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I purchased a 1971 vette 2 summers ago as a father / son project. I have the car down to the frame and the rear section was already welded over with plates. I purchased the middle sections from Paragon and had a local welder put them onto the frame. However, after all that I have had several people tell me to not use this old frame. To look for a new frame. Is there any type of stress test I can put onto my old frame to see if it is worthy to go many more years? Are there frame manufactures, that you would recommend? Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hi jc,
Welcome!
First post and a difficult situation.
I guess a few questions for you are still in order:
Was the frame examined by someone familiar Corvette frames BEFORE the repair?
How much of the frame was replaced?
How qualified/experienced was the person who did the repairs?
What are the 'several people' basing their concern on?
Has anyone knowledgable about Corvette frames looked at it since the repairs?
I'd think some shops might be equipped to 'load' the frame in order to test it, but I'm not sure how you would do that in a meaningful way or duplicate the various ways the frame is stressed when the car is being driven.
What 'state' is the frame presently in?
What is the birdcage on the car like? Often frame and birdcage rust go together and the amount of rust damage on one is a hint to the possible rust damage on the other.
There ARE new frames being reproduced. Check out Vette Products of Michigan.
Hi jc,
Welcome!
First post and a difficult situation.
I guess a few questions for you are still in order:
Was the frame examined by someone familiar Corvette frames BEFORE the repair?
How much of the frame was replaced?
How qualified/experienced was the person who did the repairs?
What are the 'several people' basing their concern on?
Has anyone knowledgable about Corvette frames looked at it since the repairs?
I'd think some shops might be equipped to 'load' the frame in order to test it, but I'm not sure how you would do that in a meaningful way or duplicate the various ways the frame is stressed when the car is being driven.
What 'state' is the frame presently in?
What is the birdcage on the car like? Often frame and birdcage rust go together and the amount of rust damage on one is a hint to the possible rust damage on the other.
There ARE new frames being reproduced. Check out Vette Products of Michigan.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan
I will take some good clear pictures of the frame and submit them later tomorrow. Thank you for your reply.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
If its a full frame off, replacing the frame would be a good idea, the rust on the inside you cant see is where it will be weak. You dont want to have to do it all again in the future either That being said, I boxed in a rusted out old jeep frame and put a mild 350 in it, I broke more rear ends and trannies than I can count and the frame never broke.
Dealers never lie lol. A company that repopped frames for all these old cars could do well. Even a powdercoated boxed frame could rust from the inside out.
Unless someone could afford to have it dipped and galvanized...
Lots of real nice cars out there with rusty undercarriages that would turn me off. Why buy it if the outside looks good but sooner or later youll have to pull the body? That opens a real can of worms that can consume yrs of your life and leave you good and broke.
This is my 68 frame. It was pretty rusty. I had it sand blasted locally. I did weld a couple repairs. I applied Eastwoods internal rust proofing than primed and painted with Eastwoods extreme chassis satin black. Looks can be deceiving. Pictures of your frame would help.
Last edited by twinpack; Jan 23, 2019 at 09:01 PM.
I'm in the middle of a frame-off resto myself. I tore down everything to the bare frame, had it sandblasted, then took it to a frame shop where he straightened it first then repaired all the rusted spots. He said you should always straighten before welding in new pieces because its much harder to straighten after welding. Anyways, I used an etching primer and chassis paint from SEM and started putting it back together. Here is how it looks now:
C3 Frame
