c3 bird cage
 

Anyone know best way to replace birdcage on a c3. Everything that I have saw requires massive fiberglass repairs! Please tell me there is an easier way out there!! Also anyone know if you can buy a replacement cage?

What year are you working on ?

Profile says 75.

How Much Needs Replacing?
 

Can you tell us how much of the birdcage needs replacing? On my last project I replaced the entire window frame from the top door hinge up with a good frame from a doner wreck. I have some photos I can PM you if you are interested. The doner car was a coupe but only a slight mod was needed to make it work. I didn't have to cut one piece of fiberglass and you couldn't tell it wasn't the origional frame.

Been there - done that x3.

In one case I pulled the original and was able to weld in replacement parts.

The other two we obtained donor cages, had them powder coated then installed.

No easy way around this.

http://mcspeed.homestead.com/Vacation.html

You can buy bird cage pieces from Zip and from others as well. I saw a source for complete bird cages (new) for sale but I can't find the link.

http://www.zip-corvette.com/Zip/dept.asp?dept_id=2184

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Corve...Q5fAccessories

they show up every once in a while on EBAY.. you can buy some parts at the corvette parts houses.. call them up and ask...

do lots of research here on this forum and you will just about learn all you need..

Unless its a 4 speed or has lots of sentimental value I would consider another car.

Is there any place that sells replacement rocker channels for these cars or is it all just inserts?

Brian

did it, been there.And as said before, no easy way around it.

75 birdcage
 

No it is not a 4 speed. It is a customer car and he is set on spending the money. I have another shop looking at doing the glass work but it sounds like they DO NOT know what they are doing! Anyone send me a link or a pic of where the fiberglass has to be separated to replace most if not all cage?

Please do not take offense here but if you are the shop which has the "customer car" and are unsure how to proceed, consider subbing this part of the rebuild out to a specialist. Doing so will not require the learning curve you are starting by asking here, and have the benefit of limiting your liability and possibly losing your butt (timewise) since I assume said customer wishes a quote before proceeding? This is a large undertaking, and I for one would not accept a paying customer's car as my first transplant.....

customer could probably buy a nice C6 for what its going to cost him having a shop replace a birdcage.

sorry for the ignorance but what is the birdcage

Thats the internal metal frame for the body: Door frames, windshield frame, firewall, floor pan sections.

ahh...I see said the blind man to his deaf wife while peeing into the wind, its all coming back to me now

birdcage
 

I have informed this customer of the expense of this build in comparison to buying a newer or at least more valuable older vette. He wants this car built and business is to slow to turn down the job. I am more than capable of doing the job with little direction. Yes first vette but I am not worried about time, doing alot of mods LS1, coil over all round, only original piece of car will be body.

a couple hundred hours of work at a shop rate of 50/hour..... 10,000$.. anyone who pays a shop to do it is probably nuts....

Try vetteproducts.net they probably make most of the steel replacement parts out there right down to entire frames

Those numbers are about right, makes very little sense to invest this much in most C3s, but...............

Are you willing to rip apart the Corvette to this level ??
It is an extensive undertaking, remove front clip, remove the firewall.
then remove the rear birdcage sections, show him this picture of what his car will look like ! 69VETT
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...y/DCP_0997.jpg

Took me 7 days at 5 hrs per day just to swap out the rocker channels with a doner. The body was already on a body dolly and the fiberglass panels at #4 and #3 were off.

Steve L
73 coupe since new

Jack up the cigarette lighter and roll another car under it. :rofl:

Now that's funny :lolg:

Very good example, keeping mind that almost half of the birdcage is still wrapped in 'glass in your picture. The rear clip is just as labour intensive as the front if not more so.

