C3 Birdcage
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 27
From: Boca Raton Florida
Its glued on, just about like a model car. Some guys have cut the back ends of the fenders off to do those repairs, but that would not be my choice. Basically you have to seperate the glue joint along the back edge of the fenders, there are 2. 1 at the front of the door you can see and get to easily, and annother verticle seam paralelling the one at the rear edge of the fender, its about 10" forward.
Here is a pic of the passenger side, you can see the glue lines.
I used a sharp, stiff putty knife and a hammer to seperate the joints, you have to be carefull not to dammage the panels. You can get to some of it from in front of the doors, lot easier with the doors removed. Some of it you can get to from beneith.
There is also some hardware in the front under the nose to get everything off
Here is a pic of the passenger side, you can see the glue lines.
I used a sharp, stiff putty knife and a hammer to seperate the joints, you have to be carefull not to dammage the panels. You can get to some of it from in front of the doors, lot easier with the doors removed. Some of it you can get to from beneith.
There is also some hardware in the front under the nose to get everything off
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 240
Likes: 58
From: Jacksonville, Florida
Here is a link to a previous post. I had the windshield frame restored and welded with the fenders on the car. Once you take off the trim and windshield you have a good amount of room to work.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ht=prestige593
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ht=prestige593
Pro
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 613
Likes: 2
From: West Central Florida
The "nose piece" (cowling or firewall) also has rivets that hold it on. Once the fenders are off, all the rivets around the cowl area need to be drilled out, then the sealer seperated around the top and sides and the glue seperated at the bottom. THATS RIGHT it has sealer on the top and sides with glue only on the bottom where it connects to the floor pan.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Thanks for sharing the info with me. My '76 is white, so it was nice to see what could be. This weekend, I will begin to remove the front cowl. So, if everything goes as planned, the car will be ready for weld work by mid-Sept. The welding will be complete by the end of sept. I may have the undercarriage blasted and cleaned my the end of Oct (need to replace all suspension bushings etc and some steering components). At that point, i may decide to take my time with misc. work through the winter with a target of painting the Vette just before spring. C
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
BTW, I am photographing the heck out of this project and may videotape key parts of the process. The welder who will assist with birdcage repairs has agreed to let me use the camera. So, if it works out, this could be a good tool for others to use.
