Help! 1961 C1 Body Removal

[Ciccio]

Hi All,
I am a new member having just taken delivery of a 1961 C1 Corvette.
It has had a down to "bare Fibreglass" respray a few months ago.
I would like to take the body off and completely restore and clean up the chassis etc.
Can anyone point me in the right direction with the process/and or available technical literature and in particular where the chassis bolts are?
Thankyou.
Ciccio.

 

[mailmaninvette]

C1 Removing the body from the frame on a 62


plans for corvette body cart - Google Search


body lift - 1957 Corvette - YouTube





Roy

 

[Tosatto]

Hi All,
I am a new member having just taken delivery of a 1961 C1 Corvette.
It has had a down to "bare Fibreglass" respray a few months ago.
I would like to take the body off and completely restore and clean up the chassis etc.
Can anyone point me in the right direction with the process/and or available technical literature and in particular where the chassis bolts are?
Thankyou.
Ciccio.

Hello Ciccio,
Are you italian? I just wonder this because my english is not very good... so.
I may help you for many steps because I am ending a full restoration (chassis off) on my 1961 corvette.
If you wish you can take a look on a short video (body drop timelapse) by this link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsGglGCO6qI
I saw that Roy sent you some links, those helped you?
First thing I will hardly recommend to you is to take many pictures of all parts before removing them, even when it seems to be too easy with the time you will forget how it was made and you will loose many time searching about stupid details.
Second thing is to check what is right and what was modified along the plus 50 years. Also make separates boxes (like radiator area etc.) with the old parts and never trow them before ending the whole work.
Buy an ST12 book you will find it in many corvette parts sellers websites.
About screw, bolts, nuts, shims etc. the old one are a treasure if possible give those to a person that can restore them, because in most of the cases when you buy new hardware it is not exactly as it was as original... and it will be a lot more expansive! Also take pictures with the parts that where attached with.
For electrical wire take again pictures and write on scotch where it was connected, buy all new wires it will save you the nightmare of having the car on fire.
The body is attached on the chassis with 12 bolts, 8 are under the carpet and the rear seat area, 2 in the trunk under two sides plates holded by two screws and 2 are in front under the radiator support, these are the only bolts sustaining the whole front body. Save the shims to remember how many where in place but buy a new set.
One of the worse part to take away from the car should be the rear bumper bracket the one which is across the whole rear but it is doable...
Before going forward I will wait on your reaction to know if you have found it useful.

Best regards,
Ferry

 

[Ciccio]

Hello Ciccio,
Are you italian? I just wonder this because my english is not very good... so.
I may help you for many steps because I am ending a full restoration (chassis off) on my 1961 corvette.
If you wish you can take a look on a short video (body drop timelapse) by this link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsGglGCO6qI
I saw that Roy sent you some links, those helped you?
First thing I will hardly recommend to you is to take many pictures of all parts before removing them, even when it seems to be too easy with the time you will forget how it was made and you will loose many time searching about stupid details.
Second thing is to check what is right and what was modified along the plus 50 years. Also make separates boxes (like radiator area etc.) with the old parts and never trow them before ending the whole work.
Buy an ST12 book you will find it in many corvette parts sellers websites.
About screw, bolts, nuts, shims etc. the old one are a treasure if possible give those to a person that can restore them, because in most of the cases when you buy new hardware it is not exactly as it was as original... and it will be a lot more expansive! Also take pictures with the parts that where attached with.
For electrical wire take again pictures and write on scotch where it was connected, buy all new wires it will save you the nightmare of having the car on fire.
The body is attached on the chassis with 12 bolts, 8 are under the carpet and the rear seat area, 2 in the trunk under two sides plates holded by two screws and 2 are in front under the radiator support, these are the only bolts sustaining the whole front body. Save the shims to remember how many where in place but buy a new set.
One of the worse part to take away from the car should be the rear bumper bracket the one which is across the whole rear but it is doable...
Before going forward I will wait on your reaction to know if you have found it useful.

