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I guess it was to be expected at some point. I stumbled on some concealed rust. There was a chunk of Bondo over it.
I have alway been suspicious of under-car paint.
I of course went bananas and started poking around the entire frame with a pick hammer and a screwdriver. I could find no other rust.
It doesn’t look too bad; I quickly fell on solid metal. I’ll weld this up in couple of weeks or so when I’m finished with the interior.
I would like to know, however, what led to this. Shouldn’t there be drain holes in here ? It seems ludicrous that GM would allow water to pool up here with no means of evacuation.
Last edited by DorianC3; May 16, 2019 at 04:06 PM.
I guess it was to be expected at some point. I stumbled on some concealed rust. There was a chunk of Bondo over it.
I have alway been suspicious of under-car paint.
I of course went bananas and started poking around the entire frame with a pick hammer and a screwdriver. I could find no other rust.
It doesn’t look too bad; I quickly fell on solid metal. I’ll weld this up in couple of weeks or so when I’m finished with the interior.
I would like to know, however, what led to this. Shouldn’t there be drain holes in here ? It seems ludicrous that GM would allow water to pool up here with no means of evacuation.
There is an outlet located bottom corner of the channel. 1970
Easy mike nailed it.
Sucks......so many car guys do hackwork like this and think nothing of it.
What happened to doing things right? Weld a piece over it, paint and motor on.
I too am leery of undercarriages esp when they use rhino coat or undercoating (worse stuff to get off ever).
Plus they both look like hell when they are dirty or painted over. Guess bondo and rattle can is some's idea of restoring you see it everyday. Youd think a nice car would more effort taken.
Oh well easy enoguh fix.
I bet theres lots of cars that have it the owner isnt aware of .
Sandblasted every square inch of mine, por 15d on to pof it in case.
After being garaged for yrs right after paint I noticed 2 thin streaks (stress cracks in paint) with a fine brown line...guess what.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
when I was painting my frame found a lot of sand in there when I removed the rear trailing arms that plugged my holes. I kept poking at the hole then would slowly increase the air I was blasting through there to get all the sand out. And there was a lot
That is a very common place for frame rot on the C3's. I just recently welded in a section on my own for the same exact spot. The good news is that it isnt too difficult to get done
That is a very common place for frame rot on the C3's. I just recently welded in a section on my own for the same exact spot. The good news is that it isnt too difficult to get done
Pics of that would be helpful... if you have any, of course.
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
I had the same frame rust, but I pulled the body to fix it right:
Here are the before shots:
I pulled the frame and sandblasted the areas before cutting the entire frame sections out. I welded in stiffening bars to keep the frame straight and correctly positioned while the frame sections were cut and welded:
First rusty section cut out:
New section being clamped and fitted into position:
New section welded in:
Nice, new, solid steel:
Better than new and ready for body to be re-installed:
I had the same frame rust, but I pulled the body to fix it right:
Here are the before shots:
I pulled the frame and sandblasted the areas before cutting the entire frame sections out. I welded in stiffening bars to keep the frame straight and correctly positioned while the frame sections were cut and welded:
First rusty section cut out:
New section being clamped and fitted into position:
New section welded in:
Nice, new, solid steel:
Better than new and ready for body to be re-installed:
Lars
Nice Lars. These photos show exactly what I'd be concerned about "not seeing". Better to acknowledge there is maybe more than you know wrong and take the time and fix completely and not have come back to haunt you. Removing the body is not as big a deal as one would expect. It does make repairing/replacing things a lot easier.
Good luck with your repair bud.
Nice Lars. These photos show exactly what I'd be concerned about "not seeing". Better to acknowledge there is maybe more than you know wrong and take the time and fix completely and not have come back to haunt you. Removing the body is not as big a deal as one would expect. It does make repairing/replacing things a lot easier.
Good luck with your repair bud.
Yes. Agreed.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this. The same concern occurred to me... what am I not seeing? I’ve made up my mind that I will pull the body when this season is over.
As it turns out, and I didn’t know this, the fellow neighbor is a professional welder has been working on offshore rigs, etc. I guess I get lucky every now and then.
My plan is to the best job we can for now, thanks to my neighbor’s expertise. When it’s time to quit for the season, I’ll pull the body. Then I’ll go through the frame (check if it is straight), weld as necessary, replace the body mounts, POR-15 the entire thing and be done with it. (Replace the brake lines while I’m at it ?)
This will allow me to enjoy driving the car some and in the meantime I will:
a. learn how to weld and
b. plan how I am going to pull the body in this small garage of mine.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this. The same concern occurred to me... what am I not seeing? I’ve made up my mind that I will pull the body when this season is over.
As it turns out, and I didn’t know this, the fellow neighbor is a professional welder has been working on offshore rigs, etc. I guess I get lucky every now and then.
My plan is to the best job we can for now, thanks to my neighbor’s expertise. When it’s time to quit for the season, I’ll pull the body. Then I’ll go through the frame (check if it is straight), weld as necessary, replace the body mounts, POR-15 the entire thing and be done with it. (Replace the brake lines while I’m at it ?)
This will allow me to enjoy driving the car some and in the meantime I will:
a. learn how to weld and
b. plan how I am going to pull the body in this small garage of mine.
BTW, how heavy is the body?
I believe the body is around 800 lbs. empty. You can remove it in a variety of ways, Gantry lift (which I used) or engine lift as examples with the correct strap(s). When you get to that point there are of course things to detach from the body/frame connections. Just post the question(s) and you'll be on your way.
BTW, learning to weld "correctly" takes a long time and is not to be considered easy. I do see some welds on this forum that make me cringe.
Frame rust !!! Wherefore ?
