C369GS

We were putting new trailing arms in my '69 due to some rust build-up on the arms that was causing misalignment with the emergency brake hardware and making it impossible to get it working correctly. So I bit the bullet and bought the rebuilt arms from VTech.


As we were installing the new arms, the passenger side went in great and everything looked solid. When it was time to pull the driver side, I got my first bit of bad news. After removing the original arm, we could see that there was rot in the pocket where the leading edge of the arm mounts and more up at the top shock mount.


This was more than we could handle, so I sent the car to Ron's Restoration in Fitchburg, MA just before Labor Day. He looked at it on the trailer and thought they could do a quality, driver-grade repair without pulling the body off that wouldn't be hideously expensive.


Well, he just called and told me that they found much more than we could see before they started. Basically, the rocker on the driver side is gone and the body mount bolts on that side are rusted through the body. So now we're looking at a frame and likely a $10K repair bill.


I'm wondering if it's worth it. This is a '69 350/350 4-speed with a non-matching motor. It's not something that has a ton of value. If I take my bath now and sell it as-is, that's a loss but it's basically a paper loss. And no, I won't pull the same buyer-beware crap that was apparently done to me, so the loss will probably be the same $10K required to fix it.


Fixing it is $10k cash out the door at a time when that's a tough hit on a car unlikely ever to return that much investment.


I'm going up to Ron's in the morning to look over the car and have him show me what he's found. We'll discuss options then and, of course, I'm sure he'll have a recommendation as well but I'll take all the input anyone wants to give.


For those who like to see the car before offering an opinion, here's the original thread from when I bought it in February:


https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-c3-owner.html

The13Bats

My heart goes out to you i know how it feels but yours is worse and mine still got a frame off,

Mine had basically busted a strut that led me to learn i had some rust in the kick ups too, mine is a 69 convertible,

So to make a long story short i love the car enough to well, basically waste money on it, but since i will enjoy the car its not a waste,

Only you can decide if your car is worth it to you,

Alan 71

Hi C,
It DOES look like nice 69 coupe in the photos!!

I think the question might be "do you like the car well enough to spend $10,000 on it".?(Hoping that the estimate doesn't creep.)

I may have missed it… say you end up spending $12,500 at this time, what $$$ will you have in it then?
Are there other costly things that need to be done to it or you'd like to do?

I think having old Corvettes rarely makes financial sense… it's about the pleasure they give to some people.
Regards,
Alan

v2racing

Wow, that really is too bad. It's a beautiful car.

Maybe you should take some good pictures of the rust damage and post them here for opinions. It may be possible to do enough repair to make the car usable for a decent driver.

Do you have a place to work on it? Do you have tools? Skills?

Mike

DUB

It all depends on how you feel about the car.

Not seeing how bad the rust is....I am sure that the frame needs to be accessed ( body off) so proper repairs can be made or installing a new or good used frame. And I am already picturing the amount of rust/rot in the frame because I have seen it many times from Corvettes that are brought down to the Carolinas from up north.

I will say that if the frame is repaired...I would make sure it is done really well so if someone gets to looking...it is not obvious that it has been repaired.

The reason I wrote that is when I inspect Corvettes for people before they buy them. I am looking at it like a hawk and if I notice something.....it makes me look further and sometimes I will tell the potential buyer of the Corvette I am looking at to run from it....or... get ready to spend a lot of money on it ...right off the bat.

DUB

old city

Hi C You my have a few options. Spend the ten grand +++ Sell off the parts for cash. Get a good frame move all the parts to the new frame. Looks like a lot of good parts. Sell as is. Keep us posted . The best of luck to you what ever you decide.

Lyndwood

to nice to scrap, buy a good used frame and put that under it.

dmaxx3500

ya,pull the body and put a frame under it,,there was a guy on here selling a rebuilt frame for $3500 or so,,,

Peterbuilt

Looking at your earlier post I can see why you made the purchase.
You car is gorgeous!
So today your toy broke!
It's not the end of the world.
You didn't spend the last of your disposable income when you bought the car.
Many of us have spent thousands but not all in one day.
All the frame parts or a new or used frame are available.

You had the Vette for a few months so just think about how happy you were as you drove along and got thumbs up as enthusiasts snapped photos at a light.

Enjoy the ride!
Pete.

C369GS

Alan, if I spend the $10-13K (allowing for overrun), I'd have $35-37K in it, so way above it's current or likely future market value. There's nothing else costly that I want or need to do. I pretty much like the car just the way it is (plus fixed, of course).


Mike, I own a shop with a lift but this is way beyond our capabilities and I need the lift for customer work (we're a truck and offroad shop). I have one mechanic that I keep busy with billable work.


Dub, I will have the work done at Ron's Auto Restoration. He is a Corvette restoration specialist who does NCRS and Bloomington Gold restoration work but who will also work with customers to do driver-grade restoration. Since my car is non-matching, I'm not concerned about having it perfect but I do want it done well if I decide to go ahead.

Jeff_Keryk

I HATE rust!
I guess it is take some time and figure out what you wanna do.
I am easily $50K into a $25K car.
Actually both figures are low, esp. the 1st one.

Good luck.
If it is at all in the budget, fix that car.

doorgunner

I'm sorry to hear about the rust problem. It's a beautiful car. You actually do not need to completely remove the body from the frame. Lifting it about 10" and placing "spacers" between the frame and the body mounts would allow plenty of room to make repairs to the frame.

