Frame straightening on a C5
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 156
Likes: 0
From: Manning SC
Frame straightening on a C5
Got into a conversation about cars and it got around to wrecks then fixing them. It was easy for me to understand on a 40 Ford but I realized I had no idea about a C5. I've seen new frames for a C3 but I'm embarrassed to say I don't know much about the C5 or C6 frames.
I think I've been thinking it was part of the car like a Porsche but that's not correct.
Is there a place online to look at the undercarriage and frame? Is it just a box? Can it be straightened, painted, and coated? I'd rather be embarrassed to ask than to keep being ignorant.
And I've looked with the search. I guess I don't know how to use it well. Way too many posts pop up.
I think I've been thinking it was part of the car like a Porsche but that's not correct.
Is there a place online to look at the undercarriage and frame? Is it just a box? Can it be straightened, painted, and coated? I'd rather be embarrassed to ask than to keep being ignorant.
And I've looked with the search. I guess I don't know how to use it well. Way too many posts pop up.
Last edited by vettesrgt8; Dec 10, 2008 at 05:40 PM. Reason: change email notification
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,821
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Here is a drawing of the frame. The car is not a unibody car.
Reference Number
Length (mm)
Width (mm)
Height (mm)
Hole Size
1
1335
223
723
10 mm
2
1207
430
566
13 mm hex
3
844
428
540
20 mm LH; 20x25 mm RH
4
569
520
739
22 mm
5
213
727
335
18x35 mm
6
1188
738
335
18x35 mm
7
1365
706
334
13 mm
8
1923
378
528
15 mm
9
2330
359
575
15 mm
10
2435
359
584
20 mm
11
2622
359
730
12 mm rail top
12
2731
75
572
10 mm
13
2731
75
572
10 mm
14
2293
359
575
20x25 mm
15
1552
643
362
13 mm
16
0
550
0
10 mm
17
336
432
447
15 mm
18
966
430
558
18 mm hex
19
1335
223
723
10 mm
Reference Number
Length (mm)
Width (mm)
Height (mm)
Hole Size
1
757
471
764
2
411
471
725
3
160
767
905
12 mm
4
160
768
864
9 mm
5
260
767
897
12 mm
6
245
771
762
50x70 mm
7
285
768
870
12 mm
8
945
577
1285
9
2049
450
707
13 mm
10
2341
451
705
13 mm
11
2195
467
708
55 mm
12
1923
378
528
15 mm
13
285
776
570
12 mm
14
244
774
547
15
160
771
805
Bill
Reference Number
Length (mm)
Width (mm)
Height (mm)
Hole Size
1
1335
223
723
10 mm
2
1207
430
566
13 mm hex
3
844
428
540
20 mm LH; 20x25 mm RH
4
569
520
739
22 mm
5
213
727
335
18x35 mm
6
1188
738
335
18x35 mm
7
1365
706
334
13 mm
8
1923
378
528
15 mm
9
2330
359
575
15 mm
10
2435
359
584
20 mm
11
2622
359
730
12 mm rail top
12
2731
75
572
10 mm
13
2731
75
572
10 mm
14
2293
359
575
20x25 mm
15
1552
643
362
13 mm
16
0
550
0
10 mm
17
336
432
447
15 mm
18
966
430
558
18 mm hex
19
1335
223
723
10 mm
Reference Number
Length (mm)
Width (mm)
Height (mm)
Hole Size
1
757
471
764
2
411
471
725
3
160
767
905
12 mm
4
160
768
864
9 mm
5
260
767
897
12 mm
6
245
771
762
50x70 mm
7
285
768
870
12 mm
8
945
577
1285
9
2049
450
707
13 mm
10
2341
451
705
13 mm
11
2195
467
708
55 mm
12
1923
378
528
15 mm
13
285
776
570
12 mm
14
244
774
547
15
160
771
805
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; Dec 10, 2008 at 10:11 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,217
Likes: 5
From: Stark County Ohio
Click the web link below for photos of the C5 Chassis and drive train.
The C5 has a VERY STIFF chassis. Basically it has two one-piece hydro-formed frame rails that run the entire length of the car, bumper to bumper. The floor pan/firewall along with large gussets, front and rear sub frames, cowl & windshield assembly, and the rear roof support make up the “chassis/frame”.
http://corvetteactioncenter.com/gall...php/photo/1849
The C5 has a VERY STIFF chassis. Basically it has two one-piece hydro-formed frame rails that run the entire length of the car, bumper to bumper. The floor pan/firewall along with large gussets, front and rear sub frames, cowl & windshield assembly, and the rear roof support make up the “chassis/frame”.
http://corvetteactioncenter.com/gall...php/photo/1849
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,821
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,451
Likes: 2
From: East Peoria Illinois
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 156
Likes: 0
From: Manning SC
I would think the roof gives it a lot more stiffness. Jamison's says the body in near monoque in its construction. The lack of the targa or convertible part would be a big change in the overall stiffness but that's just my educated guess and not a fact.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,217
Likes: 5
From: Stark County Ohio
A solid roof panel is permanently bolted in place on the production line (in place of a removable roof as in the coupe). The roof ties the rear roll bar (or “halo” or whatever you wish to call it) to the windshield/cowl assembly. This only enhances the structural stiffness of an already solid design.
The basic chassis was designed from the start (with extra stiffness) to be a convertible. The C5 chassis was designed to NOT require any additional frame stiffening sub structure as a convertible.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,821
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
The FRC (and Z06) are the stiffest of all.
A solid roof panel is permanently bolted in place on the production line (in place of a removable roof as in the coupe). The roof ties the rear roll bar (or “halo” or whatever you wish to call it) to the windshield/cowl assembly. This only enhances the structural stiffness of an already solid design.
The basic chassis was designed from the start (with extra stiffness) to be a convertible. The C5 chassis was designed to NOT require any additional frame stiffening sub structure as a convertible.
A solid roof panel is permanently bolted in place on the production line (in place of a removable roof as in the coupe). The roof ties the rear roll bar (or “halo” or whatever you wish to call it) to the windshield/cowl assembly. This only enhances the structural stiffness of an already solid design.
The basic chassis was designed from the start (with extra stiffness) to be a convertible. The C5 chassis was designed to NOT require any additional frame stiffening sub structure as a convertible.
The coupe is very stiff already and the roof frame bolted between the halo and the windshield header in the FRC and the Z make them even stiffer. You can jack one corner of a C5 and lift 3 wheels off the ground and still be able to easily open and close the doors. Try that with some other cars on the market.
Bill