Agreed, that is only half way, for a full Bird Cage replacement !
I didn't want to scare them away from Corvettes for ever ! :) 69VETT

FASTFISHEL,
If this is your FISRT Corvette...and you are going to perform a birdcage rebuild and restoration...and even though you appear to be a mechanic...I hope your skills at doing bodywork are at the skill level needed to perform a birdcage repair. I have done it before...and it is time consuming...and knowing that you have time on your hands...you are going to get "beat down hard" while doing this. AND BY NO MEANS am I saying that YOU CAN NOT DO IT...But... in those areas that you plan to sublet out to another shop(s)...may come back and haunt you due to the customer does not want to hear about problems that occur from work OUTSIDE your shop that YOU chose to send it to....if an issue arrises. And if you have not dealt with this shop before...becareful...because "finger pointing" is is always possible when some shops want to get out of re-working an area that has problems. TOO many cooks in the kitchen can make a bad meal. Something to think about.
All I can say is good luck...because you are embarking on one serious voyage.
I do appreciate your willingness to try...but performing major structural repairs is not to be taken lightly.....you will be liable for everything on this Corvette for a long time....depending on your guarantee/warranty.
"DUB"

polishing turds
 

This car is on a dolly ready for tear down. Body adhesive and body tear down manuals are in the mail no stopping now. Ive got a few ideas on how to pull car apart without taking apart at every seam. Only replacing rockers and windshield frame. Going to separate back from floor and front.Anyone have any good pics on body tear down? $25,000.00 in build not including labor. Crazy huh?

I do know to what extent this car has to be disassembled. I am not scared just a little worried that I am going to go over on time. I am not going to outsource this work because the shop that said they can do it has already proven to me they are not competent enough and will not give me a door jam alignment guarantee with the estimate. So I will build this car completely on my own and then put out a product I know my customer will be proud to own and drive.

If you really have somebody who is willing to pay for this then its a great oppoturnity for you to learn C3. Do it properly with good documentation and you might find new business oppoturnities with more expensive Vettes. There are lots of wealthy people who don't want to make their own rebuilds and restorations.

birdcage
 

Yeah Toni my thoughts exactly. The quality of work that I normally put out people are going to see this build step by step and want to give me there money. This is an unexpected repair and we are going outside the budget and time line but I believe that myself and the vette owner will reap huge benefits from this build. Anybody know where a good priced LS1,2,3,6, with all wire comp and possibly trans is at. I can rebuild.

cage
 

I am currently doing my own birdcage on my first vette and its a convertible I am not a body man but I did stay at a holiday inn. a lot of measuring and tacking in braces and some fiber glass work I am a self taught welder fiberglasser and have already made some of my own parts but its mine and I am building a driver http://photobucket.com/bertpayne

Try this link, lots of good photos and info. http://www.corvette-restoration.com :flag:

Hi 69rv,
It's AMAZING how innocent it looks in the first 2 pictures you up-loaded to Photobucket.
Did you know at that point?
Regards,
Alan

cage
 

no I did not/I thought all I had was some cracks in the front clip.but I guess thats why they say a fool and his money are quickly parted.but nobody will ever sell me another bad one

Hi 69r,
The easy ones are.... well, easy. The hard ones are experiences that change you a little.
Regards,
Alan

......customer must have one of those Black American Express Cards.:cheers:

I admire your honesty in stating that this is your first Corvette. And if you are doing a lot of mechanical mods...which it sounds like...when doing the birdcage...that is a whole different situation. Yes it is do-able...but you may find that the amount of time you spend doing this is quite excessive. But if the $$$$$ are there and you want to spend the time doing it....my best to you.

There are SO many issues when doing this type of repair...getting panels off and back on so when other parts are being installed...those parts fit correctly. If you do not have an assembly manual...you might want to get one.

If you are trusting another shop to do the fiberglass work...and they do not know what they are doing...or give you the "feeling" that they do not have a "clue". You may be opening a "can of worms" that can haunt you for a long time.

Your customer is trusting to to be able to do the job...and trust me....if there are any issues in the future...the customer is going to come to you and not the shop that you out-sourced it to. Be careful in who you choose to do the work if you are not going to do it yourself.

Best of luck to you in this repair.

"DUB"