Best regards,
Ferry

Hi Ferry,

Thanks for your advice and reply. Yes I am a second generation Italian, my father migrated to Australia form Italy in 1949.
I will be starting to prepare the body off procedure on my 61 Vette in a few weeks time. The body itself has bee recently completely resprayed so I do not want to damage that in any way, hopefully the procedure of actually removing the body is easy and hassle free. I will jeep you posted on my progress, thanks again for your advice.

Regards,
Ciccio.

 

[Tosatto]

Hi Ferry,

Thanks for your advice and reply. Yes I am a second generation Italian, my father migrated to Australia form Italy in 1949.
I will be starting to prepare the body off procedure on my 61 Vette in a few weeks time. The body itself has bee recently completely resprayed so I do not want to damage that in any way, hopefully the procedure of actually removing the body is easy and hassle free. I will jeep you posted on my progress, thanks again for your advice.

Regards,
Ciccio.

So I can tell you ciao Ciccio
I am also a second generation Italian but unfortunately my parents stopped the travel just above Italy so I live in Switzerland... but I have to say that it is a good country to live, maybe a bit less exotic than Australia.
When ever you need advice do not hesitate and good luck or buona fortuna!
Ferry (Ferruccio)

 

[Ciccio]

So I can tell you ciao Ciccio
I am also a second generation Italian but unfortunately my parents stopped the travel just above Italy so I live in Switzerland... but I have to say that it is a good country to live, maybe a bit less exotic than Australia.
When ever you need advice do not hesitate and good luck or buona fortuna!
Ferry (Ferruccio)

Ciao Ferrucio,
You live in a beautiful part of the world, I have visited a few times and I love the place. I find it strange that you are into the V8's, seems odd for Europe, I would have thought Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Lancia, Alfa Romeo etc. would be more the Swiss style? Of course the V8's are very common here in Australia as we are known as a "muscle" car country, what with the Falcón GTHO and the Monaro and Chrysler/Valiant Chargers.
In any case thanks and hopefully I will keep in touch with asking for advice and any other bits of handy information.
Ciao per adesso, e molto cosi belle!
Ciccio (Frank)

 

[Tosatto]

Ciao Ferrucio,
You live in a beautiful part of the world, I have visited a few times and I love the place. I find it strange that you are into the V8's, seems odd for Europe, I would have thought Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Lancia, Alfa Romeo etc. would be more the Swiss style? Of course the V8's are very common here in Australia as we are known as a "muscle" car country, what with the Falcón GTHO and the Monaro and Chrysler/Valiant Chargers.
In any case thanks and hopefully I will keep in touch with asking for advice and any other bits of handy information.
Ciao per adesso, e molto cosi belle!
Ciccio (Frank)

Hi Ciccio,
As the matter of fact in Switzerland there was quite a lot of american cars especially muscle cars. Near by Bern City there was even a GM factory that assembled cars for Europe. Mister Louis Chevrolet was born in the Jura mountains which I can see from my house, he went to USA and started Chevrolet in 1911, world is big and small at the same time...
Back in 80' the only way for us to drive powerful and V8 cars was to buy US cars, the european cars where too expensive and didn't had that “Bad boy look”. My first was a 1970 Camaro SS 350 what a pleasure for a guy aged of 20 years... Next I had a 1972 Dodge Challenger one of my favorite cars the sound was sooo good to ear. After that again a Camaro but 1972 which was full racing and I won a race in Monza against every brands even Porsche. I still have this car, you can see it in the video at the right of the garage. At the time these cars where all every day cars.
And finally the C1 Corvette 1961 which I bought to a doctor in Zürich, he is 2 meters high and when he received the car from Hawaii he realized that when he sat down in the car his head was outside the windshield...
I like some european cars but still today the one I wish to have are very expensive like Lamborghini Miura, Maserati 3500, Ferrari GTO and Type-E Jaguar (only olds) except for the Maserati Granturismo, I could have afford it (used not new) but I don't like to loose a lot of money when it comes to sell it. I have experienced it with a Mercedes CLS that I used for my job, never again... today I drive a Mini Countryman as a every day car, times have changed.
We don't have Falcon GTHO or Monaro (was that Monaco?) but Chrysler Charger/Challenger/Barracuda yes, Valiant only few, quite a lot of Ford Mustang, Cobra, Viper and of course Chevys.
In my side I was also surprised that you have a C1 Corvette in Australia... Have you had a lot of muscle cars?
Stammi bene, ciao
Ferry

