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Hi guys, I'm from Italy and I'm restoring a 69' coupè (frame-off restoration). The birdcage is very damaged with heavy rust and fix it will require a lot of work (front clip and firewall removal and fiberglass cutting around body mounts n.3) for a questionable result, so I'm thinking about replace it...I know it's an hard job too but I hope with a better result.
Lliving in Italy will surely not help me because most of these birdcages are in the US and for me will be impossible to give them an accurate look and of course an international shipping will cost a lot of money. Find it in Europe isn't so easy but I will try and I hope to have some luck (about it if you know someone in Europe that can have a good birdcage please give me the contact of course also for US ones!)!
So before looking for a good birdcage i have a some questions for you :
Are 68-72 birdcages different from the others?
If yes which are the differences?
Can I easly adapt a 73-82 birdcage to my 69' body?
I'm worried about reinstall front and rear clips and obtain the correctly aligned body shape...is it very difficult? Any tips and tricks?
Thank you so much and happy Easter!
P.S. The birdcage in the first picture isn't mine, comes from the web only for example...
Last edited by Dream Bikes; Apr 11, 2020 at 07:20 PM.
68-72 birdcage frames are in the most part, the same. 73-74 are somewhat different, but mainly in the lower windshield are. This will not effect anything. But you will need to use a 73-76 windshield, I believe. Replaceing the complete birdcage is very time consuming , but it can be done. The search function is your friend. Good luck.
I know that the metal where the wiper door mounts up is shaped different on 73 & up, as they do not have the wiper door. With a little extra metal you can build it up so the wiper door will mount up like normal, so you can get around that. The aftermarket patch panels are the 73 up shape. I have one of each in the garage, and bare. If I can't find a picture online and you need it, I could always take one for you.
You might post some photos of the damage for reactions here.
If you are seeing primarily windshield frame damage, I just finished cutting a half dozen patches for my 68 windshield frame rust and need to get my welding buddy who has some specialized low heat input equipment to weld them in. My windshield frame was solid elsewhere with no flex what so ever, so this is a judgement call as to how bad is bad, IMO, and when to repair and when to give up and replace.
Here is a video too that is useful. I suspect hot rodders with 30's Ford have to deal with this frequently so if you can find a old car hot rodder to ask an opinion, that would be good to do I think. I am aware some Corvette purists would not touch patching a windshield frame, so as with everything there is a wide range of viewpoints.
And, sorry to say, if the birdcage is totally totally bad, including #3 body mounts, my 2 cents, throw in the towel and go find another complete bird cage and/or body. PM me for some possible leads if you like.
Hope this helps.
Last edited by 20mercury; Apr 12, 2020 at 02:46 PM.
Thanks guys! the windshield frame is gone, totally rusted, I've already found a good one but unfortunately the area where should be attached is totally rusted too
OK not good there. Now you'll need to pull the windshield next and see what it looks like under there.Then examine the bottom of the vertical pillar where the body bolt is.
And post more pics. The question is how much is rusted and how much is still good and solid. Then you can decide: Is it patcheable? Do you put in a huge section? Or do you replace the entire thing?
I had similar rust in the same area, as well as the outside lower windshield corners and several spots on the upper windshield frame. I looked at replacement pieces but they are very expensive. I have a mig welder with limited welding expertise. I took my time, used a fair bit of 18 gauge steel and cardboard for patterning and did all the repairs. Took some time cutting fitting and grinding but in the end it was all worth it.....besides, as long as you maintain your measurements etc it all gets covered up. Good luck
This guy could probably make a Corvette from scratch too, measure a frame and buy some box tubing, pop some fiberglass molds off a friends Corvette, buy some roll carpet, plastic sheets and sheet leather and JUST DO IT! Wow, Impressive to say the very least!!!
But I have to say even me who spent a couple of hours repairing a wiper switch today with super glue would have to suggest the least path of resistance is go find another birdcage body and salvage the front and rear clips, doors and etc off this one. But hey, just my humble opinion.
Last edited by 20mercury; Apr 13, 2020 at 02:49 AM.
Check out Corvette Kingdom in the UK, they have some of the repair pieces for the cage and shipping to Italy shouldn't be too bad. The parts aren't cheap tho. https://www.corvettekingdom.co.uk/pa...ounts-brackets
let me offer another point of view from someone who has been there done that:
Put it all back together and sell the car. Accept your loss.
if you do go ahead with the project:
1. you are going to almost totally disassemble the car. repainting the car is almost certainly required.
2. Getting correct panel alignment is in fact rocket science. if you are off even .050 in your welding.
3. you will be removing and replacing the VIN tag. There are several legal concerns there.
4. hundreds of hours in front of the computer chasing parts
5. a thousand hours of your labor. out in the garage, away from home, away from your kids/wife/friends
6. tool purchase, supply purchase.
7. just the money you put into it will put you deeper underwater than just selling it as is. not even counting the time you put into it.
8. if you pay someone to do it, they will cut corners and not do it right, giving you further excuse to sell it and not get top $$ when you do.
9. Finally.. If the birdcage is bad, then the frame will be worse.
let me offer another point of view from someone who has been there done that:
Put it all back together and sell the car. Accept your loss.
if you do go ahead with the project:
1. you are going to almost totally disassemble the car. repainting the car is almost certainly required.
2. Getting correct panel alignment is in fact rocket science. if you are off even .050 in your welding.
3. you will be removing and replacing the VIN tag. There are several legal concerns there.
4. hundreds of hours in front of the computer chasing parts
5. a thousand hours of your labor. out in the garage, away from home, away from your kids/wife/friends
6. tool purchase, supply purchase.
7. just the money you put into it will put you deeper underwater than just selling it as is. not even counting the time you put into it.
8. if you pay someone to do it, they will cut corners and not do it right, giving you further excuse to sell it and not get top $$ when you do.
9. Finally.. If the birdcage is bad, then the frame will be worse.
Good Luck,
Un buon consilgio - saluti da Canada Welding the bird cage material requires a high skill level because the metal (even un-rusted metal) is so thin. Bending and warping can occur which has a huge trickle down effect on the project as you re-build the car. Problem of course is that corvettes in your part of the world are not very common, and finding another car to start with will be difficult I'm sure.
There is a Facebook page of Corvette Owners in France i belong to. There are a lot of beautiful cars on there, some nicely modified. If you sent me your name, we can connect of FB and I can direct you to the group. They may be able to help you out...
Check out Corvette Kingdom in the UK, they have some of the repair pieces for the cage and shipping to Italy shouldn't be too bad. The parts aren't cheap tho. https://www.corvettekingdom.co.uk/pa...ounts-brackets
Thanks! That's an interesting link. it seems that they have got some parts that can help me if I will decide to repair the birdcage. Of course these parts aren't cheap...do you know an US vendor who has got the same range of these special repair parts?
I will specially need these :
Un buon consilgio - saluti da Canada Welding the bird cage material requires a high skill level because the metal (even un-rusted metal) is so thin. Bending and warping can occur which has a huge trickle down effect on the project as you re-build the car. Problem of course is that corvettes in your part of the world are not very common, and finding another car to start with will be difficult I'm sure.
There is a Facebook page of Corvette Owners in France i belong to. There are a lot of beautiful cars on there, some nicely modified. If you sent me your name, we can connect of FB and I can direct you to the group. They may be able to help you out...
let me offer another point of view from someone who has been there done that:
Put it all back together and sell the car. Accept your loss.
if you do go ahead with the project:
1. you are going to almost totally disassemble the car. repainting the car is almost certainly required.
2. Getting correct panel alignment is in fact rocket science. if you are off even .050 in your welding.
3. you will be removing and replacing the VIN tag. There are several legal concerns there.
4. hundreds of hours in front of the computer chasing parts
5. a thousand hours of your labor. out in the garage, away from home, away from your kids/wife/friends
6. tool purchase, supply purchase.
7. just the money you put into it will put you deeper underwater than just selling it as is. not even counting the time you put into it.
8. if you pay someone to do it, they will cut corners and not do it right, giving you further excuse to sell it and not get top $$ when you do.
9. Finally.. If the birdcage is bad, then the frame will be worse.
Good Luck,
You're partially right but it's too late, the car is already totally disassembled and the rolling chassis already restored, I've already spent a lot of money and time...you can call this nonsense, I call this passion! But all this is done to obtain a final result and i would like to complete the restoration job. Thanks :-)
OK not good there. Now you'll need to pull the windshield next and see what it looks like under there.Then examine the bottom of the vertical pillar where the body bolt is.
And post more pics. The question is how much is rusted and how much is still good and solid. Then you can decide: Is it patcheable? Do you put in a huge section? Or do you replace the entire thing?
Sorry for your troubles. I'm there too.
I will add some more detailed pictures of the birdcage :-)
Birdcage replacement
Welding the bird cage material requires a high skill level because the metal (even un-rusted metal) is so thin. Bending and warping can occur which has a huge trickle down effect on the project as you re-build the car. Problem of course is that corvettes in your part of the world are not very common, and finding another car to start with will be difficult I'm sure.