I recently took the body off my 68 convertible. The plan is to send the Chassis out to get restored and freshened up. The car has been off the road for several years now after we spun a bearing drag racing. My son is 15 and has been motivating me to get it up and running. Wonder why? I have been sitting on a new engine for a while, but cant drop it in before i make the car as safe as possible. Many of the bushing and mounts are original and in need of replacement.

I live in central NJ, does anyone have any recomendations for a corvette chassis repair? Anyone care to share what work they had done and cost? I am talking a full on tear it down, clean it up, fix, repair or replace everything on rolling chassis, with perhaps a few small upgrades.

Thank you,
Mike

 

 

David howard is in easton pa. get ahold of him.Very knowledgeable. look on this site for him.

 

There is a gentleman about 20 minutes from me that is pretty decent but I know he’s usually pretty busy so not sure what kinda timeline your on. He does a lot of restoration and appraisal work on NCRS cars etc. I’ve done quite a bit of business with him and he’s always treated me well. Central Jersey can be a lot of places but his shop is about 2.5 hours from Ft Dix NJ for reference.

If your interested shoot me a PM and I’ll pass his info.

 

I recently did mine. South Jersey. Original condition looked like yours, solid but rusty.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-rescue-4.html post #77 on to 89
Good collision repair shop did the frame pull and welding. Spent one full day just reinforcing factory welds. Was slightly bent. Also had 5 cracks. Also had it sandblasted and powder coated.

Just as an FYI I spent around $2000 getting this original frame "fixed-up"
And it really had zero serious rust issues, all original body mounts are solid, etc.
It broke down this way in case anyone is curious when budgeting their project:

• Sandblasting - 300
• Powdercoating - 400
• Additional for 2 loose crossmembers and 4 A-Arms - 300
• Frame straightening due to accident - 300
• Removeable crossmember mod labor - 200
• Entire day of welding just reinforcing frame joints & skip-welding - 500

Oh and they did find 4 cracked welds so a close inspection should be mandantory for all of these after rust removal


Oh I drug it to the sandblaster first, then the frame shop, then back to the powdercoater.

 

did You keep track of which body mounts had how many shims to replicate the stack height when you re-install the body?

 

yes, shims have all been counted and recorded somewhere.... was surprised at how few there were

 

It looks like it is in great condition. Those eight body mounts look good, no need to replace good mounting points. Welds should be inspected and reinforced, especially because your car does not have the kick up reinforcements that were added in late 68 onward. This is the vulnerable area on the 68 in my opinion, so a close inspection in this area would be advisable. Nice rolling chassis which should be a dream to work with for any shop that has the time and space.

Things to consider for your restoration.
1) Shops charge by the hour so the more you take off of the chassis, the more you can save.
2) What components of the chassis will you want to "freshen up"? Trailing arm rebuild? Half shaft restoration? New shocks? New brakes? Calipers? Rotors? Gas tank? Fuel lines? Brake lines? Steering linkage rebuild? Upper and lower control arm bushing rebuild?
3) Frame should be media blasted and inspected.
4) You will want to decide if you want the frame painted; POR-15 coated; or powder coated for a final finish. Matte black, semi-gloss black; gloss black; or some other color on the frame.
And on, and on, and so forth.
Last one I did was for Chuck here on the CF for his 68 roadster "Charlies Toy". It took me about four months to do it and Chuck bought lots of new items for his like rebuilt trailing arms; rebuilt differential, etc.
The shops I have worked with in the past are booked about one year out.
Good luck with your search, looks like you have great bones to work with.
Best regards,
David Howard
AllVettes4Me




Left is a 1969-73 frame which will be servicing a 1972 coupe. This is a manual frame with the removable center section transmission cross member modification.
Right is a 1969-1973 frame modified from a 1975 to demonstrate that it can be done. This is also a manual frame made from an automatic frame and then modified to add the removable center section transmission cross member modification. Featured on Facebook C-3 Corvette Frame and Chassis Group.
Both were fun projects.
David

 

I was pleased that it didnt look too bad when the body came off. everything i was able to see before body off looked ok so i wasnt overly worried, but you never can tell. I figured the front of the frame got covered with so much oil, probably helped keep it from rusting up there.

yes, pretty much replace or refurbish everything you mentioned. Trailing arms were replaced maybe 15 years ago with offset ones. Gas tank is rotten, car did spend some time outside, replace fuel and brake lines. Would want new rotors, and calipers, if budget allows would upgrade.

What is the opinion about painting frame vs powder coating? Some things i've read would lead me towards painting.

 

Either works well.
Whichever way you go make sure you add the Eastwood internal frame coating as well.

I went with Powder, it is slick and shiney, but being black it shows all the pitting in a frame like yours and mine.
Painting you can do yourself, And you could fill the pitting and smooth it out if desired.
The powder coat was not that expensive and I heard it was 40x tougher . More resistant to rock chips etc.
I'd say it's a 50-50 toss up. They both have pros and cons.

Oh the 69+ diagonal frame reinforcements are available and you may want to add them.
Chicago corvette IIRC.


Here's what I mean about the pitting being visible afterward.

 

I'm beginning to lean towards paint now that I have seen the low sheen Eastwood ceramic based frame paint. Bob K used it on his El Camino frame and I like how hard it is and how it is a low gloss sheen. I have a 72 automatic frame I am getting next week and I will be having it media blasted, then replacing the #2 and #3 body mounts; probably the lower gussets as well, then will paint it inside with Eastwood's internal coating and Eastwood's external ceramic. Looking forward to that project.
I have used powder coating in the past with much success and I like it too, just depends upon what you want for a finish.
Good luck with your decisions.
David Howard
AllVettes4Me

 

I prefer the Eastwood paint over powder coating. It doesn’t chip and you can touch it up. I’m local so it you want to check out a power coated frame vs a Eastwood painted frame I have both in the garage.

Bob K.