C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

[Mark P.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Joe and Dick - I totally agree with you logic about going with a new frame. I don't want to invest too much in an old frame rotting from the inside out.

Mark

[Larry B.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Got me worried now! I have a '65 Midwest car. Is there a way to check the frame without removing the trailing arms or frame? Thanks

[Joe L.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Got me worried now! I have a '65 Midwest car. Is there a way to check the frame without removing the trailing arms or frame? Thanks

Larry------

The easiest and quickest thing to do is to put the car up on a lift and inspect the frame carefully. The trailing arms do not need to be removed to find damage. Probe the frame with an ice pick or similar sharp-pointed, thin shaft tool. Apply considerable pressure, trying to push the tool through the metal at a large number of locations. You won't be able to damage a sound frame doing this. However, if you can push the tool through metal at any location, you've got a problem.

The above won't absolutely rule out the existence of frame corrosion problems but it will confirm if you have them.

[Bob S.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

My car was originally sold in Florida and was there for a number of years. I'm curious - what's worse in your opinion? Salt air, or road salt (which it's never exposed to)? The only significant frame rust I've found up to this time was at the bottom corner of the passenger side windshield pillar (see post https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...70028&uid=8800) and one of the frame extensions.

Thanks
Randy

Randy - For what it's worth, while working for a well known filter manufacturer, I used to be responsible for engineering fuel filters for one of the Big Three. When researching the corrosive affects of a car's environment on stainless steel fuel filters mounted under the chassis, they (the carmaker) sent us to the Florida coast and arranged for us to look at older vehicles. Customers were provided a free filter change in exchange for having their 10+ year old filter.

Contrary to what I thought previously, the chemical reaction to the salt air is accelerated by higher temperatures. I.e. Corrosion generally occurs faster in the salt air environment of Florida than that of Maine.

Regards,
Bob

Regards,
Bob

[Steve L.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Larry------

The trailing arms do not need to be removed to find damage. Probe the frame with an ice pick or similar sharp-pointed, thin shaft tool. Apply considerable pressure, trying to push the tool through the metal at a large number of locations. You won't be able to damage a sound frame doing this. However, if you can push the tool through metal at any location, you've got a problem.

Also if you hammer the frame with an ice pick and you get a ring, it's probably good metal. But if you hear a dull thud, it's probably poor.

[Steve L.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

One of the things that are dead-give-aways for replaced frame parts is that the replacements don't have the half circle alignment notches when they welded the halves of frames together.

An example is the 3rd cross member. It is made from an upper and a lower half. Originals have these notches so that the halves would be easy to line up just prior to welding. The new reproductions don't have these, presumable because the weld fixtures these days are better. You would buy this piece already welded together.

On my frame rebuild, I can spot this a mile away.

I would guess that a complete new frame uses these same reproduction pieces everywhere without these alignment notches.

If I was a judge, these alignment notches would be one of the things I would look for.

[Glen C.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Just curious as to how a replacement frame impacts flight judging?

[Dick W.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Just curious as to how a replacement frame impacts flight judging?

We installed several Vette Products frames under cars that have gone thru judging, from Top Flight, Duntov, and Bloomington Gold.

The frame sections are stamped in the original tooling that was used when these cars were new

[Mark P.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Silver Lining Update - A fellow NCRS member told me about a C2 frame on Craigslist. A guy about 20 miles from my house had been hoarding car and motorcycle parts for over 30 years and the city said they were going to fine him if he didn't clean up his yard. Hard to believe a guy could have this much stuff in a residential area. Google earth shows it well.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1926+10th+Avenue+Oakland,+CA&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=47.080837,78.662109&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=1926+10th+Ave,+Oakland,+California+94606&t=h&ll=37.795324,-122.244206&spn=0.00051,0.0006&z=21

He has a 57 and 64 Corvette plus about 30 motorcycles and tons of cars and parts.

