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i took the kick panels off and this is what I found
This Is between the driver door and front fender. Looks like rot that has need gobbed with black paint or under coating Driver side under door sill (front) Driver side under sill. (Back) Passenger side under sill (back) Passenger side under sill (front( Passenger side behind kick panel. This looks ok. I think Passenger side again Driver side behind kick panel looking front ways Driver side behind kick panel looking back. This one looks bad
how serious is the drivers side. Any suggestions on what should be done. Is this unsafe to drive.
Awe man that is rough thing to find. You can fix it, and there are guys here who can tell you how long and costly it will be, or you could just drive it as is.
What condition is the frame in? Is the car worth trying to save for you? How much are you willing to spend? Are you OK driving it as is? Just some of the questions you need to ask before you make a decision
Last edited by CPTCroaker; Apr 23, 2017 at 09:23 PM.
I would agree that the amounts of rusted out areas showing are critical. The rocker channels or the one in the picture is gone. I would also suspect that your windshield frame is not to good under the trim. I would really want to check the upkick rails on your frame as well as removing the #3 body mount covers. This car does need some work and as far as being safe, does not look it but that's your call.
RVZIO
I'm sorry to see this. I'd check the frame as well.
I wouldn't be racing around; tooling around, probably.
How long have you had it?
My wife bought it in 89 with 130,000 miles. It now has 137,000. It has been inside all these years so this is how she bought it.
I don't have the time or space to attempt this myself and not sure if I have or want to spend the money. If this is safe to drive around then that is probably what will happen.
I am not attached to it, but my wife bought it with her dad no he is no longer here. She may be more attached for those reasons. I'm trying to gather information so she and I can make a informed decision.
Awe man that is rough thing to find. You can fix it, and there are guys here who can tell you how long and costly it will be, or you could just drive it as is.
What condition is the frame in? Is the car worth trying to save for you? How much are you willing to spend? Are you OK driving it as is? Just some of the questions you need to ask before you make a decision
That last picture was so strange looking that I had to take it twice. I thought I was missing something. I was, it was the rest of the birdcage.
At this point, I think if it is safe to drive around, that is what we do. The frame looks ok. I have a lift and have been checking it out. The cross member looks like it should be replaced, but the rest is good.
In a previous thread, i posted that this car was sold to Michigan Corvette Recyclers. I think it was hit in the rear. that was done around 87. My guess is that a lot of the existing rot was changed out then. She bought it in 89, so I'm guessing the rot did not happen after that since is was always stored inside and she only drove it 7000 miles and never in the winter and she avoided rain because she was afraid the wipers would not work.
I would agree that the amounts of rusted out areas showing are critical. The rocker channels or the one in the picture is gone. I would also suspect that your windshield frame is not to good under the trim. I would really want to check the upkick rails on your frame as well as removing the #3 body mount covers. This car does need some work and as far as being safe, does not look it but that's your call.
RVZIO
I was trying to figure out why the rear view mirror was floppy and started to remove the inside trim. The passenger side looks ok on the inside but the driver side has some rot. The majority of the inside looks ok, but some of the metal where the open seam is located is bowed a little. Just my luck I broke the windshield and it needs to be replaced. I guess I will see the condition when the swings hied gets replaced.
The frame looks good, but I will so some research to see if I can remove the #3 body mount cover to check things out. I will post those pictures the next time I can take a look at the car.
"I don't have the time or space to attempt this myself and not sure if I have or want to spend the money. If this is safe to drive around then that is probably what will happen."
In that case I guess you can continue to drive it until the day comes that you can't get the doors to open or close any more….hinge pillar rust will lead to that ultimately.
Starting to repair what's shown in the photos will probably reveal that what needs to be done is more extensive than what the photos depict.
Lot's of time, skill, and money!
Regards,
Alan
I miscalculated in a previous reply. I thought we had this for 18 years. It was 28 years.
thanks. The drivers door is already fun to open and close. After reading your post it certainly makes more sense. I have no idea what to do with this car. 7000 miles is 28 years seems like a waste of garage space and money for registration, insurance, etc. but it would be nice to see it fixed. Minimally I need to get tires (they are at least 28 years old) and now a windshield. That should be free since it is covered by insurance. Then it is off to a state inspection. It will be interesting to see what the outcome of that will be
i was expecting some issues but not quite this much. The rest of the car is all ther and mostly functional but it is just a base convertible. The only option I can see is power brakes and steering. It had a hard top at one point but not now. No AC, no power windows, base engine. I forget what the other options are but when I compared them to what I can seee on the car I could.l not find anything.
I have seen guesstimates on replacing the birdcage of 10,000$ and up. I will guess other repairs could almost double this. I did take a look at the floorboards and they seem solid.
Thanks for the info. I really appreciate all of it
Sorry to see this for you. Rust is the worst enemy of C3's. And IMHO, always will be worse the more you open up and look. I would sell it now on ebay with lots of honest photos of what you know. Some enterprising buyer will be interested for the right price. Waiting and holding onto it and maybe driving it some would be not be a choice for me as a safety concern. Plus, rust is not going to fix itself, just get worse, sorry to say. My 2 cents. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Thought for you: FWIW, take the proceeds of this sale and add some and go buy your wife another similar 71 roadster after you satisfy yourself you found one in good condition.
Last edited by 20mercury; Apr 24, 2017 at 10:42 AM.
rusty cars do sell, but at much lower prices.. get what you can out of it now since it will not get any better.. a rusty car has a price ceiling, any money you put into it is money down the drain.
yes yearly plates, insurance, upkeep on a car you don't drive that is not appreciating and taking up space that something better would take is frustrating.
sell it now, that is an unsafe vehicle.. you hit a pothole and the windshield will break.
Based on your pictures, if you remove the windshield to replace it, you may NOT get another windshield in place. The window frame may be too far gone to install another windshield.
So,if you have stuff like this going on under the windshield trim then you probably would be better off driving it without the windshield. Kidding, be careful, short runs only. Your choice.
RVZIO
Hopefully you have nothing this bad but you may want to investigate those areas.
Yes, yearly plates, insurance, upkeep on a car you don't drive that is not appreciating and taking up space that something better would take is frustrating.
You've got me pegged....been doing that for 42 years. How do you cure it? Hard to sell if you get cold feet, get sick to your stomach, and start getting short of breath just thinking about seeing it leave the garage in someone's else's possession.
Hi 346,
I looked back through all your posts to see if there were any photos of the car. I didn't see any, but may have missed them.
I find it difficult to give you any valid advice knowing only 2 things about your car…. it has a rusty birdcage, and it had a hiccup at some point in it's early life that led it to reside at Michigan Recyclers.
Could you post a few photos of the exterior, interior, engine compartment and chassis? Even 1 or 2 of each would be good.
Seeing what the car is like in total would be a help in suggesting what your options might be, and how you might want to proceed.
Rusty Corvettes can be very difficult! Sad…. but true!
Regards,
Alan
71 birdcage issues
