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Corvette C3 Assembly

Old Jan 3, 2020 | 03:28 PM
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Default Corvette C3 Assembly

Hello everyone!
I would like to ask you for advice. We are restoring a C3 for a customer and we are about to mount the body on the frame, we have engine, transmission, axles, brakes including fluid pipes and fuel tank with pipes already mounted on the frame. The question is, do we need anything else mounted on the frame or the body before mating them together? We would like to avoid any complications caused by lack of space or wrong procedure. Any hints about the assembly of these two main parts are welcome too!
Thanks a lot and have a nice day!

Viktor
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Jan 3, 2020, 04:01 PM
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Body drop at St. Louis. If you look these over, you can see a great deal was installed before body drop.





Old Jan 3, 2020 | 03:36 PM
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One thing I can think of is making sure you have the bolts that hold the trailing arms on the correct way.

Bolt goes in from the middle of the car to outside.
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Old Jan 3, 2020 | 03:41 PM
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I don't know if the model year matters, but for my '70 sb, the vacuum tank is difficult if not impossible to remove with the body in place. Hope this helps.
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Old Jan 3, 2020 | 03:45 PM
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One thing I can think of is making sure you have the bolts that hold the trailing arms on the correct way.

Bolt goes in from the middle of the car to outside.


Also with the body shims, I have got four old bolts and cut the heads off them and put a slot in the top(for screwdriver ) so you can use them on the 4 mounts under the door sill panel . Idea is they will hold the shims in position while you lower the body down. Once down use a pry bar in the 2 or 4 holes(early c3 had 4 , later has 2) in those sill panels to line the body /frame up. You should be able to look straight through the holes ( 1 in sill_2 in frame ) to the ground.

Last edited by bazza77; Jan 3, 2020 at 03:46 PM.
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Old Jan 3, 2020 | 04:01 PM
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Body drop at St. Louis. If you look these over, you can see a great deal was installed before body drop.





Old Jan 3, 2020 | 04:19 PM
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Love those pics , that automated jig has 8 contact points on the body ! a bit more elaborate than the 4 strap harness you can buy online now days . I would not install headlights and then try to hang a customers body from 4 straps , its already nose heavy with out the extra weight up front .
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Old Jan 4, 2020 | 11:50 AM
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When using the 4-point sling to lift/lower the body it's imperative to run a separate strap from the radiator support to the ring that the 4 straps are attached to. I've seen horror pictures of C3's that have broken in half when lifting the body without supporting the nose!
Peter
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Old Jan 4, 2020 | 03:58 PM
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https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ar-wheels.html

new thread today
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Old Jan 6, 2020 | 05:31 PM
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Thanks for the tip on the trailing arm bolts. I'm getting close to putting the body on my '73 in about two months, so I just checked to see if I had the bolts in backwards, and sure enough they were in backwards.

Rob.
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Old Jan 6, 2020 | 05:40 PM
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Thanks a lot for your answers. Maybe tomorrow we will start the assembly, I will upload some photos to share our efforts with you. Thank you one more time.
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Old Jan 6, 2020 | 09:47 PM
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Slovakia? Wow...

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Old Jan 6, 2020 | 09:55 PM
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You can find a checklist for removing the body here:
http://www.metroli.org/pdf/WHITE%20P...0Checklist.pdf

Should be able to use it as a memory reminder when putting it all back together.
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Old Jan 12, 2020 | 04:58 AM
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Four days of work and we have the body and a lot of stuff installed.


Last edited by Viktor; Jan 12, 2020 at 04:59 AM.
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Old Jan 12, 2020 | 10:34 AM
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Old Jan 21, 2020 | 02:40 PM
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Hello, today we mounted the brake pedal console and we are suspicious about its screws. We think there should be something that will reinforce the laminate wall where the console is fixed. Are we right? Thanks
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Old Jan 21, 2020 | 04:45 PM
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yes there should be a steel plate rivetted to that glass panel , held on with 2 rivets , I can see one rivet hole there .
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Old Jan 21, 2020 | 04:49 PM
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To Corvette C3 Assembly

Old Jan 22, 2020 | 03:35 PM
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Thank you. Our main problem is, that the car was disassembled by guys in the paint shop. They didn't mark anything nor take any photos, so now we have a lot of stupid questions.
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Old Jan 22, 2020 | 04:16 PM
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No Problem , keep your questions coming .
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Old Feb 27, 2021 | 03:56 AM
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Default Big thanks

Hello! Thanks to your help, we managed to put the car back together. Everything is working, the customer is satisfied, we have taught a lesson never to take such job as assembling a car that was dismounted by anyone else, especially a person that knew he won't be assembling it back together. My boss fell in love with the car and he already bought a C1 and a C3.

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