Guy who sold it to you is a real piece of work. Take it back and demand a refund.

 

That's about 8,500 in US currency.

Check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...80046899QQrdZ1

I say take it back too.

 

here's the web site made of steel tube i suppose---------------------------------http://www.sriiimotorsports.com/pages/885872/

 

uhmmm... just to chime in... HOLY COW! Like the others stated.. if the frame is that bad... the BIRD CAGE IS GONE! No doubt in my mind... If you continue to drive this car... it may cost you more than money!

Your pictures show there is absolutely no support at all... except for the fiberglass shell. I would hate to see what a drive shaft can do when the rust breaks through while driving 45 mph...

Just to illustrate how bad your rust issue actually is.... I circled the areas on my pics for reference...


http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/bendera//notgood1.jpg
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/bendera//notgood2.jpg
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/bendera//notgood3.jpg

be safe and good luck

 

Like others have said that frame is bad. mine didn't look that bad with the body on and I ended up tossing it


Stp

 

ok as you guys probably know im stll new when it comes to vetts. what is this "birdcage" term... and how can a check if its ok?

as far is this vette goes im keeping it. if i even try to contact this guy he will just laugh at me. im going to become "good friends" with the local corvette shop and get him to give me his opinion. in my mind i would like to weald in new frame rails. thats if some other spots dont pop up.

on a different note.. how would i jack up my car? according to the owners manual the recomended jacking area would be right where the rust damage is. i know where to jack the rear end but whats the 2d best area to jack the front end and causing any damage?

thanks a tonn you guys i really would be lost without you guys.

 

The pic shows the birdcage.

That car is not safe to drive and in fact, I would be very surprised if you could get it saftied for plates anywhere in Canada. Certainly not in Ontario. I doubt that it could even be jacked up for a safety inspection without splitting in half. I was a witness to such an occurence several years ago. The frame simply snapped.

I would try to get your money back. I don't fall for that rich guy, knows nothing about cars line. In Ontario, a private vendor must purchase a seller's package from the government that gives the history of the car. It certainly can be sold "as is" but that is an upfront decision made by vendor and buyer. Most buyer's will insist on a safety if they wish to drive the vehicle. Buying as is provides only an unsafe vehicle permit that precludes road use and insurance. In other words a car that has to be towed around for repairs.

Lastly, I would not underestimate the cost of repairs. You mention $500. The labour rate is getting close to $100/hour. The sum of $500 would not even get a heater core job done. Many hours will have to go into frame repairs. I have an acquaintance who had a 1967 frame repaired and went on to do a complete restoration. I saw the books: 1,200 hours.

Good luck with that car. I wish you well in getting your money back if that is your choice.

 

so when you guys say "if the frame rust is that bad the bird cage is gone" your saying that the bird cage is equally rusted aswell?

and no im not going to drive this at at all. its tear down from here on. im even thinking about pulling the engine for good to get ready for a fule injected crate engine.

 

so your saying that i shouldent even attempt to jack up my car?

 

You sound about as hard headed as me!

So, instead of trying to talk you out ... Here's something that might help.

If you do all the work yourself it will help ALOT with cost. Having a buddy that's a welder is great. I have a 1968 that I'm sure a lot of the guys on this website wouldn't spend five minutes with, so I kind of know how you feel.

Vette Products of Michigan has a large selection of frame components: http://www.vetteproducts.net/

Zip Products:
http://www.zip-products.com/Zip/dept...B9BB2AFD6D7183

You're probably going to need to replace your rocker channels too:
http://www.kearneycorvette.com/technical2.html.htm
http://hometown.aol.com/bmclau5079/page5.html

Hopfully, your windshield cage components are in good shape, mine were. I'm still searching for a rear pillar for my birdcage - convertible. She took a hit there with a previous owner. Bubba must have repaired the damage.

 

I feel for you, i to purchased the wrong car not knowing what to look for. I bought mine seven years ago and the frame was shot, found a frame on ebay for $167.50 from california freight was $267.00 but it was good. I did a frame off two years ago and believe me going from what i had to what i now have was worth all the work. Please keep the good attitude and ask as many questions as you need we will help. You need to do your home work but it WILL be worth it. You can jack it up in the air just be careful. Good Luck and

 

I'd remove as much weight first ... Spare tire, rear wheels, empty gas tank. If t-top remove tops, or they might break.

