What are the places to expect little cracks in the C3 body?
I know they aren't uncommon,but are there any specific places they always show?

 

Most of them will show where two pieces of glass are joined together ie. on rear quarters usually a crack will develop if you email me I will send you a pic of where mine have started to show.


[Modified by gdh, 3:17 PM 3/11/2002]

 

My 1980 Vette had stress cracks above the rear side marker light on the middle of both rear panels.

 

Mine's a 1968 vette - so cracks happen all over ! :eek:
Don't know if I can help - but the lower half of my car has more hairlines
than the top.
Check around curves and between the front & rear wheels on the lower half.
Sometimes they can occur around the door handles, too.
Hope this helps, though the '68 is the worst of the C3's :U

 

I looked at one that had cracks over the front fenders,about were the hood starts at front.They only are at the upside of the fenders,not al the way down the sides.Don't know if that is a place where I can expect them?
The chassis and rest of the front looks very original,don't think it was damaged.

 

Sounds like your typical C3 to me in well 'used' condition. :yesnod:
What's the year ? - this will make a difference as to where to expect cracks.
The later years had more bracing and were more rigid....
Convertibles tend to crack & spider-web more...
And to my knowledge - the sun can create cracking just about anywhere ! :(
But you're right - mine has small fractures at the corner in front of the hood at the front of the car, too.... :eek:
I suspect the cracking underneath as I had described is due to the absence of 'X' bracing for 1968 behind the seats... so it cracks in front of the rear wheels..... bottom of doors ? - maybe :confused:
It's very hard to tell and that's all I can think of right now. :) :chevy :) :chevy

 

ttt

still curious...... :)

 

Pete
Typically vettes crack because of either separation or stress. Separation can occur wherever two panels are joined. The factory used a filler between the panels and it tends to shrink and dry up causing cracks. The way to fix these types of cracks are to grind a V between the two panels and fiberglass the two pieces together effectively creating one piece. If you want to see where panels are joined look at an Ecklers catalog. They show pretty much all of the various pieces in their blow-ups. The second cause is stress either from flexing or shock. Shock can cause cracks in the tops of shark front fenders because they are open to the tires and road debris underneath. To stop this glue heavy rubber pads under the fenders. You can also get shock cracks at the rear doglegs and behind the rear tires. Not much you can do to prevent these other than using protective devices like Cleartastic or Nip Chips for the doglegs and maybe some clear mudflaps to protect behind the rear wheels. Flex cracks are caused wherever a part is subject to flexing. Common areas are around the headlamp doors, at the hood supports, at the hood latches, the rear of the front fenders, or anywhere a fastener may be tightened too much such as along the bumpers. There's also not much you can do to prevent these and the cure is to grind out the cracks, fiberglas them and refinish. One of the great things about our cars is they don't rust. Cracks are the penalty you pay for it. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks vettfixr,that sure helps.
Going to take a look at the Eckler site right away. :cheers: