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Easter weekend may not be the best time to be posting this but here goes. We did a frame off restoration of our 69 corvette. Lots of challenges faced and met but this one has us stumped. Our front bumper brackets won't fit right. On the driver's side they are about 1" back from where they should be. Passenger side is about 1/4" back.
When we put the body on we used dowels to locate the holes through the body to frame. The driver's side is still spot on. The passenger side of the body is about 1/4" forward from the holes in the frame.
Is the only solution to loosen the body bolts and move the body forward? (Say it isn't so!)
If it is so...how much do we have to undo in order to make this happen?
Alice and Ed
Last edited by edthegreat; 03-31-2018 at 02:52 PM.
Hello Alice and Ed,
Could the cause of the problem have anything to do with forward frame extensions and the position in which the corner brackets are bolted to the frame extensions?
Are the corner brackets 'shiftable' at this point?
I just replied to your last PM. We are going to loosen the bolts on the frame extensions and try to shift stuff around. We also have the front end jacked up.
As far as the corner bracket...I know just how to make them shiftable...left lucy, right?
I hope you'll stay tuned if we have any more challenges with this thing. We thought we were on the home stretch!
It seems to us that moving the frame extension isn't going to help. The bolts for the bumper brackets have to go in the frame...period. It looks like the only solution is to move the body forward on the frame. Are we missing any other alternatives?
Please tell me that moving the body forward isn't that difficult.
We haven't done anything yet. We're just sitting around trying to figure out what to do...very depressing. The last huge problem we had was bending the trailing arms because we couldn't get any toe in. Then we had to cut off the emergency brake brackets and make new ones and weld them on the top of the trailing arms.
But that's a very good call. We should check out the back bumper brackets before we do anything.
Have you any experience with moving the body forward? We are thinking we can pry it through the holes in the door opening.
We tested the back brackets and they fit with no adjustment left. Therefore, we can't move the body. I am in favor of cutting the corner brackets and welding them back together but my husband is afraid that will affect something else down the road.
All of these parts are the originals so I just can't figure out why they don't fit.
Last edited by edthegreat; 03-31-2018 at 04:45 PM.
Hi,
How much of this car is together?
Is this the original frame for this body?
I believe I'd check some things before considering moving the body 1" inch:
What's the distance from the end of the steering column shaft to the shaft on the steering box?
If it's a 4-speed how does the shifter sit in the shifter plate console?
What's the distance from the firewall to the rear of the distributor?
What's the position of the upper arms in the openings in the aprons?
What's the position of the gas filler cap in the opening in the rear deck?
What are the gaps like where the splash shield rubber strips touch the frame?
Its's all together except for the doors, hood, and seats, and lots of other stuff.
Here's what we did to solve the problem on the drivers side. We ground the frame behind the back hole of the extension so that that big washer and bolt could move back. Then we elongated the holes in the bumper bracket so we could move that back as well. Now it fits.
Still don't know what happened. These are all original parts and the frame and body are the originals, too. Maybe they got in a fight one day and decided they didn't want to fit together any more.
But you are definitely right...if we had moved the body EVERYTHING would have been affected.
Anyway, thanks so much. Happy Easter.
Last edited by edthegreat; 03-31-2018 at 08:21 PM.
We did some elongating of holes and now it fits. Geez...what's next???
Yes, this sort of thing can be baffling. We encountered a number of issues like this when we were reassembling my Eagle SX/4. Some of it we never did figure out and I just live with alignment that isn't quite right.
How are the brackets as far as the hole alignment. Will you have to push the bracket out for the hole alignment or are they lining up and are just short. Anything done to the front in your body off? Just got done doing all of this on my 69 after putting another front clip on. Your using the original frame extensions and when you attach the C brackets you are still short?
How are the brackets as far as the hole alignment. Will you have to push the bracket out for the hole alignment or are they lining up and are just short. Anything done to the front in your body off? Just got done doing all of this on my 69 after putting another front clip on. Your using the original frame extensions and when you attach the C brackets you are still short? For some reason you may have to adjust the long bracket by changing the angle. How about a picture or 2!
03-31-2018, 02:51 PM
bumper brackets don't fit
