Birdcage Rot
Instructor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 245
Likes: 5
From: Layton, UT
So i removed my pillars and checked out my birdcage. Its pretty good right now. The problem is - the windshield is sealed good- but in between the chrome t=top panel and the car there is somekind of weatherstripping that is all braking out of it. What do u guys use to completely seal the top to prevent any more moisture from getting to the birdcage? Do i pull the chrome panel first? Clean it all out? And then reinstall it with some new silicone or something?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
Originally Posted by dyanisis2
So i removed my pillars and checked out my birdcage. Its pretty good right now. The problem is - the windshield is sealed good- but in between the chrome t=top panel and the car there is somekind of weatherstripping that is all braking out of it. What do u guys use to completely seal the top to prevent any more moisture from getting to the birdcage? Do i pull the chrome panel first? Clean it all out? And then reinstall it with some new silicone or something?
Urethane roof sealer at Home Depot that works great for permanent
seam seals. 3M Window weld is similar with a faster cure time.
For the upper W/S trim, I would go for butyl rubber tape -
stuff used to originally mount and seal the W/S - available at body
supply and parts stores. The original installation in my 75 had small strips of
butyl rubber at each end of the Ttop trim - in the front. Along the front
edge, there was a strip of sticky tar-like foam that didn't actually
appear to have sealed much. I just cleaned all that crap off the trim last night.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
Originally Posted by BadBlk95GT
Hey, I pulled the kick panels on mine and the visible area is kinda surfaced but all there. Where is the '#3' panel? Is it that skinny one that's behind the seat?
I pulled that, and other than the floorpan holes (which I already knew about), the visible area looks good on mine. Also felt between the frame and rocker, and couldn't feel any scale in there. Frame appears to be 100%.
All this, and floors and radiator support are toast. Weird!
I pulled that, and other than the floorpan holes (which I already knew about), the visible area looks good on mine. Also felt between the frame and rocker, and couldn't feel any scale in there. Frame appears to be 100%.
All this, and floors and radiator support are toast. Weird!
If you can grab the rocker between it and the frame - pulling outward -
and it feels solid, then you are probably OK. Check the #3s - but
usually the #2 is worse. Everyone's radiator support goes - if she was
driven much. The floors should have been undercoated or painted better
from the factory. I've never heard anyone comment on how nice the floors
were when they looked.
The birdcage, however, had a nice thick green etching primer on both
cars I've pulled apart (glass floors). They seem to rot from the inside out for the most part.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 359
Likes: 0
Just for information, I've noticed that cars that have seen a lot of salt on the highway tend to rust out the lower extremities first. Here in So Cal we don't have snow except in the mountains and no salt on roads, so we don't get rust out on frame rails, BUT I've seen a lot of cars that are parked near the beach rusting out near the roof and beltline from salt spray off the ocean.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,758
Likes: 4
From: Medford, Or
Check out cmacvette Corrosion repair of a Mid-year Vette.
Dan
http://www.vetteworksonline.com/restorations.htm
www.vetteworksonline.com
Dan
http://www.vetteworksonline.com/restorations.htm
www.vetteworksonline.com