The 65-67 frame had been hit in the front so the cross member was bent up. I removed the rear section from in front of the transmission cross member. I bought it for $500. It seems very solid. Mostly just some surface rust which was mostly caused by being stored outside the last 10 years and stored on its side. The seller believes it was from a California car. The driver's side rail has some piting from being on the ground all those years. All the measurements checked out and the diagonal measurements were the same. I went up and down the frame with a auto body pick hammer it everything sounds very solid. A manager of a body and frame shop who is also into rebuilding Corvettes was there buying parts and he said the section I bought looks real nice and shows no sign of being hit or any structural/rust issues.

My shock mounts are oblong but on this donor frame they are perfect. Don't think it saw much use. I could not locate a VIN.

I plan to pull my body and then have a shop use this replace the rear section of my frame. I am pretty comfortable my rails are fine. The donor frame gives me a lot to work with. I could not locate a VIN. The front vross member had the deeper indentation for the big block so I think it is a mid-65 to 67 frame. Everything matches my frame.

Thanks everyone for your advice. It really helped me see the path I need to go down.

[Joe L.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Silver Lining Update - A fellow NCRS member told me about a C2 frame on Craigslist. A guy about 20 miles from my house had been hoarding car and motorcycle parts for over 30 years and the city said they were going to fine him if he didn't clean up his yard. Hard to believe a guy could have this much stuff in a residential area. Google earth shows it well.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1926+10th+Avenue+Oakland,+CA&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=47.080837,78.662109&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=1926+10th+Ave,+Oakland,+California+94606&t=h&ll=37.795324,-122.244206&spn=0.00051,0.0006&z=21

He has a 57 and 64 Corvette plus about 30 motorcycles and tons of cars and parts.

The 65-67 frame had been hit in the front so the cross member was bent up. I removed the rear section from in front of the transmission cross member. I bought it for $500. It seems very solid. Mostly just some surface rust which was mostly caused by being stored outside the last 10 years and stored on its side. The seller believes it was from a California car. The driver's side rail has some piting from being on the ground all those years. All the measurements checked out and the diagonal measurements were the same. I went up and down the frame with a auto body pick hammer it everything sounds very solid. A manager of a body and frame shop who is also into rebuilding Corvettes was there buying parts and he said the section I bought looks real nice and shows no sign of being hit or any structural/rust issues.

My shock mounts are oblong but on this donor frame they are perfect. Don't think it saw much use. I could not locate a VIN.

I plan to pull my body and then have a shop use this replace the rear section of my frame. I am pretty comfortable my rails are fine. The donor frame gives me a lot to work with. I could not locate a VIN. The front vross member had the deeper indentation for the big block so I think it is a mid-65 to 67 frame. Everything matches my frame.

Thanks everyone for your advice. It really helped me see the path I need to go down.

Mark------


There should be a VIN derivative on the TOP of the driver side frame rail rearward of the "kick-up" area. You will probably need to wire brush the frame in this area to read it. It would be interesting to know what it is.

[Philip C.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Did anyone notice the door gaps getting tighter or doors rubbing when they had the same frame issues as I did ?

My door gaps are still right and there is no rubbing.

I spoke to Mike at Vette Products of Michigan and he said once the structural integrity of the frame in that area start to go that the door issues will be the first sign.

We discussed my options and I am thinking about what I want to do with the car. A new frame seems to make sense but am thinking of logistics of that.

Try putting your car on a frame contact lift and put it up and try to open the doors. Phil 8063

[Dick W.]

Re: C2 Frame Rot - repair advice needed

Mark, if we pieced a frame, we would have a piece of 11 ga steel broken to fit inside of the two pieces. We would burn a 3/4" hole in the sides of both pieces of frame. We would cut the frame about 3/8"- 1/2" short, insert the box, get the frame aligned properly and make three weld passes on the joint. Would weld each section to the box separately and then make a final filler pass joining everything. In the holes we burnt in the sides we would plug weld them and then dress all our welds down.