I absolutely do not have the time, resources, or welding skills necessary to do this, and that's the sad truth of it. I'm just a 17 year old kid working full time over the summer with plenty of other things keeping me busy, and I'm about to enter my first year of college. There is no way in hell I have the time to take the car apart myself, and even if I did, I have never welded before in my life. Once I go to college, my parents are moving a good hour and a half away, so it's not like I have the option to leave my car in pieces in my garage in any case.

The best - indeed, only - option I have is to search for a good, reputable shop in this area - my g/f's dad works for a body shop, so I'm hoping he might know a place or two. I'm going to inspect the birdcage and rocker channels tomorrow and pray for the best...either way, I'm going to have to drive it to a shop, ask them to lift the body, and go from there...

Urgh I really like this bloody car, but I really, really wish I'd just taken the time to learn the slightest thing about C3's before buying this particular one. Thing is, I'd been looking at so many different cars (F-bodies, GTO's, Chevelles, Challengers, Road Runners, etc.) I didn't think to research this specific one when I found such a good deal on a local Stingray. One friggin' look at the kick-ups, just one damn glance and I would've walked away and found something better I suppose the benefit of all this is that afterwards, I know the body and frame are gonna be solid.

It's not even the fact that repairs are going to be necessary that hurts the most...my parents are going to loan me all the money I need. Thing is, I'd planned on spending a good $3k+ on mods this summer...already picked everything - L-88 hood to fit the RPM Air-Gap, 65cc Canfields, CC 280H, 16" TTII's, dual electric cutouts to Hooker sidepipes It's just so frustrating to realize that I'm going to be spending ALL of my money to pretty much get my car to where I thought it was when I bought it (well, plus an elec. distributor conversion, Holley SA 670, and a pair of Dynomaxes)

Forgive the rant guys...had to get it out somewhere

 

don't worry about the rant. i believe i would think about getting another car to go to college and find some where to store the car untill you have time to work on it. if you tryed to sell it you would take a beating on it. you should be thinking about school, haveing fun,girls, and what you have in front of you in a few mths. when you get in school you may decide to repair the car or sell it. or you may decide to repair it when you get out. take your time and focus on school it is very expensive and if you have not learned a trade it is almost impossible to get anywhere in todays world. you are 17 and have plenty of time in front of you take your time and enjoy you will not be young forever. these cars are getting harder and harder to find so hold on to it if you can and tackle it later.

 

Tornado, I suspected and feared you were in that sort of situation. You did not mention a third option which is to sell the car while the sun shines. Go to college and focus on your studies, you can always buy another C-3. The grief and expense you will have to endure trying to repair that car will be overwelming in your situation. Sometimes you need to know when to walk away and not look back. You may find it cost effective to sell the car at a loss than continue putting more resources into it. They don't call them money pits for nothing. I am 56 years old and would not want to hear what I am saying to you when I was 17, but believe it to be honest and true. Trying to save the lost sheep while the flock disappears is a losing proposition. Drive a dependable import until your situation is more favorable to restoring a C-3. Do well in college and buy a new Z-06 or BB C-3 after graduation. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

Well, you were definitely right about that not being the kind of thing I'd want to hear

I could never bring myself to sell this car - it's my first car and I have always told myself that no matter what I'm going to keep it. The problem is, I am never going to have enough time to take on this sort of job myself in the reasonable future (going to do pre-med at college, from there to medical school, then to residency) - I will literally not have the time anywhere in the next 12 years. That's why my only option is to give it to a shop. I guess I've kind of reached the stage where I've accepted the situation I'm in - and that it sucks - but all is not lost. My parents are willing to loan/give me all the money I need to get this thing fixed. I just need to find a reputable shop around here (there are a couple nice-looking restoration businesses in town) and have them do the work, no matter the cost - even if I do end up going the frame swap route instead of just getting repairs done.

Thanks a lot for all your advice guys, I honestly appreciate it. Thing is, I absolutely refuse to just store this car for the next 12 years instead of just having a shop do the work.

 

i was quoted $5000 in 1990 for a frame swap.

 

Was that including the cost of the frame? If so, was it a brand new, powdercoated frame or a used one?

 

included a good used frame. back then good c3's were 7-14k, so i passed on the car.
Now, they(68-72) are going up so fast it could be worth it.
i'm glad i sold my first 25 cars. but, somebody has to fix that frame, and why not you? Someday u can pay back your parents,
so go find a vette shop with 1 or more in progress frame offs and a list of happy customers that you call 1st and confirm the quality/cost of their work. And if u need it done by a certain date, write "$100/day penalty
if late" on the contract if they verbally promise.
NEXT: take it to shops and get estimates

 

Tornado's pics behind the #3 body mount inspection plate shows birdcage rust damage. Before I seriously considered a frame swap, I'd get a professional evaluation of the entire birdcage. If the cage needs to be replaced along with the frame, you are looking at a major project. One on the magnitude reserved for a very collectable NCRS show car. The cost of a total restoration could be close to $100K, if you could find a shop to commit to it. In any event, it could not be done by Labor Day. Looking at that reality, an ebay solid driver for $20K looks mighty appealing, but I have no sentimental attachment.

 

Eh? I didn't post any pics...there was a link posted in this thread to someone else's pics, but I have yet to post any

Going to check out the birdcage and rocker channels tonight though...I can only hope...

 

You are probably referring to my car. I did have the windshield frame replaced many years ago because that was rotted too. I guess I should have known back then that the whole thing would be a mess, but like 72Tornado and many of us, we learn the hard way. My goal is to have a safe, drivable car and with the frame the way it is now, that does not seem possible. I may do a frame swap now and birdcage later, maybe just get the frame repaired so I can enjoy it for the rest of the season, if possible. I too am emotionally attached to the car, so selling it may be the smartest thing, but not possible.

 

keeping old cars as artwork is very popular. they don't post here because theirs hasn't run in years and don't need to.
sentimental artwork doesn't need repairs! or gas, ins., etc

 

Oh come on, I'm not that crazy. It just seems like a better idea to me to repair the car I have instead of buying another car that might have other problems I don't know about...when's all said and done, I know I'll have a good, solid frame and won't have to worry about it again

 

I apologize for the confusion on the pics. You have my best wishes on finding a good birdcage, it will save much effort, time and expense. You have taken some brutally honest advice well and and using it to move your agenda forward. As long as the project is professionally evaluated and accurately estimated, you will have everything you need for an informed decision. Best of luck to you on both your planned medical career and Corvette repair.

 

Thanks a ton for the good words mate

"Brutally honest" - you can say that again! I just have to hope and pray that my birdcage and rocker channels are solid - if not, well, it won't be the end of the world, but it will mean a helluva lot more money. Can hardly wait to get home and check it out...

In the end, I know I'll be able to get everything fixed and my car perfectly solid, it just might take some more time and money than I'm planning. Thanks to everyone for all the good words and advice

 

my friend Lou bought 30 c1&c2's over the years and kept the best 7. he is a PRO.

 

So what is Lou the Pro's advice then: Sell a car that you know is bad to someone else? If I sell it to get away from it, I can do nothing but be honest to the person who buys it and tell them about the frame condition. I am not an EBay scam artist, so I'll either take a huge loss, get rid of it and start all over again, or invest some sweat and $$ into it and have a car I know is good. I'll choose the latter, as most people who peruse the technical forum would.

I have no desire to own 30 cars in order to find 8 that are fine.

 

17 million cars traded in every year and everybody is now going to keep them all due to guilt?

 

The only thing I'm guilty of is having some ethics. I guess it's my cross to bare.

 

How abou this for another option.

From what I have read this is the current situation.

1. Car has a bad rust problem - unsure if it is only the frame, maybe bird cage also
2. You want to keep this car
3. You can afford to spend a reasonable amount ($5-$10K) to fix the problem.
4. You have a tight timeline 6 weeks or so to get car back together

Heres my 0.02. Take it to the best corvette store you can find. Pay them an hour or two of labour to assess the damage. Ask for a written estimate and both COST and TIME. Think about those really big numbers. I don't know any shop that could do a frame swap and then put all the rusty crap off the old frame on a new frame. Figure at least 30 days and $10K+ for a shop to do a respectable job. A straight powdercoated frame would cost $2000 (at least) of that amount. $10K would be a bargain for that work but it would probably be a lot higher. My frame was solid but I still had $4000 in rebuild expenses for parts that go on the frame.

Another option. Put your car in storage when your parents move. Get a good rust free frame. You don't need to be einstein to rebuild a corvette frame. Buy Mike Antonivs (spelling?) book and build a frame up. All you need is a single garage space. Pay the core charges for pieces if need be and sell of your old pieces after you have rebuilt a rolling chassis.It will take time and money. Less money then a professional shop. Pretty hard to screw most of it up as it all just bolts together. Once you have a rolling chassis then worry about the body swap but only if the shop has given your birdcage a clean bill of health.

Another option - buy a rolling chassis already rebuilt. I know Van Steel does full rebuilds of a chassis's. You could order a chassis, pay the core charges. Then drop the body over (need to have the good birdcage though) and send back what is left of your rolling chassis. Not sure of you location but there are other stores like Bairs etc up north who may also be able to provide a rolling chassis.

Money wise. If you give your car over to a shop and ask them to fix it cart blanc then expect to pay BIG money ot have it repaired. Get estimates first.

As for time. A wise man called Lars taught me the value of time management. If you can spare time to drink beer with your buddies at college then you probably have enough time to rebuild a chassis in your spare time.

Good luck. This happend too often. I was lucky I guess. My frame is like a rock.

 

EBAY AD,

SERIOUS FRAME RUST
NO RESERVE
.
I GUARANTEE IT WILL SELL
THEN buy a nice new car.