Hi C7 drivers and mechanics,
my name is Daniel from northern Germany. I own a C7 Z06 with a front damage. I checked the main frame and all looks fine and ready to weld the front extention rails to the impact bar and main frame.

In the attached photo you can see one bar already sticking in the main frame. Question is: how to measure, align the rails? In the manual I could only find the number 886,85mm from bold to bold within the rails, but nothing about how deep to put them into the main frame. Until the inner stop of the main frame? Are there more numbers for measuring and control?

Kind regards,
Daniel

 

My Rebuilt Salvage Part 2! - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion

Contact the guy ("Luke42_02") who rebuilt the C7, maybe he has some info.

 

Thank you

 

this might help, i remembering watching some videos awhile back about these guys brings back to life one.

 

Thank you. Will also build this long measuring tool.

 

Thanks for getting my attention guys. This is a pretty easy one hopefully. If everything is undamaged, you just slide the new piece in until it stops when it hits the back of the female receiver on the frame.

There can be a bit of trouble if the “hole” the new part goes in is a little wallowed out and there is some play. In that case, I would still push it in until it hits the back of the compartment then I would adjust it slightly (up, down, left, right, but not in/out) to the best of my ability and make sure it’s level with the other side. Remember, the floor of your garage is probably not level, so account for that. There would only be a few millimeters of play if that were the case and I’m fairly confident the body panels have enough adjustment that you can adjust it out if you get the angle slightly wrong. As long as the main frame is not bent, hitting the back of that compartment is probably your best guide as far as getting it in there straight.

There was a point in my second rebuild that I had convinced myself I had blown the angle on one of the frame horns by 1-2 degrees and needed to grind the thing down and start over. I was so angry and literally screaming profanity in my garage at 2am. My dad took a look at it the next day eyeballed it, and said “if it’s off, it’s not off by much, I’d just go with it.” I did and the whole car came together beautifully. It helps to have an experienced hand to look things over if you’re getting a little neurotic and trying to make everything too perfect.

If you ever need me, you can reach me at Lukerecords at gmail.com. Or call me at 316 304 2911. If I don’t answer, send another one.

Remember, I’m just an amateur working my way through things the same way you are, so take my advice at your own risk.

PS, This is a very nice feature of the C7 Corvette. The current gen Suburban is not like this and you have to guess how far in/out to weld the frame horn and it’s a terrible pain. The C7 is the easiest to rebuild of all modern cars that I have ever tried, almost like they designed it to be easy to rebuild.

Thanks for watching the channel. If you haven’t found it yet, there is a video on there regarding welding these frame horns.

 

Thank you Luke for your inputs. I can go on now. :-)

 

I would ad if its possible to put the car on a frame rack so you kn ow its perfectly level slide the horns in and tack in place. then you can take it home and weld it up knowing its square and in the proper position so everything else lines up. the rest of the build is based off the square of those horns

 

If you have access to a frame rack, that’s an excellent plan. When I first did it I wanted a frame shop to do all the frame welding for me. I called every shop in town begging them to take the job, but they all basically said they were up to their necks in easier work and didn’t want to do mine so I had to learn to do it myself. One told me it would be 6 months, one said: “Sir, I’m not sure who told you that you could do this, but that car will never be safe for humans to ride in again.” If he said it was a dumb idea and not worth it, I might have agreed with him, but come on man, we put people on the moon, humanity can get this job done if we really want to.

The GM repair manual makes reference to some sort of laser spatial positioning system that you use to make sure it’s positioned correctly, but I’m sure that costs even more than a frame rack.

 

Hi all,
thank you for your infos. I think after two full restaurations (68 Mustang and 79 Trans Am), 20 years in metal work and a few welding certificates I can estimate a good weldseam from a bad one. Working with 3D lasers and building racks with marked "zerolines" is not a problem. It is more the fact, that I can not find too much measurements for the car for alignment. Also the professionals needs this numbers to align the cars.

Greetings...Daniel

P.s. here in Germany is only one real specialist for Corvettes. A few GM dealers also send their cars to this workshop. But he is more then 500 miles away. He would be the only one next to me who I trust to do this. So I will try it by myself. Last cars all got the note "A" in surveys and insurance inspections. Time will solve all problems. And the other benefit: additional wisom with every project:-)

 

I would slide the new bar in then reassemble the remainder of the car including fenders, bumper, and hood. In doing that you will shift the bar where it needs to be. While assembled apply a small weld or adhesive to stop it from moving. Then remove enough pieces to complete the proper weld. I assume you have the proper equipment not just “a welder.”

we went through a similar process replacing the windshield frame on my C7. Clamped things in place. Installed the removable roof panel, front fender and entire door. You only get one shot with the adhesive on the windshield frame. It’s not welded.

 

Thank you for your hint. Yes I know where to rent a pulsed MIG welder for alloy for a weekend. My own welder is a migatronic, but steel only. (All other projects were steel until now). :-)