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So Im curious what people think would be the best way to repair the body mounts in my '75. Every mount where the rubber bushing was is rusted away. The metal outside of those areas is fine, its just where the bushing and metal has contact that rusted out. I have attached a pic of one of them to show it, they are all pretty similar. Would it be better to replace the mounts with the repair pieces, or just cut out a rectangular area and patch a piece of metal back in? Actually performing the repair isn't a big deal, and Im leaning towards just patching in some metal, but thought there might be a reason not to do that that I wasn't thinking of.
I'm aware of them, I just didn't know that since there really isn't that much rust, if that was still the best solution is all. I don't want to take a drastic measure if its un-necessary. I searched for rust repairs, and it seems like its not all that common of a thing for people to take on (which makes sense I guess). I'm about ready to put the body back on the restored frame (installed an LS2 and T56) and this is one of the few steps left before that can happen
On my car, I had a similar though not as severe issue. I bent a piece of 12 gauge steel into a open top box and welded it into the pocket for reinforcement.
1. Leave it as-is and drive it carefully without taking turns at elevated speeds:
2. Repair them so your body won't come loose when you least expect it.
If all the mounts look like (or worse than) the photo you posted, you need to get them repaired....unless you just leave it in the garage and LOOK at it.
Right, I need to fix it definitely (as I stated in the first post). I'm just trying to figure out the least invasive approach. The commercially available inserts require cutting out a pretty large section, which is why I asked, is that the "only" way to do it, or is patching in a section of metal going to be ok? There isn't much talk about it anywhere on the internet at all TBH.
Sigh, I think my point is being lost. I fully modified the frame to fit a T56 in place of the Muncie, I know how to weld and I realize I need good metal to weld to. The bad area is only where the bushing contacted the rocker. I'm just making sure that by patching in a small piece Im not doing something "wrong" because I didn't think of something. If the only way to really do it is with the patch pieces, then I would be basically replacing the entire rockers, which seems overkill.
I probably should have posted with my old account so everyone didn't think I was a noob.
So Im curious what people think would be the best way to repair the body mounts in my '75. Every mount where the rubber bushing was is rusted away. The metal outside of those areas is fine, its just where the bushing and metal has contact that rusted out. I have attached a pic of one of them to show it, they are all pretty similar. Would it be better to replace the mounts with the repair pieces, or just cut out a rectangular area and patch a piece of metal back in? Actually performing the repair isn't a big deal, and Im leaning towards just patching in some metal, but thought there might be a reason not to do that that I wasn't thinking of.
Thanks!
You don't say if the body is off the frame , if it is and it was mine , I would get my sand blaster out and hit each 2,s and 3,s and see what I had left to work with.
The 1,s and 4,s you can just buy or fabricate replacement pieces and rivet them back on .
you would have to blast from the bottom as well to make sure you get all the rust properly .
Mine was rusted out just at the mounts like yours. I cleaned up the old metal and coated with POR-15. Then installed 3 piece rocker channels on both sides, also coated with POR-15.
If your keeping your engine pretty much stock, and could patch the metal, then go for it.
If your adding power though, I'd suggest beefing up the rocker channels/ pillars.
So Im curious what people think would be the best way to repair the body mounts in my '75. Every mount where the rubber bushing was is rusted away. The metal outside of those areas is fine, its just where the bushing and metal has contact that rusted out. I have attached a pic of one of them to show it, they are all pretty similar. Would it be better to replace the mounts with the repair pieces, or just cut out a rectangular area and patch a piece of metal back in? Actually performing the repair isn't a big deal, and Im leaning towards just patching in some metal, but thought there might be a reason not to do that that I wasn't thinking of.
Thanks!
You can get original Birdcage Pieces (search Eb*y ) or contact Americas Finest Corvettes or another shop that specializes in frame repair and used parts. Since you can weld, the used Birdcage pieces are readily available)
Mine was rusted out just at the mounts like yours. I cleaned up the old metal and coated with POR-15. Then installed 3 piece rocker channels on both sides, also coated with POR-15.
If your keeping your engine pretty much stock, and could patch the metal, then go for it.
If your adding power though, I'd suggest beefing up the rocker channels/ pillars.
I assume you are talking about the rocker patch pieces that are available everywhere? How much of a pain were they to install?
Im curious why you would suggest them if there is more power added since the body shouldn't be taking any of that force.
As an update, last night I cleaned out the pockets really well and checked them out (the body is off the car). I'm thinking that just patching in new pieces is the way to go for sure. #2 on both sides look like the one I posted. As long as I replace the inner piece and then the small portion of rocker, they should be fine. All the rest of the metal is in great condition (only surface rust). #3 on the driver side looks similar, but not as bad. Ill probably do the same on that one. For some weird reason #3 on the passenger side is in perfect shape.
I assume you are talking about the rocker patch pieces that are available everywhere? How much of a pain were they to install?
Im curious why you would suggest them if there is more power added since the body shouldn't be taking any of that force.
As an update, last night I cleaned out the pockets really well and checked them out (the body is off the car). I'm thinking that just patching in new pieces is the way to go for sure. #2 on both sides look like the one I posted. As long as I replace the inner piece and then the small portion of rocker, they should be fine. All the rest of the metal is in great condition (only surface rust). #3 on the driver side looks similar, but not as bad. Ill probably do the same on that one. For some weird reason #3 on the passenger side is in perfect shape.
Just as a precaution, I didn't want to take any chances of flexing the body and causing cracks. I installed a 385 stroker and all poly bushings. The channels/ pillars now are double the steel.
Also, I restored my frame (body mounts were rusted out there too), adding gussets and going over all the welds.
Yup, those are the ones that are available everywhere. I guess once I actually cut out the old stuff Ill have to decide if I still feel ok with patching stuff in or not.
Luckily my frame/birdcage was in great shape except this little bit. I added a bunch of gussets to my frame before I painted it. Then proceeded to cut some of them up once I dropped in the LS2 to get it to fit...lmfao.
Rust Repair
