JLMICCA

I am considering a '64 Convertible for sale. It has some mods I was looking for (Tremec 5 spd, Vintage A/C, late model 350 with March surpentine drive, new paint) and we settled on a price. I had the car inspected by a Corvette shop and was told the frame was repaired on both sides of the rocker panel areas just ahead of the kick up area. They state that they feel the repairs are "substantial" but I'm not very impressed with there response to questions. I have two pics of these areas and the passenger side appears to have a 1 foot or so metal plate welded to the bottom of the frame rail and the driver side a much smaller plate, approx 3 X 4 inches. The remainder of the frame appears very, very solid. I would add some pics of these areas but don't know how to add them to this post (any help?). My question: should I run from this car? Should I discount the price we agreed to before the inspection and if so by how much? Assuming I was to have the body lifted off the frame and have the frame repaired with repair sections, how much labor would a shop normally bill to lift the body off? If you would like pics of the areas, email me at JLMICCA@AOL.com and I will forward some pics. Thanks!

OK, here is a link for some pics. Let me know what you think!

http://s407.photobucket.com/albums/p...te%20Restomod/

62Jeff

You can get pictures into your Corvette Forum post by doing the following:
1) Go to www.tinypic.com
2) Upload your photo
3) On the page that appears, copy the text that starts with [IMG] and ends with [/IMG]

4) Paste that text into your Corvette Forum post, to link that photo.

That method works well, but your photos will drop off of TinyPic after a few months if they aren't accessed frequently.

A more permanent method is:
1) Go to www.photobucket.com
2) Create a free photobucket account
3) Create a photo album (not required, but you'll quickly find it's better to have different albums for different types of photos - such as one album for each car you are working on)
4) Upload your photos
5) Copy the text that starts with [IMG] and ends with [/IMG]
6) Paste that text into your Corvette Forum post, to link that photo.

Jeff

Grey Ghost

How about the birdcage ?

BADBIRDCAGE

My personal opinion is any Corvette shop that would tell you partial patch repairs are "substantial" is a shop I would remove my car from prior to them working on it.

This doesn't mean that a patch repair can't work. It means it isn't proper.

The areas you reference on my car had been sitting hard on the ground for nine years and were badly deteriorated prior to my purchase.

Proper repair means removing the body, securely holding the frame in alignment and performing a repair that is virtually undetectable using proper parts.

Rich

PinkVetteLady

Rich, those are some pretty sweet jack stands you used to level the frame..

BADBIRDCAGE

Those are not your basic jack stands. They were fabricated specifically for this job. They have a threaded shaft protruding from the bottom which is installed in threaded sockets in the building floor. This secures them to the floor surface and they can be leveled and adjusted for height.

We secured the frame in 10 positions prior to starting the repair work. First step was to level the frame from side to side and front to rear. After those mounts were made we attached an additional six mounts and utilizing a dial indicator at each location at time of attachment we made sure we shifted nothing from original position. When the section of frame was removed there was no shift in any portion of the original frame.

Then we removed the bad section of the frame and made repairs using parts from Zip Corvette parts for frame repair. (They are available from other sources also)

Prior to initiating repair I had the frame sandblasted locally. Then we made the frame repairs and I transported the frame to Carolina Chem Strip in Burlington, NC for chemical strip and Ospho type saturation bath. This process revealed three additional factory welds that were fractured that we had not noticed with just the sandblast. We repaired those welds and then painted the frame.

I wouldn't go through this again. I would put a new frame under the vehicle, either a Street Shop or an SRIII.

Since I did this work myself (with help of friends) my labor cost was minimal. To pay someone to remove the body from the car, perform proper frame repairs and reinstall the body would cost more than a replacement frame.

Rich

Cj_

Repairs to my frame were minimal(relatively speaking), but were the same cost as a new frame... plus body removal/replacement. I dont regret doing it whatsoever, but if I were to be looking at another vette, I wouldnt touch one with a damaged frame unless they took $10k off the price just for the frame.

I am no expert, but a metal patch indicates they didnt repair the frame, just put a patch over the damaged area... or was the case in my frame. I could imagine the frame is not true.

Cj

JLMICCA

In case it didn't come through, here is a link for some pics:

http://s407.photobucket.com/albums/p...te%20Restomod/

Let me know what you think!

stingrayl76

The frame was patched. Patches are usually temporary fixes and in this case it's temporary because only the bottom portion of the frame was patched. There is no way to properly repair that frame without removing the body and I will guarantee you will open a can of worms in the form of rust. Keep looking as there are many good Vettes out there for sale.

Dave

Smokefoot

Run Forrest, run!