Then your fork lift would only be needed for an hour or so. You could take your time making the repairs or have someone make the repairs at your place of business without needing to rush the repair, saving you about $8,000.

A word of encouragement: Being a rookie, expert members have given me advice making me able to tackle anything on my project. Hoping the best for you.

OMF

That car is beautiful....pity the fool that doesn't fix it

cv67

Can he check the birdcage/core support while its there? Maybe that will help you decide

Shame that whoever did that work & sold it to you knew about it, no way they didnt. Think for 10k or so its worth it if youre keeping it and dig it. If its a money thing patch it up take whatever loss comes with it.

Its still a very sharp C3 they arent making any more of em;there are many running around with repairs current owners arent aware of. Dont think its that big a deal if explained to a buyer thats been around cars for any length of time

EarlyC34me

WOW. I looked at that car on craigslist just before i purchased mine. I sent you a note when you purchased it. That is the one that was for sale in CT. You paid solid money for that car. I am very sorry to hear the news for you.

It is a beautiful car.


Yes i would reach out to David Howard he is the one that was selling a frame.

joewill

If you can't or won't work on it yourself, then you are really throwing money away.

many more things will come up on the swap out that you or your mechanic will not have considered.

doing a local fix of the rusted part is merely postponing the eventual complete swap out. these frames rust from the inside out and if it is rusted in that place, then it is rusted in all the usual places also.

A proper repair is to get a new frame, or a good used zero rust frame and swap it out.

you will run into swap issues such as cracked paint when you lift the body and when you swap out the front end suspension, you will do a lot of while it is apart upgrades such as new suspension bushings, and u joints and all suspension rubber, brake lines and fuel lines, body mount hardware, front and rear alignment, shimming the body back on...
in fact your mechaninc will insist on a complete thorough job. he won't put old bushings back on to your suspension, or old fuel and brake lines. it is a big risk of you bringing the car back to him and his liability.

all this will escalate your cost greatly especially when you pay someone to do it.

Then we have not even discussed your birdcage. I have never seen a bad frame with a non rusted bird cage, they come hand in hand. a birdcage repair involves almost a total disassemble of the car. if your rocker is gone and the body mounts are rusted thru the body as you stated, then that is your birdcage. if your mechanic does not know that and thinks it is frame only, you need a more specialized mechanic who knows these cars. That shop seems to be well experienced in corvette restorations so perhaps there is a misstatement or miscommunication regarding this.

you will need a fixall repair and not a patch repair. I have seen it, I have torn these cars apart and I know what it takes to put it all together.

spending 13K on a incomplete patch repair will not help you sell the car in the future. knowledgable buyers will look at your repair and then look at all the other usual places with much more diligence.

i advise to get what you can out of the car, use that money plus another 15K ( you would have spent anyway) and buy yourself a really nice 69 in lots better condition. especially now that you know what to look for. you will be on the road immediately and not be down for a year plus.

Dirty Dalton

You might take a look at my thread Nd compare the frame repair needed with mine. One of the problems is finding people you trust. There are a lot of bad experiences out there. (I'm not suggesting that the referenced party is anything other than above board. I've had good and bad experiences shopping around, and/or relying on other's recommendations.)

Good luck.

3JsVette

You really need to take your time, make a thorough evaluation, examine closely for more rust so you know exactly what you would be getting yourself into. Come up with a price and a time frame (double that - no just kidding) and see if you can live with that. It's a real shame as it is a beautiful appearing Corvette with great colors. I hope it works out for you in what ever you decide.

C369GS

This is my first C3 but far from my first classic car or restoration project. All my previous cars were projects; this one wasn't supposed to be a project. In any case, it wouldn't be the first time I'll be upside down in a car.


I am inclined toward keeping it and fixing it so the birdcage will be one of the discussion points tomorrow. We'll see what Ron has to say about it before I make a final decision.


Yes and yes. I crawled all underneath the car shining an LED flashlight up underneath it, looking at everything I could see without taking the car apart. After I bought it, we put it up on the lift in my shop and I had four different mechanics look over the underside. None of us saw any rust damage until we took the trailing arm off.


We will be discussing the birdcage tomorrow. I have no doubt that any miscommunication is mine, not Ron's. A new or rust-free frame is a given. I'm not interested in patching and I don't think Ron would agree to take that path if he's to do the work. We'll see what he says about the birdcage.


With respect to paying someone to do the work, I disagree that it's throwing money away, although I understand the logic of your statement.


In our case, we run a fairly busy shop. Every hour my mechanic spends on the Corvette is non-billable time and longer lead times to get customer vehicles in. That can translate into lost revenue, which is a potentially bigger loss than paying someone else to do the frame. Also, the shop is tight on space so a disabled vehicle occupying space can make it tougher to do certain types of work. We learned that the hard way last winter when we did a drivetrain swap from a 6-cylinder Wrangler YJ into a 4-cylinder Wrangler TJ. It took weeks to complete the swap and made our snow plow installations a lot more difficult to do as we needed to maneuver plows and equipment around that Jeep.


I appreciate the input from everyone and the kind words about the Corvette. I really do love just walking past it and appreciating the style of it, not to mention the way it felt the few times I got to drive it this summer. I'll probably fix it unless Ron tells me something unexpected tomorrow.

CVO2FIXUP

I spent a good buck buying a Texas big block that is so rust free it was unreal. However I spent $10,000 on it in the last 3 years just repairing the drive train under the car. It looks the same as I bought it, just drives like new now. So If I sell now I will brake even. If I was in your shoes, I would repair.