How hard is it to restore the birdcage/a-pillars. If there is significant rust damage how close to like new condition can it be made?

Thanks.

 

You need to cruise this guy's page. He has done this job at least three times.

http://www.mcspeed.homestead.com/Photo_Gallery.html

BigBlockk

Later.....

 

Anyone else have any input on this laborious project?

 

Im living it.you have to think of it like this "humans built it" so why cant I.I realise i will have to seperate alot of glass to re-structure the birdcage(check my pics).I think the largest hurdle is knowing measurements to refabricate the cage to spec.someone on this site referred me to a company wich reproduces these parts to "rebuild" the cage.i dont know how bad yours is but if its as bad as mine maybe we can pray together.

 

Just had 6 holes repaired on mine over the weekend. Used new sheet metal and just cut out the bad, formed new pieces to fit and welded in. Can't even tell it was fixed.

 

Hey Allautomotive. How do you plan to rebuild the cage and more importantly the A-pillars. There is not much "meat" in the A-pillars and may have to have a machine shop fab something to replace. If that was the case I would probably go with a welded aluminum windshield frame.

 

I just finished my bird cage and am going back together with the body and am to rebuilding the frame. Strange thing is the frame is perfect, just the cage was rotted. Here are a couple pics. I have more pics of many different areas that I rebuilt, email if you need pics and of what you need.

vic

 

Heres some of the window frame.

 

A lot of you guys will cringe at my fix but it was recommended by a guy who used to work on Vettes. He suggested this because it is much simpler than welding and then grinding, especially if the cage warps from the heat.
Grind out the holes / rusted metal until you have good steel. Make plugs and drive them into the tubes so they are in a couple of inches from the hole. Fill the hole (and tubes on each side) with commercial premixed fiberglass strands in resin. Very easy to grind the cured resin to match the original steel profile.

I know it is a bubba job but mine has been good for 8 years now .........

 

When you say bird cage A pillars, are you referring to the windshield frame. If so, most Corvette parts suppliers list new windshield frame components. I removed my windshield on my 70 this winter to discover the top corners on each side of the windshield frame totally rotten. I ordered the new corners from Corvette Central and welded them in place. Nice fix, but lots of work to get them to fix exactly right.

 

Thanks Marley, I'll look at the CC catalog tonight!

 

I removed my entire birdcage in one piece. The top rear piece was bent down. It is alot of fiberglass to remove prior to pulling the birdcage. I would take measurements in every direction before removing any panels and then take more measurements after the panels are out. If you remove the front clip as I did, drill about 3 - 1/8th inch holes in the rear of the front clip by the gap where it meets the door (about 1 inch in front of the gap). Make sure you drill through the lip the front clip is bonded to. I actually put rivits in these holes when I remounted the clip and after the adhesive dried I drilled the rivits out and filled with the adhesive. Doing this will let you place the front clip back in the same position.This will ensure you don't have alignment issues to deal with during reassembly. Make sure you can find replacement panels for all the panels you are removing. I was able to reuse the majority of the panels I removed. I used a Wagner heat gun and a putty knife. This did not damage the fiberglass but it did loosen the bonding adhesive making the panel removal very easy. Take your time and it isn't that hard. I found a donor birdcage (rear clip) and replaced the one bad piece in my birdcage, blasted and painted. I don't remove the firewall as most people do as it just creates more work in my mind. I removed and reinstalled the birdcage from the top. It takes 2 people to do this as it is a tight fit but all went well and it turned out great. If I can answer anymore questions on the procedures let me know.