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Birdcage Replacment on 78 SA

tscott8201

New member
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Messages
3
Location
Florida
Corvette
1978 SA C3
Hello everyone. I'm going to be documenting my process for replacing the entire birdcage assembly on my 1978 corvette. I bought this car back in 2003 while I was in college with the intention to do a complete frame off restoration and transform the car into a restomod type car. I made pretty good progress for a few years but when I graduated 2006 the car went into storage and not much has been done since due to life. Well, I'm back at it and I'm starting by tackling the biggest issue the car has. Rust! Lots of Rust.

I've been working all week to get the nose off and just this weekend I managed to remove the firewall.

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As you can see, the rust in the hinge pillars is extensive and the extends well into the rocker panels. This week I'm going to work on removing the rear clip.

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I've purchased a solid birdcage out of a 76 corvette from a guys who's done these kinds of swaps a number of times. The 76 birdcage is basically the same cage as a 78 with a few minor differences like the dash support and some brackets in the rear to support the doors for the battery compartment and storage bin. It appears most of these bits and pieces are just additions spot welded on to the same inner structure. Once I get the rear clip removed, I'll try to get some side by side shots showing the differences.

Tom
 
Quite an ambitious project. It's amazing what you find once you get the fiberglass panels off.

Tom
 

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