Birdcage rust repair input needed

[Islander]

OK, I have inspected most of the 66's birdcage and the following photos are by far the more severe of the damage:

Hre's the front passenger side hinge pillar (lower)

Here's the driver's side:

How much work will be required to fix this right? The bottom rails seem to be in very good shape on both sides but the lower pillars... well, you see them. Do I need to cut and add metal? What's required here?

 

[69MyWay]

I have done quite a bit of research on this. I may be tackling a midyear coupe fairly soon, with the same problems.

If you go to my home page www.mcspeed.homestead.com and look at my 69 Shark, you will see I slipped the birdcage out of that car, as well as a 71 vert, and there is a link to the 71 coupe I did the same. Now, this is apples to oranges, but should give you some idea of what is in there. The convertible looks much easier to tackle than the coupe.

In my research, I have yet to find anybody on the net that has given me encouragement to tackle the birdcage removal on the C2.

I feel it can be done with great results if pursues steady and careful.

Please link photos and descriptions as you proceed.

 

[Islander]

I have a question: are the hinge pillars supposed to be square (perpendicular) to the bottom u-rails or should they have a slight lean to the rear end of the cage? Mine have a slight lean back but the cowl fiberglass section is square to the rails, can anyone comfirm this either way?

 

[studiog]

You might want to contact 67heaven about this. He has a great site of his C-2 restoration including bird cage repair.

 

[magicv8]

If you love to work on Corvettes, or the car is incredibly rare or significant, replace the birdcage. IMO otherwise just weld in some reinforcement, paint it and drive it. Unless you buy clear glass fenders, no one will know.

A project as long as a birdcage replacement will keep you from driving the car for a long time. To me, that's all that matters.

 

[Islander]

OK, I did not get to blast but I did clean up the areas quite a bit, here is the passenger's side pillar, it's a little bit fuzzy but you get the idea:

Here is the driver's side pillar, ate straight through, left behind some weak metal:

I think the thing to do, which will produce the best result and give me the peace of mind I want, is to remove the birdcage from the body and repair and rust-proof it. It won't take that much more money and I'll still have plenty of time to complete this project in. Besides, 10 years down the road I won't be fretting about the birdcage falling apart. Here is a picture of what I plan on doing. I will cut the floorpan from one side to the other right at the pillars to remove the cowl area and then I will attempt to separate the rocker panel bonds to the floorpan (those are the arrows along the bonding seam). I have several repairs to make to the underside/rear of the tub so it will be easier to do with the body out in the open. Any ideas or feedback would be nice.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Aside from wishing you all the best, I'll just say, "Good thing you don't have a coupe. Now that would be a nightmare!"

Keep us posted.

 

[Islander]

Thanks, 67. I'll be keeping a diary of the project. When I have enough pictures I'll set up a website for it. I think there are a couple of good ones around I can use as template, don't you think?

 

[BLACK MOON]

Nothing you pictured seems excessive. I'd get a good welder to reweld it and move on. I hope and pray my 63 is that minor.
Just my opinion, it's your project.

 

[magicv8]

Get a welder and move on

I agree with Black Moon. IMO you intend to do more damage to the original body than the good that will result to the birdcage.

 

[wildmanc5]

heres my opinion concering your dillema.i would avoid opening up a big can of worms her by "not" attempting the complete removal of the cage.grind out as much of the surfaces with the heavy pitted rust and apply eithier a self etching primer like dupont 615s(PEA GREEN IN COLOR)or a epoxy primer to "try" to arrest further oxidation.on the areas that are rusted through,cut back about an inch;or as close as you can to some of the "meatier" steel,get the thinned out edges cut out;than take some paper,trace over the outline of the infected area,than transfer that pattern to a steel patch of approx the same thickness as the base metal of your hinge pillars,mig weld it into position to fill the void,grind smooth with a roloc disc,apply the aforementioned primer coats and apply some chassis paint,hardened acrylic enamel,or undercoating to the repaired sites.you can get real precise and make the repair flush or just overlay the "hole" with a patch panel,than spray on the top coats of your choice.don't be concerned with grinding out "all of the pitted rust,or else you will just keep making the site bigger and bigger.it all depends on your level of metal working,painting skills and the degree of detail that you want to acheive from the finished product,you can apply a skim coat of polyester body filler over the primered repaired sites as well for a nice appearence,should someone want to get nosy down there with a close up inspection.undercoat will conceal these areas from prying eyes.this repair will sustain you for many years to come.as long as your vette is a driver and you're not into any ncrs action for it to come under that kind of scruntiny,this is how i would proceed with this repair.good luck!!!

 

[Islander]

Thanks for the feedback, folks. I still have not made up my mind as to removing the cage and probably won't until I talk to a good automotive welder here in central Florida. Hopefully one that may have done this kind of repair before. I may find out more info at the Orlando NCRS meet in a couple of weeks.

