there are a couple of frames on ebay right now!! If it was me i would find one locally so there are NO suprises later. ...redvetracr

 

I hear ya loud and clear!!

:thumbs:

 

I hate it for you bro'.

There is nothing worse than the buyers remorse you feel when you get your dream car and are really let down.

Mine had a horrible oil leak from the fuel pump the day it rolled off the truck. Seller swore it didn't have it when it left his house. Ha Ha. He even emailed digital pics of his driveway where it was parked that showed the normal few drops from the rear main that was also leaking. Two weeks later the starter went, and so on and so on. You get the picture.

I have had my car 9 mos. and have more repair dollars in it than I have put miles on the odometer (>$1500). 2 weeks ago the engine developed a knock, so it is coming out for a rebuild. And, while it is out, I am going to Jet Hot coat the headers, rechrome the valve covers, clean up the engine bay, put in a Centerforce DF, and on and on.

I respect Shannon's opinion (sb69coupe), but I think most of us here have more in our C3's than they are worth. That is just part of it. I know I will have at least $5-6K more in mine than it is worth. Mine is a NOM car, and there just seems to be a ceiling for these BB roadsters without matching #'s regardless of how nice they are. I think my car is nice and it will soon be nicer, but I am not going to be to far from matching numbers prices when it is all done.

I sure as @%&! cant sell it the way that it is now. So I am going to fix it right and enjoy it. What else can you do?

Good luck and keep your head up.

 

Hi Hudman! :seeya While it's true that nearly all of us have more money sunk into our C3's than we can get for them, RCB69L36 may not have jumped over the cliff just yet :D My only point here is to step back and try to limit the emotion that clouds these choices we make. Look at the bottom line $$$ and decide if it makes sense to start down this path with this particular car. I wish I'd have done just that when I got started on my project.

I don't know what he paid for his car, but for the sake of argument lets say $14k which is probably ballpark for a NOM '69 vert. In his other posts he has stated that the car needs rear suspension work, a paint job, radiator support, body mounts, carb work, etc. Now he finds that it needs frame repair and we don't know yet about the birdcage. Let's look at the costs of just these repairs alone, then try to estimate the "while I'm in there" additions that are bound to happen along the way.

Frame: $2k
Rear suspension: $1k
Paint: $4k
Core Support $500
Carb and related tuning $500

Figure 50% adder for "while I'm in there" stuff like new emblems, rechroming, brake/fuel lines, etc. There's $12k worth of additional work, putting the total investment at $26k.

My arguement is that for $26k he can purchase a much more desirable car than what this car will be after all these repairs are completed. One which has the original motor, and has likely been restored and probably passed through NCRS or Bloomington judging. If a NOM driver is the desired outcome rather than a numbers car, $26k will buy a near-perfect big block car in my opinion.

I know I wish I would have stepped back and taken a realistic approach when deciding what to do with my '69. After all the work I've done, it's still a NOM coupe with plenty of repaired fiberglass from prior parking lot damage. For what I've got into it I could be driving around in a killer big block matching numbers convertible.

Just my $0.02 worth.

 

I have a C3 frame, from a '74.
My wife will pay for its removal from our "shop".
What Midget said is correct. :yesnod:

But if your gonna fix it come get this sucker and use it up.

 

Hey Shannon! I completely agree with you.

It is very easy to get started with these things and get carried away.

I did not realize that the car needed a lot of other work. I missed those posts.

My thought process was that if it was his dream car and it only needed a frame repair, then being underwater several thousand is not the end of the world.

As we all know, these things just kinda snowball. I have thought about dumping my car a few times. Those thoughts last about 3 seconds, and then I say, "naw, I love this car. A few hundred more and she will be great" A few hundred turns into a lot more and then boom, your engine goes, or your frame is rusted out.

I agree with your point. Sorry I was not clearer. There is no point in having a fortune in a small block NOM vert, unless of course you just never plan on selling it.

When I bought my thought process was to buy a good car at a fair price. If I had to move it quick because of some sort of personal tragedy (loss of job etc.) then I could probably break even or just lose a little. If I lost some, who cares. Look at the fun and enjoyment I had with it. But that thought process was obviously jaded as it no longer holds water.

I was always told to buy the car that had been restored already. Let someone else spend the money on it and take the loss.

RCB69L36 should consider patching that thing up and cutting his losses. If he is going to have $25K+ in getting it right (and your budget excluded putting a BB in didn't it?-he will be up over $30K) for a NOM car, then that it is way to much. He could have the real thing for that.

This is a great thread. We all deal with these issues and concerns. I feel for RCB69L36. There can be nothing worse.

Hudman


[Modified by hudman, 3:44 PM 2/8/2003]

 

If you are still looking for a frame, check this out. They have a picture of a frame leaning against a truck. Don't know what year or how much, but it may be worth a look.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=488786

Good Luck

 

Now remember that if you're looking for a complete frame to just clean up and put on the car the 68-73 frames are different than the 74-82's. And as far as that goes the 78 (I think) to 82's are different from the 74-78's. The chrome bumper frames are completely different from about the rear shock mounts back than the later model frames, then the 80's versions had a different differential crossmember mounting than the earlier models. BUT......(here's where people call me crazy):
If you are into metal fabrication you can weld the back of a chrome bumper frame onto the front 3/4 of a newer model frame and it will work. I've done it a few times. The thing that is gained from this is that there are plenty of later model C3 frames that are rust free and selling for that $500 range, and the rear section of the chrome bumper frame doesn't rust out very often, so you can put the two together and have a frame without spending the $1500 and up for a chrome bumper frame.

-Justin

 

Hey Shannon! I completely agree with you.

It is very easy to get started with these things and get carried away.

I did not realize that the car needed a lot of other work. I missed those posts.

