C3 Cowl Back body

[Michael Baranowsky (32078)]

Hi Folks,

Does anyone know a source for a complete cowl back body for a 77'. The source I originally had to get this complete rear body is failing me. Mine is beyond redemption.

I would prefer a source in the Greater Toronto Area or Ontario (Canada). Suggestions of North-East US sources would at least give me an idea of what is available if all else fails. Ideas of pricing would help.

Thanks All.

Michael B.

[mike cobine]

Re: C3 Cowl Back body

Depending on how complete you are looking for, there are several cowl back bodies that show up on eBay. '77 seem to be some of the more numerous, like '79.

Of course, shipping is your problem and some of them are literally trash, but if you keep your eyes open, you can find a good deal if you have all the rest of the parts. Just do a search Corvette (body,clip,rear) and see what comes up. You may have to refine the search and to add other terms to get all you need, but it is a start.

[Jim Trekell (22375)]

Re: C3 Cowl Back body

Try contacting Contemporary Corvettes and see what they have available.

[Michael Ward (29001)]

Re: C3 Cowl Back body

Have you contacted anyone in the Ontario Chapter for references? There's two or three scrapyards here in the Montreal area, but shipping would be expensive.

[Mark Milner]

Re: C3 Cowl Back body

What is wrong with your body that you need another? Is it wrecked, rusted out, or what? How much of yours could you use in case the donor is very bare or even missing some?

[Michael Baranowsky (32078)]

Re: C3 Cowl Back body

Mark,

The body is perfect but the frame is completely rusted out. Pillar post has a gap of a couple inches on each side with no metal; the rocker is pretty bad as well.

I need a stripped 77' body. I had never heard the term "clip" before. What does this mean? If the donor has a good subframe I could consider moving body parts to the replacement. I was hoping to minimize this but I guess at a good price it may be worth considering if I don't have much luck finding a good rear body.

And by the way, thanks to everyone who responded. These were all great starting points. I did not realize there was so much data (and parts) available. I had checked with several wreckers nearby to no avail.

Cheers,

Michael Baranowsky

[Michael Strinich (11202)]

Re: C3 Cowl Back body

77 Cowl back bodies are CHEAP! Nobody wants them (except you). You may have to put quarters on most bodies and certainly a rear bumper, but other than that you should be able to find a good one for $500 or less. The quarter usually get busted when these bodies set in a field or junk yard.

Try David Mulliken at Milliken's Corvette in Piedmont SC. He has a field FULL of C3 bones! 864 845 0838

This also depends on whether you want to visit South Carolina.

Mike Strinich
#11202

[Mark Milner]

Re: C3 Cowl Back body

Do you mean the frame like in Chassis or frame like in Birdcage? The chassis is the metal rails below the body that the suspension hangs on and the birdcage is the metal inside the body that supports the door hinges, windshield, t-tops, and is the "roll bar" in back.

If so, you may find that if the car is sitting in some areas, that may be as rusty as the one you have.

Also, I doubt the birdcage has any significant differences from 1974 to 1977 and may not all the way back to '68. That helps your search considerably.

There is a guy in Wisconsin that has a bunch of Corvette partial bodies and advertises on eBay occasionally. Several in upper New York state show up over time. Often you will find a wreck that has the nose removed and intact body-wise but basically stripped.

[Michael Baranowsky (32078)]

Re: C3 Cowl Back body

I should have been more careful with my choise of words. The chassis is fully restored. Many weekends of welding minor cracks and re-enforcing poor quality seems in the box frame and sandblasting a donor chassis. By "frame" I meant the frame of the rear body or "birdcage". My wife used to drive the car year round and Canadian winters and salt are not kind to the poorly coated metal.

I'll be checking first in southern Ontario then widen the search to include those suggested like your areas in upper New York state, Wisconsin and SC as suggested by Mike. I did not realize these bodies were so plentiful otherwise I would have dropped my original prospect a long time ago.

I'll do some checking in Quebec as well since that's only 5-6 hours away.

Thanks.

[Chuck Rice (32205)]

Re: Try Keith Beyersdorf

Owner of Corvel Automotive (303) 777-2020.

Keith supplied me with a complete, very straight and rust free 68 clip for $600.00

It costed me another $300 to get it to beautiful (and snowy) Up-State New York

He's based out of Denver Colorado.

I had the usual rust belt issues, the cage was either completely gone or so thin that repair was out of the question economically.

Don't tell him I sent you or he might quote ya double

Chuck