Help on frame up restoration

[lars]

All I'm seeing is a car with normal dirt and wear with a little surface corrosion. Looks fine to me. Clean it up and detail it out.

Lars

 

[05DaytonaRam]

The pictures I posted before were after I cleaned it up by pushing it out in the yard and washing it down.

Here is some before all that.

 

[Crimson Thunder]

What happened to the hood?

 

[05DaytonaRam]

When it caught fire it burnt the hood latch wire that leads to the right side of car. The fire dept used a crow bar to open it even though the fire was already out they wanted to check it. The fire was put out before they even got there with a fire extinguisher hose stuck in what little the hood would open up.

 

[lars]

You don't have any "rust" that warrants a body-off effort on that car - all you have is a little surface corrosion on parts, components and frame rails, partially as a result of the fire. Further, that year car is not worth the money you'll wrap up in it to do a body-off restoration, so there's no point in doing it - you can make the car look nice without that level of effort.

If I were you, I'd spend 2 hours of time to pop that engine and trans out of there. Set the engine on an engine stand and fix it up right and in comfort - don't screw around doing major top-end work with the engine in the car - it's too easy to take it out and do it right.

You can then easily pull the accessory components out of the engine compartment (brake system, A/C, etc), clean them up, paint them, and fix them. With that stuff out, you can sit in the engine compartment and scrub it down good with Scotchbrite pads and solvents, and do a very nice job re-painting everything to look brand new. Then, bolt your rebuilt and painted assemblies back in, stick your repaired and painted engine back in it, and the entire thing will look brand new for a 1-month work effort - you'll be driving it this spring with no problem.

And if that sounds like a lot of work, or if you don't think you can do that in a month, don't even consider pulling the body off the frame...

Lars

 

[paz72vette]

Check your firewall on the inside. Pull back the carpet and look for rust stains. Also check your #2 mount area. These areas tell all.

good luck

Cheers

Vito

 

[lars]

Check your firewall on the inside. Pull back the carpet and look for rust stains. Also check your #2 mount area. These areas tell all.

Not likely.

The firewall is fiberglass, so you won't see any rust on that, unless the birdcage is so severly rusted that it's dripping stalactites like the Titanic. The only metal parts on the firewall are the doublers around major components, and they don't tend to rust.

The #2 mount area doesn't collect much moisture, and is one of the last to rust, unless the birdcage above looks like the Titanic... In which case you should put your '80 on the trash heap and get another car - it's simply not worth fixing.

Corvette frames, when they rust out, will rust out in the rear kickup area. This is because the rear frame blockoff plate drains tend to get clogged by debris, and water will gather at the rear blockoffs. If there is no rust at the rear kickup, the frame is likely solid. If there is rust through the rear kickup, it warrants further examination, but even this is no evidence that there is rust in other places. Surface rust is no indication of a "rust problem."

Here is a frame from a Vette with no firewall rust issues, no birdcage rust at all, and the #2 mount looked like it was fresh from the factory. This is the rear kickup on a car with "no rust":

You need to do a thorough examination to determine what is simply "surface corrosion" and what is a "rust problem." Surface corrosion is handled with a wire wheel, elbow grease, and a bit of work. "Rust problems" are handled by removing the body, cutting sections out of the frame, welding, and sandblasting, on a car worth the effort. If your '80 needs that effort, dump it and get another car.

Lars

 

[6880 Mike]

I agree with Lars; your car doesn't look like it needs a frame off restoration. You would save yourself a lot of time and money if you cleaned her up, tuned her up, and got her safely drivable.

 

[Aceves81]

Your C3 Corvette restoration...

Let me know if you need replacement driver's side Door Jamb Information Labels. I have a source that provides reproduction original GM Door Jamb Labels for C3 Corvettes, and types in the exact factory information for each particular car. Both labels are available, the Vehicle Information Label that shows the date of manufacture, weight rating, VIN number, etc., and the Tire Capacity label that shows the tire size, air pressures, etc. This goes for anybody out there in the Corvette community that needs these hard-to-find labels to replace their original peeling, worn-out, damaged, or painted-over door jamb labels. These are great when doing a full restoration and paint job, especially when the door jambs are painted also to match the rest of the car. Just let me know and contact me.

Cheers!

 

[Rookie Vette owner]

What part of SC do you live in? I'm in Boiling Springs, just north of Spartanburg. I'm just starting to rebuild my frame as part of my rebuild. Let me know if you want to catch a glimpse of what is involved, and I'll meet up with you and let you take a look. From what I can see in your pics, I would be more worried about wiring damage from the fire.

Link to rebuild: 73 Corvette Restoration pictures by tlcoats1 - Photobucket

 

[05DaytonaRam]

What part of SC do you live in? I'm in Boiling Springs, just north of Spartanburg. I'm just starting to rebuild my frame as part of my rebuild. Let me know if you want to catch a glimpse of what is involved, and I'll meet up with you and let you take a look. From what I can see in your pics, I would be more worried about wiring damage from the fire.

Link to rebuild: 73 Corvette Restoration pictures by tlcoats1 - Photobucket

I'm from a little town called Chesterfield SC. Its right on the NC and SC state line.

I've decided to just get the car running for now though. Redo all the rest down the road once I know everything is good.

 

[VetteV8]

..................
If I were you, I'd spend 2 hours of time to pop that engine and trans out of there. Set the engine on an engine stand and fix it up right and in comfort - don't screw around doing major top-end work with the engine in the car - it's too easy to take it out and do it right.
............................
Lars

Really? 2 hours or did you mean 2 days?
To remove all the little items like wiring and vac tubing and mark all these takes already a while. Then coolant and hoses...
Engine hood, engine mounts, trans mount, propshaft, exhausts.............. I really can't see this done so quickly, even though I have a lift.
But I would be very keen to be tought

And this is no topic jacking, as it is for all practical purposes closed now by the topic starter, right?
Thanks for your efforts Lars

Cor