I'm looking for some expert advice as I am looking to buy my first C3 and am worried about the horror stories of rusty frames and birdcages. This 1970 t-top is located 400 miles away and I am considering making the trip to inspect in person. The frame looks good in all the pics however i am concerned about the amount of rust flakes from the body mount behind the kick panel in the picture below. I am also attaching a photo of the windshield frame in vin area. What do you all think?

 

 

 

thanks CA! Makes me feel more confident when I make the trip to inspect the car.

 

Not sure why there is a bolt removed but will check into it

 

Thats a door hinge bolt. Strange it's missing. Was the bolt laying in the pocket? Your rust is about the same as mine when I got my car. I cleaned it up and then used POR15 after prepping the metal using the POR kit.

 

Thanks theandies...glad to know this is not as bad as I thought it might be. The seller took this photo for me and did not say if the bolt was laying in there. It is strange why it would be missing.

 

Thanks theandies...glad to know this is not as bad as I thought it might be. The seller took this photo for me and did not say if the bolt was laying in there. It is strange why it would be missing.

 

Wow, 400 miles away? I'm south of Omaha. If it were more local I could accompany you to check out a car. I have 2 '70 cars.

 

I just checked mapquest and and it is closer to 600 miles. I have learned that it is hard to find a steel bumper car that I like that is close!

 

I am going to be the "Slight" pessimist in that that photo would tell me that you really need to thoroughly inspect that car. Could be nothing or something very serious. It is nothing that you should not do anyway but with extra caution. Are those rust flakes from above????? Birdcage rot? Do your homework and know what to check is all I am saying!!!!! Ike

 

General Ike, on close inspection of the photo it does look like rust flakes which I assume could be coming from the birdcage above. The frame photos look very good as does the one that includes the vin however. I will stick a camera up the channel above this frame mount and see if I can see any rust rot.
If it looks decent shooting the camera up the channel and this is rust flakes, should I disregard the flakes or could this be a serious problem?

 

Upper windshield frame is common area for rust. Ours looked like what you`re showing... frame was in great shape, with a few flakes in the pocket. We ended up replacing the top corners of the windshield frame, and patching a few holes on the bottom edge. In our case, the car was pretty much stripped though, so we could easily see it before we bought it. The idea posted above with the paper towel is great advice. This is what you CAN`T see with the trim on....

 

Less than 10 consecutive units from my 70.
The flakes of rust suggest there may be rust in the windshield pillar dropping down into the pocket.
As someone else suggested, put a clean white paper in the pocket, slam the door, see what falls out.
Windshield pillar rust is repairable, extent of rust would determine how expensive.
I'd look carefully at the lower corners of the windshield frame, that's the toughest area to fix.
Take someone with corvette specific knowledge with you to look at it if possible.

 

See if they will allow you to take off the inside trim pieces around the windshield.....Rust like oldgto posted above can be spotted easily.

Brian

 

Before I comment, is this the car you are considering?

 

I would not buy it. Take some one with you with and i pick and see if you have a Kia frame! (all punched out)I once took a friend who i thought was trying to under buy a car i was looking at., Hewas shrt and skinny and crawed under car to pull out a coffee can of rust.That car was a mass car and a LT! (1970) everything else on the car was mint. Asking price back then was $6,500.00 No documentation ,do not buy!

 

71 Green...the top photo is same as the listing I looked at. The interior however is black with black leather seat covers.

 

Sorry, for some reason the owner posted 2 interior photos on the C3 Registry, 1 black and 1 blue. 922/400 would be Laguna Gray with Black Interior.
Has the interior been fixed or is it still a work in progress?
1970 is a great year to own.

 

SE not an easy question to answer. The first question is it truly rust from the bird cage? If it is you need to check every in of the car in the usual and unusual rust area, do you know them? If you find serious rust elsewhere to me it over. If the rust is on the birdcage area, then, how important is the car to you, any sentimental value, is it a absolute steal $$$, is it a very rare hard to find car, CAN YOU DO THE REPAIRS YOURSELF????????

All important questions to ask yourself, honestly, if it is none of the above and you are not doing the repairs yourself, you can get financially in very deep and have trouble getting out. I was once in your shoes, you decide you want one and all the good once have dispeared, but take a deep breath and buy the right car at the right $$$ that needs as little work as possible. Is this the right car for you, only you know the answer, but don't let your emotions take over.

Significant rust is the death of many of these cars, especially if you are not doing the work!!!! Is this car one of them??????????????? Try those cheap bore scope that Ebay has and see what you can see up there!!!! Good luck and post here for excellent and free advise. I won't make a move without this forum!!! Ike