 

[Mac]

I'm kind of surprised to read that muscle cars are popular in Switzerland. How cool is that?

Mac

 

[Tosatto]

I'm kind of surprised to read that muscle cars are popular in Switzerland. How cool is that?

Mac

Hello Mac, yes indeed it is very cool. At the time those cars where chip here so we could afford at least one, I have bought my first Camaro in 80' for only $ 2'500.00 but today it's another story...
I love the sentence in the bottom of your post, very funny and so true.

Ferry

 

[Mac]

Hello Mac, yes indeed it is very cool. At the time those cars where chip here so we could afford at least one, I have bought my first Camaro in 80' for only $ 2'500.00 but today it's another story...
I love the sentence in the bottom of your post, very funny and so true.

Ferry

Those kind of deals were available over here around the same time... and today, it's another story, indeed!!

Thank you. My attempt at humour.

Mac

 

[Ciccio]

Hi Ciccio,
As the matter of fact in Switzerland there was quite a lot of american cars especially muscle cars. Near by Bern City there was even a GM factory that assembled cars for Europe. Mister Louis Chevrolet was born in the Jura mountains which I can see from my house, he went to USA and started Chevrolet in 1911, world is big and small at the same time...
Back in 80' the only way for us to drive powerful and V8 cars was to buy US cars, the european cars where too expensive and didn't had that “Bad boy look”. My first was a 1970 Camaro SS 350 what a pleasure for a guy aged of 20 years... Next I had a 1972 Dodge Challenger one of my favorite cars the sound was sooo good to ear. After that again a Camaro but 1972 which was full racing and I won a race in Monza against every brands even Porsche. I still have this car, you can see it in the video at the right of the garage. At the time these cars where all every day cars.
And finally the C1 Corvette 1961 which I bought to a doctor in Zürich, he is 2 meters high and when he received the car from Hawaii he realized that when he sat down in the car his head was outside the windshield...
I like some european cars but still today the one I wish to have are very expensive like Lamborghini Miura, Maserati 3500, Ferrari GTO and Type-E Jaguar (only olds) except for the Maserati Granturismo, I could have afford it (used not new) but I don't like to loose a lot of money when it comes to sell it. I have experienced it with a Mercedes CLS that I used for my job, never again... today I drive a Mini Countryman as a every day car, times have changed.
We don't have Falcon GTHO or Monaro (was that Monaco?) but Chrysler Charger/Challenger/Barracuda yes, Valiant only few, quite a lot of Ford Mustang, Cobra, Viper and of course Chevys.
In my side I was also surprised that you have a C1 Corvette in Australia... Have you had a lot of muscle cars?
Stammi bene, ciao
Ferry