You can try placing a jack under the differential and slowly jack up. Place jack stands on solid frame rail as far back as you can.

I used 6 jack stands with mine and slowly raised it. Mine bowed a bit in the back, binding the doors shut.

I removed the doors before raising the body. Used chains running from door hinge bolts to door latches to keep rear from falling down during body lift. I'm now in the middle of repairing and cleaning the frame and suspension.

 

I would not jack up a car with that frame.

 

Please get a dictionary and a spelling checker.

 

Sorry to say...but unless you enjoy major restoration projects with your own labour ...you have a parts car. I also live in Canada and a vette in this condition is typically sold for parts. The cost of repairing an 80 in this condition is far higher than what it is worth. Your welder friend will not help much...you need a new frame. Way beyond fixing. There is a vette shop near me in Kitchener that has several like this. They buy them for $500 -$2500 and then strip them down for parts. This is what happens when C3's are driven in our Canadian winters with our salt packed roads This will cost you a lot more than you think if you proceed to fix the frame. The birdcage is almost certainly gone also. You cannot have a frame this bad and have the birdcage escape the rust..it does not happen. Especially if you are paying for the labor think of spending more than you paid for it in repairs. Start adding it up...replacement frame, body removal, mounts, trailing arms, labor, front end/rear end suspension, brake/fuel lines, channels...and on and on. Try very very hard to return this vette and get your money back. Even if you could only get part of your purchase price back do it. You can buy C3's in Canada in excellent shape for about the same price or less. Do NOT jack this vette up and do not get under it. Sorry...but the fact is this 80 vette is likely only good for parts. If it was a 68-73 it might me worth the months and many thousands that it will take to repair.

 

I would add with absolute certainty that no sane technician would raise this car up on a lift. He'd be afraid she'd break into pieces.

 

I made an earlier post with my opinion, but the more I sit here and think about this, the more it pi$$es me off. Imagine what would have happened if on the way home you had what normally would have been a "fender bender". I realize a "fender bender" with a vette is never simple but fixing some 'glass and having the car break in half and possibly being crushed between the car and ground is worlds apart. Look at it this way, how would you feel if you were taking wife, mom, kids, friend or whoever for a ride and hit a bump in the road at 60 or 70 and the car split apart? In this day of frivolous (spelling) law suits I hate to recommend legal action in all but the most warranted cases. IMHO I think this is one of those cases. Don't wait, it also may be worth the couple hundred to tow it to a couple of shops and get estimates NOW. The longer you wait the longer the guy who sold it can say those infamous words, "It wasn't like that when I sold it." Not trying to scare you, but trying to scare you, because it scares me to think what could happen and I don't even know you. Contact a lawyer NOW, if nothing else for a consultation, so you have a record of the condition. Good Luck.

ltlevil

 

There's no way the seller didn't know the condition of the car. Even an '80 will need some things fixed once in awhile; If the seller didn't do the maintanence then someone else must have and it would be impossible to miss all that cancer even if just changing a tire.
I feel for you man, that seller is a real POS. Please listen to the forum members and commit this car to being a parts car. Get the pain over quickly instead of dragging it out over a year or years.

 

IMO you paid market price for an '80 Vette in DRIVABLE condition. That car is not drivable in my opinion without being unsafe. You know the car better than all of us as well as the abilities of your welder friend, but I think you need to approach the seller for a refund and if he refuses, follow the legal channels that PAUL67 has laid out with respect to Canadian law. I personally wouldn't sell a car in that condition without revealing that kind of defect.

I hate reading these kind of threads. I hope you get your money back.

 

This story is typical of some of what I've seen with these cars. Here in CT it's a toss up if you find a good or bad frame. I looked at several over the past year and they all required some work. The last one, a POS '70, had holes the size of quarters in the side rail, repaired end plates, completely rotted out fuel lines -spliced with rubber hose over the rear wheel well, and a bad birdcage. It was fixable but the car was no where near the last price I heard of $10,000.00. Maybe $2,500 because it had a rebuild numbers 350 hp engine, but it would cost me over $10k in parts with my labor and then it needed paint on top of that.

I'd listen to Paul and Doug. Try to get your money back, not to offend the 80 -82 guys, but this car just isn't worth the expense.

Gary