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Hi Everyone,
After 2 years of searching, I am in the process of purchasing this 71 4sp (pics attached). The car is in excellent condition both inside & out. The current owner was very honest and pointed out a stress crack in the paint located in the corner of the passenger side right above the rear bumper. He purchased the car 15 years ago from Mershon's in Ohio & the stress crack was there& has not gotten any worse. Is this something that I need to worry about?
Last edited by Cassietrist; Jun 24, 2020 at 06:11 AM.
I'm having a hard time placing where this is exactly... But, the waviness and smaller cracks to the right (and less so to the left), indicate there is a body repair underneath the finish. I am no body repair expert by any stretch of the imagination, so with that in mind, I believe this area was not well repaired with fiberglass and resin; probably too much body filler. For a proper fix it would need to be taken down to the fiberglass panel(s) and re-repaired.
Last edited by barkingrats; Jun 21, 2020 at 08:21 PM.
Hi Everyone,
After 2 years of searching, I am in the process of purchasing this 71 4sp (pics attached). The car is in excellent condition both inside & out. The current owner was very honest and pointed out a stress crack in the paint located in the corner of the passenger side right above the rear bumper. He purchased the car 15 years ago from Mershon's in Ohio & the stress crack was there& has not gotten any worse. Is this something that I need to worry about?
I am also having a hard time figuring out where the crack is located from the pic you posted. That said, if it really hasn't gotten any worse in the last 15 years, then it's up to you- if it bothers you and you are willing to spend the $$$ to have it repaired properly, then by all means do so; if it doesn't bother you, then why fuss? Personally I'd live with the car for a while, and the crack will either bother you or not, and then you'll know what to do going forward.
Thanks for the replies & sorry for the terrible picture. I have indicated the location of the crack below. It's very difficult to see & would have never seen it if he hadn't pointed it out.
Just from the limited info, it doesn’t really look like a stress crack. There shouldn’t be a lot of flex in that area, looks more like improper materials and methods used for the repair. Nice looking Vette though!
it looks like damage from an impact. Either someone bumped into it, or it looks like someone did poor bodywork.
If i had to guess.. the car was previously bumped and cracked. when the car was repaired/repainted, they did not do proper prep of the cracked pieces.
rather than grind deep and open up the hairline crack to do glass/filler, they just skimmed over the crack with filler.
since it wasnt opened up there was nowhere for the tiny amount of filler to adhere to. with vibrations/flex the underlying crack came thru the thin glazing.
On closer inspection.. On the lower right of the photo there appears to be another light crack. this may be the filler that was skimmed across that area delaminating.
Over the years the large crack has been absorbing moisture and contaminated the area kinda like rust on a metal car, and the layers of paint/filler are bubbling up/popping off. ( i think a few inches up from the large crack there is paint bubble as well.
Sorry if im over analyzing. thats just my thoughts id have to see it in person, but you can usually notice the area is somewhat soft with pressure.
It is also a tough fix, for paint blending, so keep that in mind if you decide to repair it $$.
If the price is right and you can live with it, it looks like a nice car. but id look for other surprises, if my suspicions are right. A lot of things can be hidden under that paint(but if after 15 yrs thats the only issue, that may only be it.
Thanks again everyone. If looks alot worse in the photo than in person. I walked buy it several times & didn't see it until he pointed it out to me. All in all, it's a very clean car, the interior is also in excellent condition. Hopefully, there are no surprises when we take it to a mechanic for inspection.
Let me offer another opinion. I also have a 71 coupe. The body was never off the frame, & it has never had a rear hit or body work to the rear. Mine has that same tiny crack, in the same area, but it only appeared AFTER it was sanded down & re-painted. My best guess was it happened after the rear bumper were installed. My thoughts were that we may have tightened one of the braces too tight. I can`t think of any other explaination, given this car`s history. I`m not going to repair it, or worry about it, because like yours, it can only be seen if I point it out.
That's a beautiful car, and if that is the only FLAW, you are doing good! You might want to grab a flashlight and look up under the rear of the body between the gas tank and the rear panel to see if you can see any signs of bodywork, but other than that - I wouldn't be too concerned.
