66 frame advice

[Dan M.]

First post, first of many I hope,
Ive had my 66 for almost 20 years. I plan to now strip it all down to the frame and rebuild it. Ive attached a couple pics of the frame where it was hit many years ago (before me!) The body has never been off the car. Im looking for advice as to whether I should be looking for a new frame or try to cut this section out and repair it, or just leave it as is, assuming it is otherwise straight. The frame is super solid everywhere and the car runs down the road straight. The car is original with exception of the paint, top and starter motor, radiator. It appears it was hit and repaired on the front right fender. I would like to keep it all as original as possible and perhaps show it. I have no experience with frame repair so thought I would ask what others might do.
All the body mounts are off with the exception of body mounts #4. Looks like I will have to cut these off. Body is otherwise ready to be lifted.
Any comments appreciated.
Dan

[Mark E.]

Re: 66 frame advice

I'll let the more experienced out there respond to your question.

But I'm curious how this frame was damaged. Do you know the story behind this? If a fender is the only body damage, does this mean the frame was hit from below? Or maybe there's other, undiscovered bodywork?

P.S. The undercarriage looks remarkably clean. It's almost a shame the body must be removed to repair/replace the frame.

[Dan M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Unfortunately I don't know the story behind any accidents. It's a real mystery to me how this dent could have happened without showing any other damage to the underbody. It sure looks to me that the frame was hit from below, can't see any other way. Very strange.
I spent many hours underneath scraping so the undercarriage is very clean but I think the only way to get it right is to get the body off the car.
The rest of frame as far as I can tell looks good and solid.

[Russ S.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Should be easy to straighten. I would check with a frame shop. That damage doesn't appear to be from a hit other than a hit from below

[Dan M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

That would be encouraging if a frame shop can straighten it out. When I get the body off and frame stripped off I'll haul it to the best frame shop I can find and see what they can do. I would agree that it was hit from underneath ( not the side) but it is such a sharp crease in the frame member with no damage to the fiberglass underbody its hard to imagine what the heck the circumstances were. As soon as I can get the #4 body mounts removed I'll pull the body and see what else might be revealed. I'm expecting no other frame hits or rust!
Thanks for the comments, this is the beginning of a long but hopefully rewarding project.

[Richard M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Welcom Dan....... Very strange hit.

Almost appears that it may have been hit coming off of a transport truck or got backed into a trolley jack on a 4 post lift/alignment lift. But the floor would have been hurt and I can't tell by the angle of the photo. Other possibility is a frame repair many years ago to correct the right front when hit. If the front frame horn got bent the rear crossmember may have been clamped to a frame machine. It looks like the jaws of a big vice.

That crease will never come out as it's a box frame. With body off, I'd cut the old entire crossmember out at the welds and either repair off the car or replace the crossmember completely.The frame itself looks restored to me. The car is 50 years old, so you have no idea what the previous 30 years did to it.

You'll get a better look when the body is off.

Rich

[Dan M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Thanks Rich,
I pulled out the interior this morning and the body from the inside looks original. So it doesn't appear that it was hit in the back fender or door area. Only the front right fender looks like it was repaired at one time and perhapsnthe nose. Of course this is no where near this "bent" crossmember. Your right it does look like it was clamped as the crease is dead straight like it was put in a vice. But only on that one side. The other side looks perfect. I didn't realize you can actually buy that specific crossmember but I do now. So that will be the plan. Pull the body and have just that crossmember removed and a new one installed. I'll make sure I find a good frame shop that will ensure everything is dead straight and level. So far no sign of rust. I'll see if I can get this body off in the next couple weeks and check the frame top to bottom and take some mesurements.
One more question. I believe the frame is numbered somewhere near the left rear kickup on top of the frame and therefore should match the vin. Am I correct?
Thanks for your help.
Dan

[Richard M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Thanks Rich,
I pulled out the interior this morning and the body from the inside looks original. So it doesn't appear that it was hit in the back fender or door area. Only the front right fender looks like it was repaired at one time and perhapsnthe nose. Of course this is no where near this "bent" crossmember. Your right it does look like it was clamped as the crease is dead straight like it was put in a vice. But only on that one side. The other side looks perfect. I didn't realize you can actually buy that specific crossmember but I do now. So that will be the plan. Pull the body and have just that crossmember removed and a new one installed. I'll make sure I find a good frame shop that will ensure everything is dead straight and level. So far no sign of rust. I'll see if I can get this body off in the next couple weeks and check the frame top to bottom and take some mesurements.
One more question. I believe the frame is numbered somewhere near the left rear kickup on top of the frame and therefore should match the vin. Am I correct?
Thanks for your help.
Dan

Dan, One thing, when you get the replacement crossmember, take note of the center seat belt cable bracket. The repro frame I got recently for a 66 had a slightly different(not sure if earlier or later)) configuration. Many pics here, and I recall some pics of it in there of what I'm talking about. All pics here on my PB pages. It's a 66 body off I completed a few months ago to replace a bad frame with a reproduction frame from Vette Products of Michigan. Nice products. If different, you could cut yours off and replace it, or check with the vendor.

The vin is in 2 places on 66 & 67, just ahead of the left rear kickup on the horizontal top(not shown below as rust was too bad), and just ahead of the #4 left body mount, as shown. This is a 67 body-off I did to restore it's original frame, but vin is the same place on a 66.

[Dan M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Thats excellent. I'll look for it and post some pics. Hopefully the numbers match up!

[Dan M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Rich,
I had a good look at your pics. You do nice work. That original frame was pretty bad. Another question if you dont mind. I did look at the center cable attachment for the seatbelt as I know I'll have to replace the cable. Its not evident to me how to remove it other than bending the bracket open. Am I missing something here? Ive included a pic.
Dan

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Not missing a thing you bend it . Hope this helps . jeff

[Dan M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Seemed obvious but...........
Tks Jeff

[Paul J.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Dan,

I'm late to the thread but Rich is right. It looks like it was high-ended, probably on a lift. I don't have my glasses on, but there might be an abrasion on the cable, although I can't explain the lack of damage on the body. If you're doing a frame-off, you already know you should replace it. I won't name the company, but there are very good replacement parts available. E-mail me for the company, if you need it.

Paul

[Richard M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Yes simply pry open the slot a little and the cable comes right out. I like to replace the cables with new, as 50 year old pieces can be questionable. Repros are very nice, except the black sleeves are a different material. If going the judging route you can replace the sleeves after restoring and replating, but I'd rather take a point hit than a old broken cable in a serious catastrophe. Your cable assy looks quite fresh, I wonder if it was replaced in the past.

Paul is a true expert at this stuff so I suggest you contact him for the vendor info. Paul, please PM it to me too?

For reference here's that photo of the attachment bracket on the recent VPM frame.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv208/richmz/1966_Restoration/3-%20Assembly/5-%20Misc%20Assy/P7150117.jpg

[Dan M.]

Re: 66 frame advice

Thanks Paul will do.