I was given this '77 by my dad a little over a year ago. I have done some work on it from exhaust to tuning it up. One day when I had it up on jack stands I saw some rust on the frame, including some small holes, and had images of the car splitting in half on the highway. I just took a better look and while it needs some work I think it can be repaired without removing the body from the frame.






Number 2 body mount







Rustproofing plug?





Plug removed





Passenger side wheel well end of frame facing front of car





Drivers side wheel well facing front of car





Drivers side bottom of frame just in front of rear tire.

It was while between finding the initial signs of rust and finally getting my nerve up to take pictures and bang on the frame looking for any other bad/weak spots. The car doesn't have much monetary value, but my dad did give it to me. I think I can get the frame sections repaired without removing the body, but I am going to have a guy I know at a shop look at how extensive he thinks it is. What are the thoughts on this?

 

Looks like you have some serious frame rust. From personal experiences with my '80, if you can't access the whole frame, then you're really not repairing the rust damage.

 

You more than likely have more than just the frame to worry about. Looking at the condition of the number 2 body mount, I would pull the trim around the windshield and see what condition that part of the birdcage is like before deciding on the frame repair.

 

The next concern is the birdcage.

Replacing the frame on one of these cars is not a technologically or mechanically difficult problem...it's pretty straightforward...It's just a lot of metaculous, tedious wrenching work...once again...nothing really technically involved. If you have to replace the birdframe, now you go up into the stratosphere of repair expenses since you have to undo and repair fiberglass panels in addition to the birdcage repairs. A lot of the frame parts are still available. Volunteer Vettes, Paragon, etc.

I'm not sure about this...but i think GM designed their C3's to have an expected lifetime of 10 years. They were very susceptible to salt water damage in cold weather states. It appears they would survive 10 years of driving in winter salt weather climates. The 10 year lifetime number is probably correct for the most of their cars...most customers would abandon their cars before 10 years. They never factored into the design that people would be wanting to drive these cars 37 years, for you, later.

 

There was no factory rustproofing. The hole is for a guide pin which was supposed to be used to align the body on the frame at the time of body drop. Most of the available assembly line pics show the pin was almost never used. The plug is factory.

 

to be blunt... sell the car... you would be throwing money away on that car.. just get what you can out of it. That rust is a kiss of death. that is a year of work and you will be several thousand $$ underwater.

 

Hi Jim,
I understand your connection to this car because of it's history.
I agree with folk's thoughts that there is very likely more serious rust on the frame and birdcage than you're presently seeing.
It will take a lot of work and $$ to fix this well.
Are you committed to THIS car enough to undertake what repairing it will require?
Regards,
Alan

 

I didn't mention it in my first post as I didn't take pictures at the time, but I had the windshield trim off last year to take the dash apart and replace the tach circuit board. The parts of the bird cage I saw looked great, but wish I had known then to take pictures. I didn't know about the guide pin Mike, so thanks for that tidbit of info.

The front portion of the frame looks very good. I still think I will take to to a shop I trust and let them throw it on the lift and get their opinion as to what it would cost to replace those sections of the frame. When I first got the car a little over a year ago most of the work I was doing was under the front of the car and I was thinking, wow this frame is in good shape for almost 100K miles and 37 years. It wasn't until I got under the whole car with it on 4 jack stands for an exhaust change that I found this frame rust around the rear dog legs. The rest of the frame "seems" solid as last might I was using a screwdriver handle to bang all over it and listening for thin spots.

As much as I have an attachment to the car as it came from my dad, if it would require a full frame off, I don't think I can justify the time, space and cost to do it right.

Thank you Everyone for your input!

 

Sell it? why if it is not a good car in your opinion for the op would it be a good car for anyone?
Would the ad headline include "not worth fixing, kiss of death rust"

 

I am going to take it to a shop I trust to get an estimate to properly repair the affected areas and have the other areas checked. If it requires a replacement frame I will probably sell it for parts. If the frame can be properly patched and it isn't prohibitively expensive I will go that route. If I get a little spare time I can take off the interior windshield trim pieces and post pictures of that.

 

its a good car of course, unless you want to start putting bunches of money into it.

 

IMO .....

There is too much damage to fix , without separating the body . I have a hard tine seeing that play out.

Based on the pics , IF I were keen on keeping the car , I'd want to take the frame off anyway and be sure it was ALL done right .

The body mount s and bolts most likey need replacing anyway.

This would allow you to address all the tuff issues . Suspension and gas lines , brakes , mounts , etc......restore the frame , refurbish all the pieces and remount the body .

Assuming the rest is pretty good shape. You'd have a nice safe car when finished.

There is nothing wrong with this as a project ......ownership is personal choice ....if you like this car ...don't let others get in the way of your dream ....it's your money

 

As a follow up below are bird cage pictures.

 

Hi Jim
That's the windshield frame, and you're right it looks good.
Some of your earlier pictures of the hinge pillar and frame would still give me serious reason to pause and consider how to proceed.
Regards,
alan

 

Good plan I think, try to find a shop with someone you trust that has a lot of practical experience and common sense with C3's. Some shops will not have seen a lot of C3's and have developed a sense of how bad is bad. Some shops will have you replacing parts that you could really get by with just patching due to liability, seeking business, ect.

Also, I think if you could contact a local Corvette club and talk to the resto mod guy's to get their opinion, that is the best way to go. Good luck to you and hope you can get it in an "ok" condition. Rust expands 7 to 8 times its original thickness so it always looks bad.

 

What did captain Kirk think?

 

He says I will never get it up to warp speed.

 

I have been holding off joining a Corvette club until I get this figured out, but perhaps that is the wrong way to go about this. Thanks!

 

Thanks for your insight, Alan. You always post the best pictures for people.

 

Everyone, thanks for your input and feedback.