Let the winter games begin......
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 330
Likes: 0
From: Lurkerville
Let the winter games begin......Updated
Pulled interior to lay down some fat mat and found this 
Pulled windshield, not as bad as I feared, 1 small hole
Dig the glass patch job on the floor board
There is no such thing as an easy job on C3's
Pulled windshield, not as bad as I feared, 1 small hole
Dig the glass patch job on the floor board
There is no such thing as an easy job on C3's
Last edited by Warhead; Jan 20, 2007 at 06:05 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,028
Likes: 2
From: North NJ
Aint dat da truth!!!
Don't you just want to beat the living day lights out of the previous owner who thought it would be acceptable to cover rust with fiberglass???
Good luck, probably easiest to find a donor car for the floor panels or a vette supplier with some where you can either weld in or rivet in.
Nows a good time to POR-15 every peice of metal you can reach on the birdcage to prevent any future rust problems.
Don't you just want to beat the living day lights out of the previous owner who thought it would be acceptable to cover rust with fiberglass???
Good luck, probably easiest to find a donor car for the floor panels or a vette supplier with some where you can either weld in or rivet in.
Nows a good time to POR-15 every peice of metal you can reach on the birdcage to prevent any future rust problems.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 93
Likes: 0
From: Everett WA
I see a couple of options ranging from bubba to proper.
The "proper" option is a ton of work and money. Pull the entire front end apart, replace the floor pan find a replacement firewall and rivet or weld it in place and rebuild the car. Its about a 5k job if you pay someone to do it. Also a good time to rebuild engines, tran, anything else up front.
The bubba option
If the metal part of the floor board is sound, paint it with some POR15 and build another fiberglass patch. It was fiberglass to begin with. Cut the hole out so it is square. Bend a sheet of aluminum or thin steel to fill the hole. Coat with a a few coats of fiber glass, and blend into the surroundings. Properly done it will be stronger then the original. I had to cut my firewall as part of a major rust repair to the bird cage b/c I decided not to pull the entire front end. This is the route I took to repair it.
The middle option.
If you can find a donor firewall, square up the whole you have. Cut a piece of the donor firewall 1” bigger on all sides. Rivet it in place, fiber glass the edges to get a good seal from the engine compartment, and blend with the surroundings.
The "proper" option is a ton of work and money. Pull the entire front end apart, replace the floor pan find a replacement firewall and rivet or weld it in place and rebuild the car. Its about a 5k job if you pay someone to do it. Also a good time to rebuild engines, tran, anything else up front.
The bubba option
If the metal part of the floor board is sound, paint it with some POR15 and build another fiberglass patch. It was fiberglass to begin with. Cut the hole out so it is square. Bend a sheet of aluminum or thin steel to fill the hole. Coat with a a few coats of fiber glass, and blend into the surroundings. Properly done it will be stronger then the original. I had to cut my firewall as part of a major rust repair to the bird cage b/c I decided not to pull the entire front end. This is the route I took to repair it.
The middle option.
If you can find a donor firewall, square up the whole you have. Cut a piece of the donor firewall 1” bigger on all sides. Rivet it in place, fiber glass the edges to get a good seal from the engine compartment, and blend with the surroundings.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 330
Likes: 0
From: Lurkerville