Someone told me the body of a 1966 Corvette and 1969 Corvette look totally different - but - you could swap a 1969 frame into a 1966 because they're basically the same-same. True for C2 and C3, or is the guy full of it?

If true, can you think of any other examples of a cars looking totally different but what's underneath is basically the same-same? I know about Firebird and Camaro. Thinking about within the same product lineup, like two Corvettes. This ever happen?

 

More or less, yes they are the same. From 1963 until 1982 they share basically the same design. There were braces added in 1969 to increase the stiffness, and in ‘73, ‘74, and ‘75 there were changes on the ends to comply with the federal crash test standards. In 1980 they were thinned slightly to reduce weight. With some work you can definitely make any frame interchange if you needed to. A lot of the front suspension bits were borrowed from many other GM full size cars as well.

Badge engineering is done across all brands, but GM is notorious for it. Almost every GMC is a rebadged Chevy. The 2000’s GTO, the G8, and the Chevy SS are all just Holden Commodores with different badges. The new Supra is a rebadged BMW Z4. The Fiat 124 is a Miata. The Volkswagen Routan is a Grand Caravan. The Alfa Romeo Tonale is a Dodge Hornet. The Hyundai Pallisade is a Kia Telluride!

 

Great first question. And welcome aboard, we are full of information, some useful...and some useless. But we are full of it. Tell us about your car, and pictures are required.

 

Nothing much to tell, Me? Certified car queer.

The Corvette? She's a 1969 350/350. Nothing special, a driver versus a show car.

Top down, favorite view.


Few other oddities to include a 1974 P30, 1969 Silver Shadow, 1972 350SL, and the sheep in wolf's clothing, a 1973 240Z dressed up as a Ferrari GTO.

Been the caretaker +20 years, named baby because all-white Moby is much larger . . . bought for a move, and turned out far too handy to sell




Grandson once referred to her as Tootsie - for her color's resemblance to that of a Tootsie Roll - and it stuck!




The hard top more usually lives on a hoist hanging from the ceiling so this is an especially rare view.




Lulu (240Z beneath the skin) in the garage, presently neglected, and perched on wheel dollies

. . . common thread? Other than my daily driver, I can mess with them all sans any computer tech! So none are particularly rare or valuable, but they bring me a great deal of pleasure. Anyway, I hope I fit in with the rest of you guys.
--
John

 

Welcome to The Corvette Forum jbeech! This THE place to be if you have either questions or issues with a C3 Corvette. We are glad you have chosen to join us here at the Corvette Forum! We can all learn from each other and save time and money working on our Corvettes!

I have a 1968 C3 Convertible BB Corvette built in early October of 1967. Many of the parts from the 1967 BB carried over and were used up before switching to the new years parts. My C3 has several parts on the radiator area that all carried over from the C2's. Several Corvette experts inspected my car and they determined that the parts were original to my C3 even though they were C2 parts used in the BB Corvettes.

To answer your question, yes, I believe the frames are similar enough for the late C2's and the early C3's to swap. You could use a 1967 C2 frame under my 1968 C3 and it would be the same. At least on the 1968 model C3 it would work.

 

Hmm, I didn't know that. 🤔

 

yes its true for 67 to 68, the radiator supports are different , the front suspention and steering is the same is the same, radiators were the same on big blocks and transmission and rear ends didnt change. The 68 was bigger and heavier body and when they put more power in it the frame twisted enough that the rear kick ups were added. All 68s hoods would pop open going across railroad tracks and it takes quite a bit of adjusting to get it to nearly stop, but it never goes away. My buddies Dad told me that when I first met them both to buy some parts from him. I ended up eating breakfast with them and he told me a lot of stories, one of which was driving his 68 off the lot, down the street across some tracks and turning around and going back to the dealer for them to adjust that hood. They never got it perfect either.

 

Hello again Rescue Rogers!

I have owned a 1968 C3 for 33+ years and I have never, ever had my hood "open" or pop loose while driving across railroad tracks. I have driven my C3 on many types of surfaces and conditions and never had any hood pops under any conditions. This is the first time I have even heard of this happening.

The 1967 Convertible C2 weighed 3183 lbs. and the 1968 C3 convertible weighed 3210 lbs. for a grand total of27 pounds difference. I am not so sure that the body of the C3 made that big of a difference as they are so close. Like I said they found several 1967 BB radiator parts on my C3 but they assumed that they were using up the old stock before switching to the newer parts. They had been there since the car was assembled in St. Louis back in October of 1967

I LOVE my 1968 C3 Corvette! It has been an incredible car to drive and enjoy for the past decades. It can and will still scare the hell out of me with it's abilities and speed.

Thank you for being a great supplier of "1968 C3 knowledge" to the folks on the forum! I learn from your posts quite regularly and enjoy reading them! Please don't be offended by my comments as that was not their intended purpose.

At some point we should make a list of the one-year items on our C3's and find sources that we can share with other 1968 C3 owners. For example, I need to replace the felt seals on my windows but was told that they were no longer available. Now there is a company who makes the seals for us and another one-year part made available again! This would really help the newer collectors when they buy a 1968 C3 like ours. By sharing how we resolved the replacement issues we can all benefit by sharing our knowledge. This could also save the newer collectors time and money which they can use in other ways to bring their 1968 Corvette back to life so they can enjoy it on the roads again.

Best regards,
Chris

 

The hood popping could just be convertibles because my door seams open up like a pocket knife when I put it on a lift. It was a discussion years ago with many folks chiming in with the same experience. WE did have 2 different threads going about the one year only parts, not sure where they disappeared to. Wish they were a sticky. One of them had aa pretty good list going.. One I forgot about was the tank door springs and locking mechanisms. 68 had a pinch spring for holding it up and pin, ball and detents to hold it down. The solution/ change was the spring that held them open and shut.

I did have a thread about converting my 68 to power windows. You can get the inner seal and felts, I think its just the outer seal thats not currently reproduced. The 68 has one year only glass and bottom slider as well. I also just swapped my front spindles to the larger 69 and larger spindles due to a brown pants experience with my drivers side wheel bearing seizing at 80 mph

As for the weight difference I have been told the passenger compartment is slightly wider of r the 68 and even more so for the 69 and later models. Could also be something to do with more hose and vacuum parts for the headlights. I would say everything about the frame and drivetrain was basically the same, just the body and glass was different as well as the birdcagea nd it being a T Top for the coupe