I'll bet there is bondo underneath that rattle can finish too. Someone also sprayed the fiberglass-64 fiberglass is white. The left rail also had a cap welded on the back end of it ahead of the rear tire. I also see missing floor plugs allowing rain water to enter the interior. There is a rubber fuel line hose because the steel one most likely rusted away. Several other things are wrong for the year but you might not care since it's not presented as a original car. But in case you are unaware: grill is 66-67, glove box door is 66-67, hood is 65-66 BB, 64's didn't come with sidepipes and therefore no provision to mount them so the holes that mount the rear of the pipes would not normally be there on a 64. That's what I see at a glance. The rule of thumb I use is count up the problems you see with the car and then double it. There are likely just as many problems that you don't see...........
10k deduction is a good starting point. Paul

Frankie the Fink

Its interesting some previous owner spent significant money on a Tremec, A/C and freshened up 350 and didn't address the frame problems correctly. Says a lot to me.

I wouldn't buy it for more than I could get 'parting out' the motor, tranny and other pieces.

mike coletta

Unless you're getting one heck of a deal, I'd run away. Repairs like this ALWAYS end up being bigger than they appear. If you were to buy the car, you'll end up finding rust in places that you didn't even know existed. It's very time consuming work to get it fixed right. JMHO. Good luck!!

Mike Coletta

BADBIRDCAGE

I just reviewed the photos you posted. As others have stated the cost of repair would be substantial. The patched area may hold for a couple more years, maybe yes, maybe no. If you pursue this car (and are not able to perform the repairs yourself) be prepared to spend a LOT of money when the time comes to properly fix it.

Rich

Stingray1967

Generally speaking, there is a CONSTANT inventory of 60-80 midyear Corvettes on eBay EVERY DAY. Most of those are convertibles. Based on the analysis from other members here on that red 64 convertible, I'd pass on it. Unless you want to do a lot of repair work yourself. And I mean a LOT. Ask me how I know. (340 hours into my car right now, and the body is just back on the chassis)

Pop Chevy

I'm going against the tide here. (As usual) I've seen people drive frames worse than that for years. Here in Pa. we have to have a yearly inspection also. Rusted out frames in Pa. are common with the salt used on the roads. The rest of the frame looks very good though. The price of the car should be adjusted down because of this situation and if you are afraid of a major job sometime in the future you should keep looking. For now, I feel you could drive this car as is for a few years. However, if the price is right this car would be a perfect candidate for a custom frame . That's my take on it.

Bluestripe67

I agree with the assements above, "temp repairs"...not good. I also observed the following: Bracket for side exhaust appears to be home made and wrong bolt.
Mis-matched bolts for the front bumper bracket to frame mount. How many other bolts don't match up?
Large bolt for gas pedal...wth?
Under body splash shields missing.
Distributor vac can 180 degrees out...wth?
'66-'67 grill with homemade upper bracket.
Long spring bolts for adjusting weak rear spring.
Replaced and relocated gas line with electrical wire runing next to it...
Block of wood or something between passenger floor and crossmember.
This car is not a "restomod" in my eyes. It's a quick fixer upper done with whatever could fit. Nothing mechanical appears to have been done to any of the suspension front or back etc, etc. PASS on it!
Dennis

1snake

The repairs are definately temp. at best. As far as the rest of the frame looking solid, they rot from the inside out so you actually have no idea what the condition of the frame really is. I'd pass on this car unless you factor in $5K for a new frame and $5K more to put it together correctly.

Jim

Pilot Dan

The question is what are your mechanical skills like and would you be willing to get hip deep into removing the body down the road to fix the frame properly. Can you do some of the work? Do you want to?

There are many of us on the Forum that get great pleasure from taking our cars way apart and then getting run over a couple of times by the project creep truck . I am one of them. It can be a very rewarding undertaking and you know exactly what you have when you are done . If you would enjoy a project like this, then if the price was right, I would entertain it. If the frame is patched decently, you could enjoy driving the car for a few years and then deal with repairs down the road after you have had a chance to have some fun with it. If not, then pay a little more and get one that does not need any major work.
Pilot Dan

darguy

I'll also buck the trend to a certain extent. My '64 had rust on both frame rails before the kick-ups, and a patch on one side. I had the frame repaired without pulling the body, and have been driving quite hard and happy since (over a year now), without having to do any other work to the car.

It cost me a little over $3k, and most would say that the money would have been better spent going towards replacing the frame. However, in my case I didn't have the space to do a body-pull, or the resources to pay someone to do it. The shop I was referred to (by a CF member) did a really good job fabricating sections to blend in with the original frame (they've done this before). The car was judged subsequently, and I was asked, "you know your frame's been repaired?" - not, "what's the deal with the new sections in your frame?".

If the car's got no other issues (like the birdcage) and it's safe enough as it is, and if you can get him to knock some off for the price for the frame issues (I'd say at least $3-5k but try for more), then perhaps it's still an ok deal. As you're into the modern gear in the car (tranny, a/c), then perhaps you can put the money you negotiate off towards a resto-mod frame at some point in the futre and really go to town.

Frankie the Fink

The thing is that there are so many quality C1/C2s for sale right now that you can pay for and drive pretty much worry-free. So why would you put yourself in the spot of having to deal with this expensive, time-consuming fix...