To restore or protect??

[Robert B.]

I am preparing my '66 coupe for flight judging (again) and trying to decide what to do with the frame. It is a California car - been in California all of it's life, and while the frame has some minor surface rust, all of the original shim marks and the frame stencil are all there and very visible. So I do not want to paint the frame, but I'm thinking there may be a way to preserve the current status with a very light coat of a flat or satin clear coat.

What would you recommend - clean it gently and leave it, or coat it with something?

IMG_1155.jpg

[Bill W.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Soap /water then a wipe down with a spray wax or light oil .

[Ara G.]

Re: To restore or protect??

It's gorgeous! Leave it alone. So rare to have original markings that look that nice. Guys would kill to have frame markings that nice. Just my two cents. Ara

[Leif A.]

Re: To restore or protect??

I would just keep taking excellent care of it...unbelievable condition. If it's that nice after 48 years, you're doing something right.

[Lawrence S.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Clean it with Glass Plus or similar. Just knock the dust off. I have had good luck with Boesheild while preserving bare steel. DuPont now makes Teflon based chain lubricant you can pick up at Lowes. This leaves a nice protective film that is not waxy and dries clear. I would only put these products on bare or lightly rusted areas. Another idea would be to brush on Evap O Rust on the lightly rusted areas. You will have to keep the rusted areas wet and eventually the rust will dissolve off. Then follow up with the protectant. Great looking frame! Good luck.

[Timothy B.]

Re: To restore or protect??

I would leave it the way it is and not use any cleaner on it, just dust it off and enjoy the original car.

[Mike E.]

Re: To restore or protect??

That's amazing...I'll bet the paint runs on the rear cross member are really noticeable. If the body paint on the car is not original paint someone really took to the time to mask off the frame and not get overspray all over it. I you ever get the car on a lift, PLEASE post more photos.

Thanks!
Mike

[Robert B.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Mike, I do have the car on my lift, and I'll post some pictures later today of some of the other markings I have found. Are there any other pictures you would like to see?

Bob

[Dan H.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Many of us wish our frames looked like that!

[Robert B.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Some of you have asked for some additional frame marking pictures:

IMG_0561.jpgIMG_0563.jpgIMG_0575.jpgIMG_0579.jpg

The first two are passenger side, the second two are drivers side shim marks.

I can't see any evidence of a hand written date code when the frame was pulled for assembly. However, the 414-66 date seems to correlate with the April 15th body assembly date.

Bob

[R N.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Some of you have asked for some additional frame marking pictures:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]52367[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]52368[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]52369[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]52370[/ATTACH]

The first two are passenger side, the second two are drivers side shim marks.

I can't see any evidence of a hand written date code when the frame was pulled for assembly. However, the 414-66 date seems to correlate with the April 15th body assembly date.

Bob

Bob,

The '66 frame stencil had no hand-written pull date. Gary B. did much research on this and wrote an excellent article in The Restorer - do a search for 1966 frame stencils.

BTW, is your body an AOS or a St. Louis body?

[Robert B.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Thanks, Kurt - that's what I thought I had remembered. It's a St. Louis body.

Bob

[R N.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Thanks, Kurt - that's what I thought I had remembered. It's a St. Louis body.

Bob

Bob....

The body build date and your frame date match what Gary Beaupre's research found.

[Joe R.]

Re: To restore or protect??

Bob,

Thank you for posting these pictures. It's cars like yours that allow restorers to present the most original works of art found on the planet! Please consider doing an article featuring this frame. It would be such a great teaching aid to the NCRS members.
The pictures you have presented are so valuable that this frame should be displayed for all members to enjoy!

Thanks again, JR