 

[wildmanc5]

SAY PAL,HOW DO YOU THINK THAT "YOU" ARE GOING TO PERFORM SUCH A RADICAL OPERATION AS R & R A BIRDCAGE ON YOUR VETTE IF YOU CAN'T WELD,WORK WITH METAL ETC.YOUR CHANCES OF PROCURING SOMEONE "THAT KNOWS" WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO PERFORM THIS FOR YOU ARE ABOUT SLIM TO NONE,AS EVEN IF "SOMEONE" WOULD AGREE TO HANDLE THIS EXTREME REPAIR(BIRDCAGE REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT) FOR YOU,THE COST TO DO SO WOULD LIKELY EXCEED THE COST OF YOUR ENTIRE CAR.IF "YOU" CAN'T COMPLETE THE PROCEDURE AS I HAVE OUTLINED IT,THAN YOUR NEXT BEST OPTION IS TO HIRE A RESPECTABLE RESTORATION COMPANY OR A COLLISION CENTER TO PERFORM THE "REPAIR" FOR YOU.THE RUST DOESN'T KNOW THAT ITS IN A CORVETTE ,RUST IS RUST,AND HOW IT IS "REPAIRED" IS THE SAME ON A VETTE AS IT IS FOR A TRUCK,TRAIN OR SHIP.THAN EITHER UNLOAD THE CAR AND PURCHASE ANOTHER MODEL WITH SIMILIAR FEATURES AS THIS ONE,MINUS THE "CANCER" OPTION OR GET THIS ONE TOGETHER AND ENJOY IT.WHOM EVER PUT THIS IDEA INTO YOUR MIND OF A CAGE REPLACEMENT IS EITHER INEPT OR IS JUST MESSING WITH YOUR HEAD,BECAUSE WHAT TOU HAVE HERE IS A RELATIVELY MINOR REPAIR.IT MAY SEEM LIKE A TUFF METAL REPAIR TO YOU,BUT THATS ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE IN THIS TYPE OF WORK.DOING THE BIRD CAGE LIKE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IS OVERKILL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE HERE.SINCE YOU DIDN'T STATE HOW YOU INTEND TO USE THE CAR,I.E. DRIVER,SHOW,POINTS CAR,ETC,I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT ITS A CRUISER,IN THAT CASE ITS NOT FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE TO CONSIDER A TRANSPLANT,JUST PERFORM THE "BYPASS SURGERY" AND FORGET ABOUT IT.THE NEXT TIME THAT YOU GO TO PURCHASE AN OLD CAR LIKE THIS,DO YOURSELF A FAVOR ;SO THAT YOU DON'T GET SCREWED AGIN;PAY A COMPETENT CORVETTE SPECIALIST TO PERFORM A INSPECTION OF THE CAR FOR YOU.BUYER BEWARE.BOTTOM LINE FOR THIS SITUATION,DO THE FIX ,DON'T DWELL ON IT ,GET IT TOGETHER AND GET SOME ENJOYMENT FROM DRIVING YOUR CORVETTE,OR CUT YOUR LOSSES;IF IT BOTHERS YOU THAT MUCH,AND MOVE ON TO SOMETHING BETTER.IF YOU LIVED IN MY AREA,I WOULD HELP YOU OUT WITH THIS REPAIR,I'VE SEEN WORSE MY FRIEND.GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CORVETTE!

 

[Islander]

Wildmanc5,

I truly hope "you" are just having a bad day. I merely asked for feedback and ideas on what to do about the rust in the shell that I bought, feedback which I appreciate wholeheartedly, here and in the other two forums I frequent. But just in case "you" are not having a bad day and this is the way "you" do business, then here is some feedback for "you":

1- I am not your pal. Put the bong on the table and walk away from that twelve pack.
2- Fix your Caps Lock key. "You" spent the last post screaming at me and I don't usually take that sh!t from anyone, unless they are plain ignorant about what full caps mean on forums of this type.
3- I can complete 90% of the repairs on this car, but since welding is part of the 10% I can't do I will farm it out regardless. But hey, congratulations on your knowledge of rust and its repair, it will take "you" far in life and "you" will be an asset to some folks here. But I did ask for just feedback, am not about to follow your "orders" or "direction". My car, my decisons.
4- It was never my intention to transplant the cage (ie, replace it), don't know where you read that. I am considering the option of removing the birdcage from the body to do the repairs on it correctly if it really makes sense to do it that way. I do most of the labor, money is not a factor - reparing and protecting the birdcage is, whether it's done on the car or separated it from it.
5- How is it "you" figure I got screwed on this deal? It's a shell, nothing more, nothing less, and that's exactly what I wanted to start with and got it for a decent price. Does the grand total of two posts on this forum make "you" clairvoyant in this respect?

"You" have a nice night now, I won't be buggin "you" agin. Oh, did I mention the thing about the Caps Lock?

Islander

 

[wildmanc5]

HEY PAL,CHECK OUT "THESE" CAPS ! THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.YOU'RE ALMOST AS FUNNY AS YOUR 66.

 

[Islander]

;stupid

Well, at the very least now I know you are an a$$hole. Enjoy your C3 and C5.

 

[kev]

We are here to help each other! wildmanc5, WHATS UP !!!!

 

[Islander]

No biggie, there's always someone like that in the bunch. Gotta take the good with the bad sometimes. He did offer decent advice in his first post....

 

[magicv8]

How bout those Packers...

I have to go up to WI to visit my in-laws next weekend - I know every one will be jolly if the Packers win again.