Hello everyone,

I am currently amidst the process of restoring my '73. I plan on removing the body from the chassis in order to undercoat the body and do some fiberglass repair where needed. Upon eyeball inspection of my frame, I have noticed some areas where corrosion and rot have become worrying about my future plan for the car. I'm asking for some advice from you guys that may have had this same issue. I am worried about the overall integrity of the frame, especially since I eventually want to have an engine with more HP, about 375-450 HP. Current engine is a '71 SBC 350 that has 8.5:1, don't have a quantitative value about current HP rating, attached to a TH400. The suspension is all stock except for the shock absorbers. I'm never going to track or race the car, going to be a daily driver/cruiser on mountain roads.

I have looked at whats available for chassis replacements and aware of Streetshop INC., Roadstershop, SRII etc.. The price for a complete replacement outfitted with suspension and brakes is relatively the same across these providers. Has anyone replaced or modified their chassis, if so, then to what and what are you currently running?

Btw, that pile of rust. I tapped the frame with a hammer and that came out!

 

Welcome to the hell
It looks like mine a little maybe a little worse mine dont have that big holes.
I am going to weld mine up but was thinking of a new frame but the price scared me off.
Just be really aware what you expect from your car and then try calculate how much you wanna spend in money and time
and then take it times 2 and hope it will work.
In the long run you will probably feel proud when you drive it again.
Good luck anyway.

 

There is a custom chassis fabrication shop not too far away from me. Do you have a ballpark estimate on price to fabricate a new chassis that will except C3 style suspension? I was looking at Ridetech front and rear packages. Detroit speed looks very nice! But the price is up there. There are some nice re-conditioned chassis on ebay that is already coated in a chassis saver or epoxy finish.

What really frightens me is that it's rotting from the inside out!

Also, has anyone done business with Collier Technologies about a replacement frame? Just looked at a page with some of their work, pretty much spot on reproduction of the original style chassis.

 

Where are you located?

The most economical solution to your problem:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...p-pricing.html

 

I have checked with some in US but the freight to here will be totally absurd the frame is around 3500$ but the cost for freight will be another 1500-2000$ so if I dont win in some lottery then I need to weld it up myself.
My car been in UK since 1988 until 2 years ago and the left side frame is very rusty inside but the right side almost nothing. I was in need of cutting a big hole to get all the debris out and in some places
the thickness is maybe 50% of the original frame.

 

I'm in California, so Pennsylvania may be a bit far for me. Appreciate the consideration.

 

Similar to how I feel. My hopes for winning the lottery are greater than getting my car back up an running in a reasonable amount of time without having to sleep in the vehicle because I bought everything I wanted to put in it. Also, if I poke around with my finger in the engine/ front cross member I can feel large chips of metal that have rusted off the frame. Looks like I will have to be patient and if you have not heard of them, Vette Products of Michigan, apparently have the original tooling/stampings from GM and make reproductions of C3 chassis. Another option for you if you become fortunate in the future.

 

that is some serious corrosion, I would suggest a converter to seal the rust before you do anything else, soak everything in sealer and allow to dry then do it again.
something like this
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Corrosea...2320/202960538

 

Thanks for the advice and I just been checking them I think I will need the whole 48" on my left side maybe even more I have to check it as it is now the body is still on but will be lifted during the coming winter.
Or else mine is OK no big problems on crossmembers and the rear bodymounts are new and new tank and some other parts is also not that old.

 

I had a few of the same problems on my 69 frame when I first started. I went the route of repairing it. After market parts as usual had to be modified but eventually they all were installed. Some areas I beefed up.

RVZIO

 

I am very impressed by your work and guess I have also have to do something like this in the end but all will come clear when the body is off.

 

nice pics! that restoration must have been intensely labor involved, details like sand blasted frames are what truly says labor of love!

 

Start shopping craigslist for cheap C3 whole cars. You are in cal. Road salt is something you have heard of, not actually had to deal with-until you bought this car. That frame is 4 cents a pound. And you now know what you are looking for in a 2500 buck 73-79 car's frame. Therd are some minor differences, but those alterations are nothing compared to the work you will have to do to make that frame solid. You will probably need bird cage pieces off the donor bomb you find, and then the rest goes up on the parts for sale section here and craigs-ebay.

 

My birdcage is in good condition actually. I was also surprised to find out that the car hasn't been painted again in its life, the previous owner(s) retained the Elkhart green, though had just coated over the body in primer gray. I was very much expecting to see some serious corrosion on the birdcage, around the windshield area after seeing what some guys have had to deal with from pictures on google. Only had to replace the driver's side upper corner windshield frame. Already used seam sealer on any gap and going to be generously coating this area and the rest of the birdcage I can get to in chassis saver. Then using Lizard skin for the undercarriage and interior. Everything is disassembled, just waiting until I get a cherry picker to lift the body off. I am not planning to go back to any vacuum operated system. The body bolts were so badly rusted to the mount nuts, that I had to cut the bracket mounts of # 3 and 4 on both sides, had to cut an X on the top's of the #2 bolts and beat them with a hammer and chisel until free. #1 bolts came free with a breaker bar after being soaked in penetrating catalyst.

 

Sent you a PM

DUB

 

Dang!!! That's some fine work you do.

 

Is Collier still in business?
The web site does not work, and the facebook page has not been updated in a LONG time.

 

I would be interested in some feedback on those chassis, too.
For example: I would like to know if they are stiff enough that the doors still work when the car is jacked up.

 

Whoops, I did not check the date of the article I read. I took that as a tip before, to open the doors whenever I was going to jack the car up. So that's a clear sign of chassis flex? By the way, this what I don't want to happen after I get the car where I want it to be. Check out a video on YouTube, called Green Mamba Corvette and it should be the first one or the one that has a total video time of 12:14. Specifically pay attention to the 7:39-minute mark, and watch the door!

 

Since an immediately viable option has not been decided upon, and no feedback from the chassis of SRIII, Roadstershop, or Street Shop. The outstanding variable between SRIII to Roadstershop and Street Shop, is that SRIII chassis are fabricated from 2" mandrel bent tubing. From a video I watched from Roadstershop, guy in the video stated that each chassis is made to order and each piece of the frame is separately cut and then TIG welded to make the box. The tube frame just appears to be a bit limited for tying in fuel and brake lines. Are there any differences in integrity between tube frames or square/rectangular shaped chassis?