surkon

i found a patch of rust on my frame right behind my drivers side wheel. this was after i bought it. anyway what can be done? is there anything that can be done? other than that the car is in great condition.

cptkirk32

You need to tell everyone how bad the rust is. Is it all the way through?? Take a pic and post it then people will be able to help out.
SGT Kirk

72LS1Vette

If you know the history of the car post that also. Since these cars are all pretty old the locations where the car 'grew up' are important. Vettes from the Northeast quadrant of the country will have many more rust issues than ones from, say, Arizona. A couple of pics will clarify the problem and may prompt comments on other areas that should be inspected.

Rick B.

GTR1999

You have to get the car up on a lift or jack stands. Start at the front and work through to the back. Look at the raditor support front,back, and bottom. They rot out in the lower corners. Look at the first crossmember behind it. This is a bolt in piece I call a batwing. It too rots out. They all rot from the inside out. Look down each frame rail, remove the rocker panels and look at the side frame and pull the sill to look at the 2 alignment holes. Tap on the frame with a hammer to listen for a solid sound, a thud requires more looking. Look at the frame seams for rust break through. Check the rear of each rail, there are welded in flat panels but there should be a triangle hole in the bottom for water to drain. This hole get plugged up a lot. Put your finger in the rear corner slotted holes and feel for rot. Check the seams on the frame in the rear wheel well. Look at the rear body mount for deterioration of the aluminum spacer. Follow the frame to the rear cross member and look at the differential crossmember. Look at the rear suspension and differential. If it looks like it came off the Titanic move on.

Gary

surkon

well i inspected the car at 9 in evening with a flashlight. there were several other buyers lined up so there was pressure. the car looked to be in excelent shape. untill the next day after i paid for it. there is only one problem area that i could find. i will go right now and take a couple pics.

surkon

these are on the drivers side right behind the front wheel.

Twin_Turbo

if it's that bad there it's bad elsewhere also and the birdcage may be in poor shape also, pulling the body is the only way to know and to fix it..perhaps it needs a replacement frame depending on the condition of the rest. that section looks pretty bad

StingrayDK

That frame looks complety shot

I dont think i would drive it in that condition

GTR1999

I agree that side rail doesn't look too good. The rails can be replaced on the car by a competent shop but given the cost I'd really stop and look at yout expenses before you dive in deeper. I couldn't say from a few pictures so you really have to get under it like said before. With that much frame work you'll end up doing a full on frame off. Unless you want to marry the car think it over very closely.

Good luck,

Gary

45ACP

It appears to be in a condition that is very dangerous. Do NOT drive it. It will need the attention of somebody well schooled in frame repair OR a new frame.

I hope that I am wrong, but I suspect that what you see there is only the tip of the iceburg. The car needs to be gone over thoroughly to determine its true condition. A three part series -links to which can be found in the first paragraph here- may prove helpful.

cannonfl

Mine was all rotted out too; right in front of the rear wheels. The rest of the frame was solid.

I bought frame sections ( left and right ) from Zip Products for $115 each on the advice of another forum member. Here's his website with pics showing how he repaired his frame. I did mine the same way.

http://www.gearheadzgarage.com/corve...ame_before.htm

I have a friend who welds, so total cost was about $300 and a case of beer. I did call around and found welders who would do the job for under $300.

cannonfl

PS. You WILL need to pull the body from the frame. Not as hard as you might think.

ltlevil

I would talk to the guy I bought it from and ask him if he knew about this problem. I feel he did, and then ask him for a little compensation. He'll probably tell you to pound sand but there's achance he may be a decent guy that really didn't know. Other than that at least a frame off looks like it's in your future, this is without knowing the condition of the birdcage which I suspect is not in good shape. Also as bad as I hate to say this there are some states where there is no such thing as "as is" especially if it is regards to the auto being "safe for operation on a public roadway". In addition to this you may not even pass a visual inspection depending on where you are at. Just my .02

Classic78Vette

I had a 1 foot bad section on the drivers side just on the bottom part of the frame. Not as bad as yours though. However, point being, I had that cut out and a new piece welded in as well as a small place on pass side welded with some extra support. PLUS I had to get the PS bracket welded back on from when it broke off. I think My total cost was $250. He painted and it was flush and sexy. Did a great job actually. If you live anywhere near NE Ohio Ill give you the name of the place.

Twin_Turbo

power steering bracket welded on? The bracket for the power steering ram is bolted to the frame

carl a

mine was no where in that condt and i threw mine in the shiz can,,,look here-----------http://www.geocities.com/carlclub2/----------from below mine looked,scalded then we lifted the body ,,well you can see for your self in the web site photos....if its that bad i can guess what the rest looks like,,id be looking for a rolling chassis or planning to build my own there's also tube frames you can go with the c-3 frame is going for 3500 so it gets real expensive im in over 50 largeso youll have to deciede if your keeping the car cuz it gets real crazy real fast here's some tube frames-------http://www.sriiimotorsports.com/pages/885872/

Chuck Gongloff

What year Corvette is it? AND....how much did you pay for it?

You've got some very serious rust issues. Chuck

surkon

i live in canada so im not too sure that it will be as big of an issue for road safety. winter is coming so i will be storing the car in my garage. i an an apprenticing heavy equiptment tech. and have become good friends with the best welder in the busness so i am very lucky in that area. its amazing how such a well kept car and flawless exterior could be that scary underneath. i know the prevous owner had no idea about it. he was very wealthy and had other vettes. knew nothing about mechanics at all. but he said he was moving north that day on busness so i wont be able to even reach him. looks like i will throw some cash into her, but its the time that will be killer. seems like it will cost under 500$ and thats fine. thanks for all the help and i will keep you guys updated.

p.s. its a 1980 and i paid 10,000 cdn

45ACP

The fact that you live in Canada does not reduce the danger of driving that car. If it breaks in half it will be a hazard no matter where you happen to be!

adam182003

hey carl a whats that tub chass made of just out of curiosity i just bought a fram a about a year ago orginonal cuase the frame rotted out around where the trailing arms conect( the old frame was siting out side about a week ago while i was at work and the back half fell off when i got home was on the ground) and if i had known about that tube chassy i would have looked into it more