My thought process was that if it was his dream car and it only needed a frame repair, then being underwater several thousand is not the end of the world.

As we all know, these things just kinda snowball. I have thought about dumping my car a few times. Those thoughts last about 3 seconds, and then I say, "naw, I love this car. A few hundred more and she will be great" A few hundred turns into a lot more and then boom, your engine goes, or your frame is rusted out.

I agree with your point. Sorry I was not clearer. There is no point in having a fortune in a small block NOM vert, unless of course you just never plan on selling it.

When I bought my thought process when I bought was to buy a good car at a fair price. If I had to move it quick because of some sort of personal tragedy (loss of job etc.) then I could probably break even or just lose a little. If I lost some, who cares. Look at the fun and enjoyment I had with it. But that thought process was obviously jaded as it no longer holds water.

I was always told to buy the car that had been restored already. Let someone else spend the money on it and take the loss.

RCB69L36 should consider patching that thing up and cutting his losses. If he is going to have $25K+ in getting it right (and your budget excluded putting a BB in didn't it?-he will be up over $30K) for a NOM car, then that it is way to much. He could have the real thing for that.

This is a great thread. We all deal with these issues and concerns. I feel for RCB69L36. There can be nothing worse.

Hudman

 

Thanks Brad, I have posted these for a friend, he also has another very clean 82 frame arriving on Monday. Give him a call at (519) 938-8498, he is a vette specialist so he knows his business very well.

 

sb69coupe

:seeya

I'm with you on what you're saying. Let's just say that I did not pay $14k for the car. A little less than 2/3 of that to be exact (you do the math :D ).

I'm looking at probably another 10K in it with everything I've got listed so far. AND, if I can find someone to offset the cost of a 427, I'll be close to numbers matching.

So, I just need to take it slow and figure out what I want to do. It's too cold outside to enjoy the car right now, but I don't want to rush into anything right now, without having a larger garage to work on it and without a timeline on how soon I can enjoy the car.

Realistically, I wasn't planning on any long trips (except the cruise-in, which I think needs to be scrapped this year). So, do I trust it enough to drive it around town and have a LITTLE fun before taking on a rebuild? Maybe so.

If I can trust it through fall, I'm hoping to be in a larger garage and have things settled down in my life to undertake such a project.

We'll see.

I appreciate the fact that you have kept up so well on my posts and what I am looking to do on my car. I'm impressed. I can't keep everyone straight out here, yet.

:cheers:

 

Bama,

Are you serious??

How much are you asking?

Any pics? What kind of shape is the frame in? Is it from an automatic or 4-speed?

I migth just be interested, but would need to find a way to transport it to the Chicago area if we work a deal and it's suitable for my application.

:thumbs:

 

Most of us have felt your pain. Some more than others.
My 75 was WASTED with rot. Luckily - it was a 75 - and I only paid $4k for it.

The frame rot was BAD - but what really did me in was the birdcage.
Before you thin kabout buying or transporting a frame, make sure you want
to follow through with this. Experience would show that a frame in as bad a
shape as you descibe would indicate similar issues with the birdcage.

Take a look at my website for some scary pictures (under 75 pics).
A quick and easy way to get an indication is to look inside the door
pillar - behind the front kick panels. Just pull them off and look in where
the #2 body mount is. Steel or rot ? Similarly, you can remove the access
panel that is in the rear wheel well - just in front of the tire. Look in here
to see the #3 body mount area. If these two areas look pretty solid,
then you have something to work with. The windshield frame is another
issue - but more easily fixed than the bottom of the birdcage.

Finally, I decided that I needed a used frame and birdcage. As luck would
have it, I was contacted by a local fellow that saw my desparate posts in here.
He emailed me - and a few weeks later I was the pround owner of a solid
rolling chassis and a decent rear body clip from a '70. $1200. Of course, there
is much restoration to do - but isn't there always something ?

I'm guessing your frame looks something like mine:
More concealed is the potential for frame rot near the #2 mounts under the body seals (foam thingys)

 

If you got a car that looks that good and you were able to drive it home for less than $10k...
congratulations! I would have bought it too.

 

Robert, Check out a comapny called Caledonia Classics, in Caledonia, MI they sell and I think are the manufacturers of replacement frame sections that would allow you to do the repairs to your existing frame. Let me know if you need more info. I might still have a catalog that I could send you.

 

Thanks a bunch, guys. Keep the ideas coming. At this point, if I can find a decent solution for under $1500, I'll be a somewhat happy camper.


:crazy:

I'll call your friend on Monday and see if he can keep his eyes out for a solution.

 

Can't find them on the Internet, so if you still have a catalog for them, or even a phone number I can contact them at, shoot me an e-mail at rbasting@nospam.wideopenwest.com (take out the nospam.)

Thanks.

 

Dave,

Great pics!!

I haven't dug into the birdcage, yet and I'm hoping that it's not nearly as bad.

What am I thinking, of course it's going to be as bad.

Everyone say a few prayers to the corvette gods that it's not as bad as the frame.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

 

Less than 2/3's of $14K.

Sounds like to me that you did OK on your purchase. That is a deal!

What do you need to do to it other than the frame problems?

 

Well,

It really does need new paint after everything else.

Short list:

Radiator support
Door hinges
Rear spring and shocks
Possibly new trailing arms
Convertible top
Troubleshoot wipers and wiper door
Body mounts
Some weatherstripping

That's just the short list. Little things like new window cranks are not included in the list.

Wish list:

Original 427 BB to replace the 350/350. The 350 is freshly rebuilt, so that would be the very last thing.

If I do a body-off, I know I want stainless steel brake lines and fuel lines.

What's that sounds I hear.

Ka-ching, ka-ching. :eek: :D