Hello Ferry,
Interesting to read that Mr "Chevy" himself was born so close to where you live, I knew he was of French descent but did not realise he was actually born on the French/Swiss border? Also interesting to read that you have done a bit of racing. My racing is limited to Track Days at our local Race circuit here in Adelaide. My highlight was in 2011 when I completed the three day "Pilota Course" at The "Pista Di Fiorano" ( Ferrari Test Track in Maranello Italy). This truly was a great experience both in honing my racing/driving skills and the sheer pleasure of being in Ferrari Territory. Apart from a few muscle cars that I own / have owned , I am also a Ferrari nut, currently owning a 458 Italia. Over the past 16 or so years I have owned and slowly upgraded/progressed starting with a 348 GTS, 355 GTS, 360 Modena, 355 Spyder, restored 308 GTS a V12 575 Maranello and now have a 2010 458 Italia.
In terms of muscle cars, back in the early eighties, I did own a 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 3, which in the year that they were built were the fastest four door production cars ever built. These cars were built in Australia and were about AUD $4,500.00 when new, very limited in supply and could only be sold to persons over 21, because of their sheer power. Recently these cars have gone absolutely stupid in value with collectors desperately wanting to get their hands on an original. Reportedly the most expensive one to sell was over AUD$750,000!!
My muscle cars at the moment consist of a beautifully restored 1968 Ford Mustang GT Convertible, and a 1970 Fiat 500 Bambino
My daily driver is a 2015 Volkswagen Touraeg Twin Turbo V8 Diesel, very economical with a heap of grunt, 250Kw/340Hp, not bad out of a vehicle weighing close to 2.3 tonne!
I have not started anything with the Vette resto process as I have had some small problems with receiving the car.
Will keep you posted as soon as we get going, probably not until the New Year now, XMAS is only around the corner.
All the best for now.
Ciccio.

 

[Tosatto]

Hello Ferry,
Interesting to read that Mr "Chevy" himself was born so close to where you live, I knew he was of French descent but did not realise he was actually born on the French/Swiss border? Also interesting to read that you have done a bit of racing. My racing is limited to Track Days at our local Race circuit here in Adelaide. My highlight was in 2011 when I completed the three day "Pilota Course" at The "Pista Di Fiorano" ( Ferrari Test Track in Maranello Italy). This truly was a great experience both in honing my racing/driving skills and the sheer pleasure of being in Ferrari Territory. Apart from a few muscle cars that I own / have owned , I am also a Ferrari nut, currently owning a 458 Italia. Over the past 16 or so years I have owned and slowly upgraded/progressed starting with a 348 GTS, 355 GTS, 360 Modena, 355 Spyder, restored 308 GTS a V12 575 Maranello and now have a 2010 458 Italia.
In terms of muscle cars, back in the early eighties, I did own a 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 3, which in the year that they were built were the fastest four door production cars ever built. These cars were built in Australia and were about AUD $4,500.00 when new, very limited in supply and could only be sold to persons over 21, because of their sheer power. Recently these cars have gone absolutely stupid in value with collectors desperately wanting to get their hands on an original. Reportedly the most expensive one to sell was over AUD$750,000!!
My muscle cars at the moment consist of a beautifully restored 1968 Ford Mustang GT Convertible, and a 1970 Fiat 500 Bambino
My daily driver is a 2015 Volkswagen Touraeg Twin Turbo V8 Diesel, very economical with a heap of grunt, 250Kw/340Hp, not bad out of a vehicle weighing close to 2.3 tonne!
I have not started anything with the Vette resto process as I have had some small problems with receiving the car.
Will keep you posted as soon as we get going, probably not until the New Year now, XMAS is only around the corner.
All the best for now.
Ciccio.

Yes indeed Mr. Chevy was a Swiss man from the french side (for those who didn't know there are 3 official languages in Switzerland, french, german and italian). Your experience at The Pista di Fiorano must be one of the must for a Ferrari nut and even for a simple car nut... I have to say that you have a lot of taste I like the 458 Italia a real “Puro sangue” and the others too of course!
At the time I had a small car business and I had to sold a Dino (around $30'000) and a 308 Ferrari (I don't recall the price) also a Lambo Urraco, so I could have drove some dream cars for free... I have never crossed a Falcon in Europe and even in US, if you had known that it could be so expensive today you will have keep the car I guess, like most of us.
Like the Mustang and the Bambino toooooo cute
Yes XMAS is around the corner so Buon Natale and Happy New Year!
All the best for you too.
Ferry

 

[Tosatto]

Hello Ciccio,

Have you started the restoration of your 61?

Regards,

Ferruccio