19corvette91

I picked up a 69 convertible last summer that is in need of some love......

Decided to do a full frame-off.........

Have not pulled the body off the frame yet, but I did remove the bubba'd front clip.....

When I mock up the new one piece front clip the hood hinge mounting bolt is supposed to be 43 inches from the cowl...

In all my adjustments, i can only get 42 inches and the hood hinges to hood latches are horribly off

I know the car was hit....

Anybody have measurements I can take of the frame horns?

I am thinking I am going to have to cut them off and weld on plate steel.......

Not going to NCRS here.......just a nice stock looking vette with a little more fire under the hood.....

Thanks!

doorgunner

I'm new to Corvettes...but there are enough aftermarket parts on the internet that you might be able to buy replacements at a reasonable price and end up with a decent-looking frame/chassis(I'm in a similar situation with a '68).

davidchristopher

I've got a 69 frame sitting on it's side in the shop. what points do you need measurements from?

Edit: The frame is bare and I'm in the middle of cleaning it up and patching the rear kickups for a frame swap, so I can mark it up with a paint pen if that helps too.

19corvette91

davidchristopher-

If you could take some measurements for me, i would most appreciate it!

To be honest, I am not sure what measurements to take, as there is nothing really "in line" to take a reference point to

Maybe the center of the front most bolt hole in the frame horn to, say, the front crossmember?

Any suggestions where to measure?

brando1118

Hi,
I posted this link for someone just a few days ago. A lot of frame work going on here on CF. I hope this helps.

http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/foru...ad.php?t=87024

Alan 71

Hi 91,
I believe the actual position of the hood hinges in the clip/aprons is really determined by the core support.
The hood hinge bolts tighten into nuts welded to the steel hood hinge support in the front of each wheel well.
This hinge support bolts to the core support, and the bottom of the core support bolts to the forward crossmember.
The forward cross member is bolted to and located by the the frame extensions bolted to the frame horns. The extensions have some forward and backward adjustment and this adjustment moves the core support with it.
I think in fitting a new clip all these parts, and in addition the front bumper brackets, need to be loosely in place before you can begin to actually position the clip and hood.
With the clip positioned properly at the cowl, moving the core support and other brackets I listed forward and rearward moves the hood in the clip opening, and also moves the front bumper relative to the clip.
Often if the hood is in the wrong place, the front bumper will be too, because they both depend on the core support and front crossmember for their location.
A very tough job because the fit of so many parts depends on the location of the parts they bolt to.
Good Luck!
Regard.
Alan

This picture shows the hood hnge support on the apron. Although it's separate from the frame extension since it's bolted to the core support it is partly located by the frame extension bolts seen in this picture too.


Here's the front cross member bolted to the frame extension and the core support mounted to the cross member. As the crossmember moves forward and backward the hood hinges do too.




Front bumper bracket depends on the position of front cross member. You can see the core support bolted to the cross member too. (Remember the hood hinge reinforcement is bolted to the core support.

19corvette91

Thanks for all the help gents!!!!!!!

Alan-
I hear what you are saying, however there is not enough adjustment in the frame extensions when i loosen the bolts that hold them to the frame horns....
Visually, the frame horns look like they were pushed in a bit. I remember last summer when i got the car, the passenger side horn was bent outward. I had to beat it in with a BFH to get the 33" measurement across the outside of the two frame horns. A shame, because rest of the frame is really nice and rust free. I guess I can always just elongate the holes in the frame extensions to get the adjustment I need and then box in the frame horns....Decisions, decisions......

davidchristopher

I started to take snaps but the camera battery died. Sigh. It's charging, I'll try again tomorrow.

In the mean time:



Does that help?

19corvette91

Yes, that helps somewhat. It shows that the tip of the frame horn needs to be 22.75" from the motor mount ear..... When I get time, I will take a measurement and report back....

Can somebody with a bare frame measure from the tip of the frame horn to the center of the first bolt hole on the frame horn for me so I have some more numbers to work with?

Thanks! U guys are tops!