Body on Frame
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 261
Likes: 0
From: St. Louis Missouri
Body on Frame
The drivers side front end on my 68 has some frame damage and it looks like some sloppy repairs were done sometime in the past. it is slighlty bent to the right. Additionally, the nose on the drivers side dips 1.5" lower than the passenger. I took it to two shops yesterday and got different answers. First: We will detatch the body from the frame from the doors forward, straiten the frame and re-attach it. The second shop said that was not really possible as the body is glued on. He has a good reputation! He will straiten the frame with the body on and said that it might casue some body cracking that will need to be fixed. Also the drop in the front end might be a bad body repair in the past. I have no idea of which is correct.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 8,918
Likes: 27
From: New Hill NC
The drivers side front end on my 68 has some frame damage and it looks like some sloppy repairs were done sometime in the past. it is slighlty bent to the right. Additionally, the nose on the drivers side dips 1.5" lower than the passenger. I took it to two shops yesterday and got different answers. First: We will detatch the body from the frame from the doors forward, straiten the frame and re-attach it. The second shop said that was not really possible as the body is glued on. He has a good reputation! He will straiten the frame with the body on and said that it might casue some body cracking that will need to be fixed. Also the drop in the front end might be a bad body repair in the past. I have no idea of which is correct.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3,189
Likes: 111
From: Tolland CT
The body is most definitely not glued on.
Problem you may run into is if you straighten the frame to fall into spec you may end up with misalignments with the body. If repairs were done to fit a bent frame, some parts may no longer line up. You may be in for some corrective body work after getting the frame right.
Problem you may run into is if you straighten the frame to fall into spec you may end up with misalignments with the body. If repairs were done to fit a bent frame, some parts may no longer line up. You may be in for some corrective body work after getting the frame right.
Racer
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 445
Likes: 1
The shop may be referring to the fact that the front clip is glued to the firewall, but he should have made that clear when he was quoting the work. What shops are you talking about. I'm from that area and would like to be sure and steer clear of him.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
I agree he probably meant the front end is glued onto the body. You just can't take off the front end like a steel car. If the start pulling the frame around with all the body mounts still attached the fiberglass will crack or break. This is a job that should be done by someone who really has experience with Corvette repairs.
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Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,482
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
...The second shop said that was not really possible as the body is glued on. He will straiten the frame with the body on and said that it might casue some body cracking that will need to be fixed...
Personally, I would go with Shop #1.