Mine has that same tiny crack, in the same area, but it only appeared AFTER it was sanded down & re-painted. My best guess was it happened after the rear bumper were installed. My thoughts were that we may have tightened one of the braces too tight. I can`t think of any other explaination, given this car`s history. I`m not going to repair it, or worry about it, because like yours, it can only be seen if I point it out.
There is a bonding seam right there that runs from behind the bumper mount upwards to the horizontal seam, a couple inches forward of the rear panel edge.
There is a bonding seam right there that runs from behind the bumper mount upwards to the horizontal seam, a couple inches forward of the rear panel edge.
Got it! Thank you. I appreciate everyone's help. If all goes well it will be in my garage in a couple of days. I am looking forward to being an active member of this forum.
From: Arizona - If you don’t know CFI, STOP proliferating the myths around it...
Yeah, that didn't look like a stress crack to me either. A bonding seam is more than likely which isn't an uncommon issue, but can be a PITA to fix though. I would be more worried about those tires. The GT II tires have not been available for some time now and those are probably rather old. Look at the date code. I wouldn't drive that car without replacing the tires first thing (well fast anyway) and also maybe use that as a bargaining tool on the cost?
Last edited by Buccaneer; Jun 22, 2020 at 01:03 PM.
Yeah, that didn't look like a stress crack to me either. A bonding seam is more than likely which isn't an uncommon issue, but can be a PITA to fix though. I would be more worried about those tires. The GT II tires have not been available for some time now and those are probably rather old. Look at the date code. I wouldn't drive that car without replacing the tires first thing (well fast anyway) and also maybe use that as a bargaining tool on the cost?
Yes, the current owner mentioned that the tires are 15 years old. I don't think that there is much more to squeeze, unfortunately. FWIW, the tread is perfect & they are crack free. I am having the car certified tomorrow.
On the note of tires, what is the best tire & size for that car? Maybe I should start a new thread or is there an existing tire thread that I can go through?
From: Arizona - If you don’t know CFI, STOP proliferating the myths around it...
Originally Posted by Cassietrist
Yes, the current owner mentioned that the tires are 15 years old. I don't think that there is much more to squeeze, unfortunately. FWIW, the tread is perfect & they are crack free. I am having the car certified tomorrow.
On the note of tires, what is the best tire & size for that car? Maybe I should start a new thread or is there an existing tire thread that I can go through?
Matt
Oh, OK. However, I "wouldn't drive that car with those tires" period no matter what the tread looks like. They are much too old. Those tires were good tires back in the day. I have used the GY GTII and GTIV tires on my 82 C3 and now run the original GT tires that came on the car when new. You can buy them from only one dealer really, but there may be a few more and they all get them from that one supplier. The tires are the original GY molds bought by the supplier and produced by GY, they are pricey. The supplier is:Kelsey Tire.
A lot of people use the BFG tires, but they have a yellowing issue with the raised letters. If you don't mind always cleaning the letters to make them white again, they are fairly good tires and more inline with the year of the car. Good luck with your purchase and enjoy.
Unless you have some of the actual paint used to repaint that car (and it still matches!), I would leave well enough alone. Maybe put something on the rear of the 'crack' to prevent propagation, but no more....until you need to re-paint it again. Then fix the damage and give it new coat of paint (20years? 30 years?)......
Yes, the current owner mentioned that the tires are 15 years old. I don't think that there is much more to squeeze, unfortunately. FWIW, the tread is perfect & they are crack free. I am having the car certified tomorrow.
On the note of tires, what is the best tire & size for that car? Maybe I should start a new thread or is there an existing tire thread that I can go through?
Matt
I like the Cooper cobra’s. Same as the BFG’s without the yellowing issue and cheaper.
I got a good look at it today while the car was on the hoist. To me, it looks like it could have happened by over-tightening the rear bumper as it is in that exact location. I'm not worried about it at all as there is no signs of the paint flaking off.
Stress Crack
