1967 Chassis Restoration or Leave it original

[Gerald C.]

Hello,

I purchased a 1967 roadster in March and I'm having it stripped this winter and may have it painted next winter.

The chassis looks very original and it even has remnants of the transmission tunnel heat shield.

My questyion is that should I just leave it alone or do a body off to restore the chassis. I am not bringing through NCRS for judging, but I'm not sure of spending the money on the painting and leaving the chassis "as is".

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry

[Harry S.]

Re: 1967 Chassis Restoration or Leave it original

Jerry, how it looks is very different than, is it solid. The frame under my 63 looked fine till I had it sand blasted. That revealed places that needed to be cut out and replaced.

[Stephen L.]

Re: 1967 Chassis Restoration or Leave it original

I would do the chassis, assuming you are doing a first class paint job with the body being "gutted". You'll kick yourself later when the body looks great and the frame "sucks" in comparison. As suggested, there may be hidden problems with the chassis and frame once you get into it. With the body off, its a piece of cake to do all the work yourself.

If you decide to do a frame off, don't place the body on the fresh frame to paint it. I did mine separately and it turned out great. Didn't need to worry about all the dust and overspray from the body.

I had my frame chemically stripped. This left the surface as original with all the weld slag etc. My frame is a southern car so there was no rust.

[Gerald C.]

Re: 1967 Chassis Restoration or Leave it original

Thanks for the feedback. My gut tells me to pull the body and make sure everything is okay. It's going to be a while before this market comes back, so I've got time to see how things play out.

I've done a body off before, so I kind of know what to expect.

Jerry

[Paul J.]

Re: 1967 Chassis Restoration or Leave it original

Jerry, one other thing...be prepared for the "might as wells". Since you have done a frame off before you know that things that should be done on the chassis will creep up once you get into it. But when you look at Stephen's restored chassis, a frame off is the right thing to do.

Paul

[Gerald C.]

Re: 1967 Chassis Restoration or Leave it original

Paul,

I agree with all the opinions here. Once I get the car back from the body shop (in primer), then I'll take care of the interior and chassis before it goes back to the painter.

Jerry

[Gerard F.]

Re: 1967 Chassis Restoration or Leave it original

Hello,

I purchased a 1967 roadster in March and I'm having it stripped this winter and may have it painted next winter.

The chassis looks very original and it even has remnants of the transmission tunnel heat shield.

My questyion is that should I just leave it alone or do a body off to restore the chassis. I am not bringing through NCRS for judging, but I'm not sure of spending the money on the painting and leaving the chassis "as is".

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry

Jerry,

It is only original once.

If the frame and chassis is in good shape, why do a body off. It doesn't take a body off to change the transmission tunnel insulation, or to redo the suspension. With the last clutch job on my 67, the tunnel insulation looks brand new.

Here's mine, no body off:



Just my opinion

[Timothy B.]

Re: 1967 Chassis Restoration or Leave it original

Jerry's right as long as the frame is in good condition.

If I ever do a frame off on my 67 the first thing I am going to do after getting it together is drive it through a mud puddle so I will not be afraid to take it on the road.