c3c4c6

Alan,

That is what my undercarriage looks like. "in my dreams" Wow, what an awesome looking undercarriage.

Dean

20mercury

Agree, smart advice here, and lets see, your wife would buy another LT-1 Steel Cities Gray in a heartbeat? this would be a no brainer for me but we all have different viewpoints. Good luck with whatever direction you go.

Mr D.

Dean

Your biggest issue is cost, if you pay somebody to fix this car be prepared to drop upwards of $30,000 plus just for the body repairs and repaint. Given the amount of rust damage you are looking at a complete birdcage replacement which will require every fiberglass panel to be remover from the body.

Lots of man-hours at $75 -$110 per hour labor plus parts.

Dennis


This is the part you need to get started.

c3c4c6

Dennis,

Are these readily available? Maybe I attempt something like this when the kids go off to college.

I'll see if I can get pictures of the undercarriage tonight and post. A remote camera would be nice to go up the kick panel area to see what I have up above.

Dean

tomvr

The car has suffered some pretty serious structural damage. I personally would not drive it on the street. If it's in an accident, I'm concerned about the safety of the occupants. Sorry!!

c3c4c6

Here are some frame pictures. Tough to get to with the zo6 under it.

Mr D.

No they are not, you have to hunt to find one or repair yours to look like that. If you think you are going to do this start looking now.

ArtGle

I have a 72 that has suffered serious rust from sitting for many years.
I purchased my parts from a guy named Randy, at Randy's Corvettes in Iron Station, N.C. 704-689-7526

See my photos.

And his price wasn't bad at all.

FYI

c3c4c6

It is a shame that these cars look so decent from the outside and so horrible on the inside that you can't even see. This is certainly an eye opener for me. Very discouraging to see these beautiful cars suffering this kind of rot. If this is so popular, it seems as if someone should be making bird cages. I know they would not be original, but my guess is that the supply of good birdcages has to be pretty low. If the demand is so high, I just don't see why some after market company is not making some. Just seems like a lost opportunity. Maybe it is because many don't know about this rot and because it is such a huge job that not many people attempt it. Very sad.

Dean

Alan 71

Hi Dean,
The pictures of the frame you posted look encouraging.
But that doesn't diminish the birdcage situation you're facing.

While I don't think anyone is making a complete birdcage, the reproducers have started making "repair sections" of the areas of the windshield frame, hinge and lock pillars, and rocker channels, that most often need repair.
That MAY be an option for you. It still requires a good bit of SKILL, time and work to do the repair. BUT, again, it might be an option for your car.
You really won't know until the car gets 'opened up' a little more.
Regards,
Alan

You can look at Zip Products, Corvette Central, Paragon Reproductions, and Caledonia Classics in Belding Michigan, to see what sort of things are currently being reproduced.

c3c4c6

Alan,

Thanks, that is very encouraging. I will take a look at those companies, but I guess I won't know what I need until I look into this further.

What did you think of the cross member? I think the picture looks better than it really is. I assume that is an easier replacement. I didn't look, but does the exhaust have to come off to replace that part?

Thanks again!

Dean

Alan 71

Hi Dean,
I think you're referring to the crossmember the transmission tail mounts on?
If so you're in luck because although the exhaust would need to be removed, the crossmember itself is bolted in place on automatic transmission equipped cars. (On 4-speed cars it's welded to the frame rails)
There appears to be a lot go "gunk" on the crossmember, so it's a little difficult to tell what condition the crossmember itself is right now. Scraping the gunk off will be necessary to determine whats going on.
Regards,
Alan

blue67ragtop

After looking at your frame I have to say it doesn't look that bad. I expected much worse based on your other photos. Not sure what you will decide to do but don't let anyone tell you that your car isn't worth anything. A '71 convertible is a desirable car. If you have an emotional attachment I would keep it and fix it. Many on this forum have started with much worse. If your car were a rubber bumper coupe I probably wouldn't go through the hassle but I hope you will decide to hang on to it.

ArtGle

Your frame appears to have been undercoated at some time.
From what I'm seeing in your pictures, I'd say that frame is in Great shape.
As for the birdcage, There are many used Corvette parts sources out there.
I'd look over in the southwestern states, Arizona, New Mexico, California.
I bought my birdcage local, here in N.C..
I bought my interior out of California just this week.
I hung the nose out of the way.
Although my birdcage is "FRIED", my frame is as solid as a frame gets.
Not undercoated, and only surface rust.
The front of the frame has the usual engine oil etc., leaks stuff, so when I blast that clean, I'm betting it'll look new.
If you decide to attempt this, I'd recommend a couple of books.
"1971 Corvette Assembly Instruction Manual". I have the 72 one.
BRB

ArtGle

I found this... Take a look, hey, it's free.

http://www.corvettebergen.com/owners.../c3_repair.pdf

ArtGle

Another suggestion, go to the Autobody forum here on this site and introduce yourself to "DUB"....
Explain yourself.
Maybe he can help you.
I even went to meet him at his shop.

OldCarBum

You can find several cross members, both weld in and bolt on at Bowtie Overdrive, VBP, Corvette Central and other vendors for under $300.00. Your frame looks pretty good and Like Alan71 said above, your birdcage may not be all that bad. Look through some prior threads here on the Forum. I remember reading a thread about rust issues on the birdcage where water sits and deteriorates only isolated areas. I believe that one article referenced pulling back the side interior panels and also looking at some areas accessible up under the dash. I remember reading a thread about what to look for before you buy a C3 that had some easily accessible inspection points as well. Keep looking, but at some point you may need to remove some parts to access what is truly going on.

AJC 69 BB

I have these two 68/69 convertible bird cages I will be repairing shortly. So I am keeping an eye on this post as well as another for info and parts availability !!

David Mc

Have you pulled the passenger kick panel? Does it look the same?

I am surprised the body mount bolt looks so good while the birdcage around it is rusted away.

It's a big repair but I think the car needs to be saved.

72 Project

I have not bought anything from this business yet. However If you need a bird cage this might be the way to go. http://www.corvetteusa.com/windshieldframes.html