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Hi F,
Yes, that rust is a structural issue because the rust has progressed down into the cowl.
This is going to require some considerable amount of very involved work by someone familiar with the Corvette birdcage structure and some serious welding skills too.
Has the rust continued down the hinge pillars to the #2 body mount and rocker channels?
What car is this in, (I see it's a convertible),.... how 'attached' to it are you?
I am not expert, but I think I can say yes, that is structural. Ask yourself, if the windshield is removed, do you think anyone would try and put in a new one, knowing the rust issues you have? I had rust in the upper windshield frame and had it repaired, of course what I had does not compare you what you have. If you have that much damage, I have to believe there is more you're not seeing.
Hi F,
Yes, that rust is a structural issue because the rust has progressed down into the cowl.
This is going to require some considerable amount of very involved work by someone familiar with the Corvette birdcage structure and some serious welding skills too.
Has the rust continued down the hinge pillars to the #2 body mount and rocker channels?
What car is this in, (I see it's a convertible),.... how 'attached' to it are you?
I'm sorry to see this!
Regards,
Alan
I am quite attached! It’s one I’ve had for almost 17 years. Just have now taken the dash apart for steering column repair and found this. Where you see the rust is as far as it goes. The rocker panels are fine. I will check the body mount.
Understand the attachment, it was the same for me. That's probably why I had mine fixed. I comes down to $$. I didn't buy my vette as an investment, I never expected to make money on it if I sold it. We wanted something we can drive around, hit the lower 48. The fact my wife likes the car and supports really anything I want to do it helped.
I spoke to a lot of people for advise on the repair and met with different people who specialize the this type of repair. I also look at other vettes to replace this and realize I had a lot of time, energy and money invested it. When I looked some of the other vettes I realized I was very happy with what I have. Very happy with the guy I went with. I purchased every part I could think of for the windshield area from Paragon. Supplied the parts, he ended up only using a few of the parts and I was about to return all the unused parts for a full refund. Take your time and plan ahead, no matter what your decision is, it will be the right for you.
pulling the windshield will let you see better , but once its out , no-one will put it back until it's fixed . I would also be worried about how badly rusted it is further up the side .
If you look up Big City corvettes , they cut up pieces from old vette bodies (metalwork.) I have actually rang them and ordered specific sections for rust repair .
Are you possibly going to have a go at repairing this yourself ?
There are many ways to attack this issue, but none will be cheap. Pulling the windshield would be the place I would start, but that's not going to be the finish... Hate to see it and say it.
To gain access to the lower pillar you'll either need to remove the front end from the car or make a cut in the fender (which will show after the car is repaired and re-painted).
If you remove the windshield you'll gain some access but not enough to do the repair correctly on the lower frame. Since the rust is in the pillar as well as the lower section, I'd bet money that there are holes in the top as well.
The picture below is of a 1969 convertible we did about 10 years ago and as you can see this car was in about the same shape as what you have. Our customer elected for us to just cut the end of the fender off vs. removing the complete front clip. The customer was the original owner of this car and we still work on it to this day.
Another thing you might want to do is go read this.
Good luck with this, fixing this is not going to be easy. Since the car is a 1971 the lower sections for the frame is not available, on the 69 we had to fabricate them. But they are now available for the 1973 and newer cars and can be modified to work as a replacement on your car.
Willcox
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Dec 12, 2017 at 08:44 PM.
pulling the windshield will let you see better , but once its out , no-one will put it back until it's fixed . I would also be worried about how badly rusted it is further up the side .
If you look up Big City corvettes , they cut up pieces from old vette bodies (metalwork.) I have actually rang them and ordered specific sections for rust repair .
Are you possibly going to have a go at repairing this yourself ?
I am no welder by any means. I’ve got a local guy who mechanics/welds/fabricates that is familiar with corvettes who said he could fix it up when I sent him those pictures. I wanted to post here to get some other owner’s opinions/experiences. Thanks for the tip on Big City. I will give them a ring.
Another source for frame/birdcage pieces would be Glenn454 (ebay user name) He is located in Buford Ga. Send him a message with what parts you need....He just may have them.....His prices are fare and is a great guy to deal with.
Another source for frame/birdcage pieces would be Glenn454 (ebay user name) He is located in Buford Ga. Send him a message with what parts you need....He just may have them.....His prices are fare and is a great guy to deal with.
Brian
Agree. I have picked up several great items from Glenn454. Easy to work with.
Removing the windshield will only be the start of this project, removing the front end or the back of the fenders will be required to access the forward side of the lower A pillar.
Pulling the windshield is where I would start, but it won't be the only thing required to resolve this issue.
Removing the windshield will only be the start of this project, removing the front end or the back of the fenders will be required to access the forward side of the lower A pillar.
Pulling the windshield is where I would start, but it won't be the only thing required to resolve this issue.
yeah , I have only done one of this type of repair ,but it wasn't as bad as this one of Fubba's but I think his repairer of choice would be looking at removing the firewall for proper access , have you guys ever done a complete firewall removal with the front clip still attached ? Is it even possible ?
I am no welder by any means. I’ve got a local guy who mechanics/welds/fabricates that is familiar with corvettes who said he could fix it up when I sent him those pictures. I wanted to post here to get some other owner’s opinions/experiences. Thanks for the tip on Big City. I will give them a ring.
Any idea when you can get him to have a look at it ? love to hear what he says about the process .
Rust under windshield - options?
