i finally got the birdcage completed. the next thing is to hang the fiberglass back on. the two pics. are some of what was wrong. the other three are the end results. i sandblasted the frame and painted it last nite. this was not as bad as the frame repair but i will be glad to get the fiberglass back on then all the stuff underneath then i am going to repl. the radaitor support,rebuild the a/c box, and rebuild the brake booster. after that i hope to have the body back on before fall. then i can finish the body work by spring.

 

looking good

 

My hat is off to you will. Man thats a ton of work.
Good luck and i hope you finish as very few people on this planet have gotten that far and completed. Only seen one on this forum complete a birdcage redo.
Hope u document all this as none of my C3 restor books cover the birdcage but as these cars age more and more will required this full treatment. Hey u may be able to market a "how to" on this project.
cardo0

 

That is cool, but I wish you would step back so I can tell what the heck I am looking at. For instance, take a long shot first and then get a close up of the center of the long shot. I am so confused!

 

Looks very similiar to what I just did. Nice job, it is really rewarding when the fiberglass is all back on and you know it is solid and protected from more rust...

 

thanks for the comments everyone.
john you are right it does make you fell better to have it back together.
i just started putting some stuff back and it looks 100% better already.
and hopefully the rustolem paint will hold up better than the factory paint and lack of paint. i was suprised that most of the problems except for the #3 body mts. was rusted from the outside. i also drilled three 1" holes on the lower windshield frame (inside) for inspection,cleaning and painting. i think this repair will last as long as i have the car and as you can tell i plan on keeping it for a while.

 

Be careful using the Rustoleum. It is nearly impossible to paint over it without 'fisheyes'. I've been told it has fish oil or something in it.

 

Looks great.
This is one of the hardest pills to swallow with these cars.
I know ... I swallowed a few of them myself.
Most folks run away fast, but you have successfully faced it and won.
The greenish factory primer is very very tough. I don't think the
Rustoleum will hold up as well. However, you probably won't
be driving around in the rain too much - with all the hard work.

Congrats ...

 

I've seen the rivets in the doorjamb area.


I assume you had to debond the fiberglass from the metal you replaced.


What techniques did you use?

How tough was it to debond it?

 

Very nice work!!

 

Great Job!!, I think I'm going to have to do the same thing when I get back home from Kuwait. So at least I know that it is not a somthing that can not be done!
57 days short
SGT Kirk

 

Congrats to you, few people will tackle a project of that magnitude... I know you have a long ways to go, but some of the hardest work is now out of the way.

cheers

the blonde weasel

 

where it had to be debonded i split the seam with a sharp and thick
gasket scraper. on the rivets i just drilled them out. and the other tools were a cut off blade in a 4&1/2" grinder and a hack saw.
i used the cut off wheel on the inside of the floor lip and split it there.
and i used the hack saw to cut the ft. fender and rear fender on the rear i split the #3 body mt. cover away from the body first then i took the hack saw and cut the fender and i cut enough out on the first cut to make sure i did not need to make a second cut. i used the hack saw to cut the fenders because it is not as thick of cut to repair later.
when i put it back together i will make some bonding strips for the inside of these panels and then i will have only the outside to repair.
also when i used the 74 pieces i made sure they were cut right the first time and when they were welded together everything lined up the rivet holes are the same on both years so other than looking under the car in the right place no one will ever tell it has been repaired.

 

MAN, thats a lot of work . good job

 

You have done a lot of restoration work. I have done some myself and your second photo of the lower right piece where the fiberglass fender support attaches is a good photo of what could be problem area of many leaking Corvettes. Your photo shows an excellent picture of the hole in the factory lower windshield support that Corvettes left the factory with and a source of leaking water into the interior, usually on the floor mats from the bottom lip of the dash panels. This is a hidden leak hole for sure. It is hidden by the attachment of the fiberglass upper fender support. The new replacement metal pieces I bought from GM even had the hole. The hole is in the first layer of metal, the second layer underneath is what can be see from inside the Corvette and the hole is not visable. The water enters the hole underneath the fiberglass fender support and migrates.
I see that you have removed the rear portion of the upper fender. I did the same when I replaced this corner below the windshield. If I may offer some advice not knowing your experience on the replacement of the upper fiberglass removed fender piece. The more you bevel out and away from your cut line the better. This will support a finished repair and reinstallation that will not show the cut line after a few years. Hope you show us some pictures of your Corvette when it is finished.

 

70zz3,
i will be sure to bevel the fender quite heavely as you have suggested
thanks for the heads up. also the hole's you mentioned are not there any longer i welded it up. i also think this is the source for many water problems and rusted out ft. door pillars,#2 body mt.problems.
thanks everyone,wilson a.