. The guys at one of the major parts suppliers have some good videos about doing the repairs, but I think they try to make it seem like nobody can do the job properly but them. -Anyway.

I got all the trim off and the windshield out and was pleasantly surprised. The only damage that will have to be replaced is the upper left corner. I inspected the vertical parts from the inside with a mirror and there is only surface rust with exception of that corner.

My question is: Would I be better off buying a used frame corner and side post and using the part I need to repair mine (Ebay) or buy a reproduction corner? I have always thought that no part fits better than a original part but was just wondering about the fit a quality of the reproduction pieces.

I plan on treating the interior of the frame with Eastwood's interior frame coating after welding the new corner in.

Any input on the fit and quality of the reproduction parts is appreciated.

Thanks
Mark

 

Did you tap around the frame with a body hammer? The frame rusts from the inside out. It may look fine but be paper thin in some spots. That was the case with the header bar on my windshield frame. The shop which worked on it said it looked quite nice until they poked around with a body hammer.

In my case the shop I used had a donor frame which was clean. They drilled the spot welds out where the corners join the pillars. Transferred the clean header and corners to my frame. No worries about the corners being aligned properly. Before drilling any welds, they took several measurements from the top corners to reference points on the body to be sure the new piece was aligned same as the original.

I have not had experience with reproduction corners, can't help you there.

Wilcox has a write up on windshield frame repair. Maybe a video? They may be able to give you some more info.

 

Mark you need to check out my post. I just completed a major repair on my windshield frame. Please go to rvzio 69 restore maybe 8 pages from the end. Then get back to me
Roger

 

Roger

I read your post, you had to deal with what I was afraid was wrong with mine, but I am lucky, the only part that is in need of replacement is the upper left corner. I have looked inside everywhere I can and the interior is good with surface rust and no scale all the way down to the rockers and they are the same on the bottom side. I just need to clean and treat the interior of the frame parts and change the corner.

I wound up ordering the used factory part rather than use a reproduction, however as shown in your post it looks like the reproduction parts are good.

My lower cross member looks almost exactly like yours did only blue

I appreciate the effort you put into your post, but am glad mine is in the shape it is in.

Thanks
Mark

 

That's great news for you Mark and I am glad you did not have to go through what I had to do. To replace one corner should not mess up any alignments so it sound s like you are in good shape. Good Luck!
Roger

 

Mark-

That frame looks to be in pretty good shape except for the large corner hole. If this is all you have wrong, then I'd purchase the corner and roll with it. It would be much easier to install just the corner vs, trying to replace a corner by butt welding. One of the things we do here is spot weld this together just as the factory did, it makes for way less work after you have it welded. However, a good welder can pull this off too.

If I were you I'd get the entire header rust free and look for tiny holes... When you get the frame all cleaned up you'll possibly find something you won't see with it rusted. There are plenty of people on this forum that have done this job and plenty of help should you get stuck.

The reproduction corners or side pillars have no issues and are perfect parts for installation.

The header is a different story.

A few days ago the manufacturer called me about the headers. It seems back in March or April we were doing an installation here.... and something in their die has changed. So they are sending me two more new headers down to fit in our jig so we can show them the issue. Oddly enough, we talked to them for hours back in March/April about the issue and I was under the impression they knew what the issue was and were working on fixing it… they dropped the ball and are just now picking it back up so back to the drawing board for me.

The current reproduction header can be used as a repair part but it can not be installed in a car as a whole...... We did it on the red 68 (shown in facebook here) but not without making some major changes in the header prior to installation. In fb the installation looks like it went smoothly, it didn’t. We have three times the normal time in this job. Here are the f/b photos if interested. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...6912924&type=3

 

Facebook link doe not work for me.

 

I had thought about driving over across the river and seeing if you guys had a corner I could look at but getting the rest of the interior out yesterday got the best of me and I just went with the used original part.

I have been cleaning up the other side so I could get an idea of how it's assembled. I have not decided yet on if I will disassemble the thing or just cut it and butt weld it in place. I am afraid I might ruin it getting it apart from the downpost and remainder of the header on the piece I bought. I don't think that I will sacrifice much strength by doing a good butt weld with beveled edges, any thoughts on this would be welcome.

Mark

 

Steve.. go to facebook.. and look for Willcox Corvette... you have to be on the page to see the pictures.

Willcox

 

Mark-

If you'd like, call Tommy and let me know when you can come up... I don't really keep office hours any longer but I'd make darn sure I'm there if you are coming up. If we have the corner on the shelf great, if we don't.... Have Tommy get you one on the way and I'd be more than happy to discuss this project with you in person.

Ernie

 

You guys have been a big help during this project, being close and available and willing to give advice. I think I'm ok on this w/s frame thing now but if after I get the part in and if I run into a problem I'll give a shout out.

I have found out that about the only time I can put some time into this project is in the winter when I'm not out doing other stuff. I got sidetracked last year and bought a 69 GTO which has been fun, but it's tucked away for the winter and the Corvette is back on the front burner.

I am thinking I will run the engine and break the cam in before I put the body back on.

I just in the last couple of days have stripped the interior out, so I'll be over getting stuff for that soon I suppose.

Thanks
Mark

 

This is a must... if you go to our facebook page, we have a couple vids up of the two 65's we've done. We always fire/break in before body. It eliminates tuning afterwards and the car is ready to roll.

Years ago we made a jig fixture for this that has a built in radiator, cooling fan, ignition switch, oil, amp gauges and so on... you'll see this in the video's... It also has a dwell meter, timing gun and just about all the other goodies you'd need.

 

I'll check it out, it makes sense to me to do it that way.