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I recently bought a 67 coupe that has issues with the frame. My question is, if I repair the frame I will spend $4000 or so, and still have a old repaired frame. Or, buy a new frame from Vette products of Michigan. I could sell my old rusty frame and offset the $4300 new frame price. I am told the new frames are exact copies??? I am sure my old rusty frame will not show its vin #, since its rusted so bad. How would this effect the value of the car from NCRS point of view? My car is a L-79 coupe, k66, leather headrest car. Numbers matching. Thanks for you views, Kurt
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Re: Repair or replace 67 frame???
a new frame is 4300$ an you could repair the org frame for 4000. if it was mine I would repair the old frame. -
Re: Repair or replace 67 frame???
a new frame is 4300$ an you could repair the org frame for 4000. if it was mine I would repair the old frame.Comment
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Re: Repair or replace 67 frame???
I think that you need to analyze the damage to your frame. If it just the side rails and the kick ups are good, I think that you should repair it. If it is more, I think that the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in. Sure, you can repair your old frame and have the "original" frame, but if the reproduction is a perfect undetectable match, why spend the time and bucks and still have a frame that will give you problems again in a few years. I have done both options and I had rather spend my time doing other things than repairing frames given equal costs.Dick WhittingtonComment
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Re: Repair or replace 67 frame???
I think that you need to analyze the damage to your frame. If it just the side rails and the kick ups are good, I think that you should repair it. If it is more, I think that the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in. Sure, you can repair your old frame and have the "original" frame, but if the reproduction is a perfect undetectable match, why spend the time and bucks and still have a frame that will give you problems again in a few years. I have done both options and I had rather spend my time doing other things than repairing frames given equal costs.Dick WhittingtonComment
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Speaking directly to the question....
there are a number of originality issues NCRS does NOT check during Flight judging. We don't ask owners to remove the body from the chassis so we can inspect the factory original frame stampings and we don't 'slither' under cars to verify the VIN derivative stamps on the transmission case. Call, it 'lazy', but there's a limit to what you can check in a reasonable timeframe without special tools or dissassembly of the vehicle!
Therefore, in the eyes of NCRS, a restored car with a frame replaced or transplanted from another car scores just as well as the car's factory original frame PROVIDED it's physical configuration doesn't differ from that of the original. By, the later qualification I mean there were minor running changes in frame construction over time and there were differences in manual vs. automatic transmission equipped car frames. So, if you put a square peg in a round hole with a frame swap, you could see point deductions....
The balance of the question is one of pride in restoration. YOU are the toughest judge you'll ever meet because you know what's right/original and what's been replaced on your car. Your fellow club members, serving as judges, have a limited time period to look and make a judgement call on things.
But, there are genuine occassions where it's the 'right' thing to do to discard a factory original component during restoration in the interest of durablity and safety. A 'restored' original frame that's a literal rust bucket could well be one of these instances where it's prudent to discard originality....Comment
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Speaking directly to the question....
there are a number of originality issues NCRS does NOT check during Flight judging. We don't ask owners to remove the body from the chassis so we can inspect the factory original frame stampings and we don't 'slither' under cars to verify the VIN derivative stamps on the transmission case. Call, it 'lazy', but there's a limit to what you can check in a reasonable timeframe without special tools or dissassembly of the vehicle!
Therefore, in the eyes of NCRS, a restored car with a frame replaced or transplanted from another car scores just as well as the car's factory original frame PROVIDED it's physical configuration doesn't differ from that of the original. By, the later qualification I mean there were minor running changes in frame construction over time and there were differences in manual vs. automatic transmission equipped car frames. So, if you put a square peg in a round hole with a frame swap, you could see point deductions....
The balance of the question is one of pride in restoration. YOU are the toughest judge you'll ever meet because you know what's right/original and what's been replaced on your car. Your fellow club members, serving as judges, have a limited time period to look and make a judgement call on things.
But, there are genuine occassions where it's the 'right' thing to do to discard a factory original component during restoration in the interest of durablity and safety. A 'restored' original frame that's a literal rust bucket could well be one of these instances where it's prudent to discard originality....Comment
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Re: Repair or replace 67 frame???
I still think that before you commit 4K towards a new replacement frame, you might want to explore looking for a donor 67 frame clip.
I'm no C2 expert ( or C3 but I'm learning ) but I'll wager that 63 through 66 frames will be dead ringers for your 67 as well, so I have to believe that quality repair parts are out there.
Yes it will cost to purchase, yes it will probably cost to ship, yes it might cost to meld the two together.
Now on the flip side, I started to plate over my 68 frame rot but found that it was just too thin, so I started looking for a rear clip and found several. Fortunately for me before I committed to a buy, I found major rot in the front crossmember and frame sections just behind the towers. That's when I knew that my advantages to repiring went inverted against the safety, quality and lastly cost.
As the others have rightfully suggested, it's your call bottom line Kurt.
Just for grins Kurt, where are you located if it's not prying?
ChuckComment
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Re: Repair or replace 67 frame???
I still think that before you commit 4K towards a new replacement frame, you might want to explore looking for a donor 67 frame clip.
I'm no C2 expert ( or C3 but I'm learning ) but I'll wager that 63 through 66 frames will be dead ringers for your 67 as well, so I have to believe that quality repair parts are out there.
Yes it will cost to purchase, yes it will probably cost to ship, yes it might cost to meld the two together.
Now on the flip side, I started to plate over my 68 frame rot but found that it was just too thin, so I started looking for a rear clip and found several. Fortunately for me before I committed to a buy, I found major rot in the front crossmember and frame sections just behind the towers. That's when I knew that my advantages to repiring went inverted against the safety, quality and lastly cost.
As the others have rightfully suggested, it's your call bottom line Kurt.
Just for grins Kurt, where are you located if it's not prying?
ChuckComment
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Re: Repair or replace 67 frame???
Chuck,
I live in St Louis. The car spent its early years in northern Illinois. I can see the frame has issues in the bottom of the frame rails, right in front of the rear tires. In addition the areas around the rear kick ups look thin. The rear 1/2 of the frame has a lot of scale. I think if sand blasted, I would have very thin areas. I'm thinking replacement...I would spend less and have a much safer base to build on..Comment
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Re: Repair or replace 67 frame???
Chuck,
I live in St Louis. The car spent its early years in northern Illinois. I can see the frame has issues in the bottom of the frame rails, right in front of the rear tires. In addition the areas around the rear kick ups look thin. The rear 1/2 of the frame has a lot of scale. I think if sand blasted, I would have very thin areas. I'm thinking replacement...I would spend less and have a much safer base to build on..Comment
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Has anyone seen these new frames?
I have not seen these replacement frames. I have been told by Vette products, they are built from GM specs and are Licensed by GM to build them. Has anyone seen these frames??? Thanks for all your feedback guys. KurtComment
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Has anyone seen these new frames?
I have not seen these replacement frames. I have been told by Vette products, they are built from GM specs and are Licensed by GM to build them. Has anyone seen these frames??? Thanks for all your feedback guys. KurtComment
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Re: Has anyone seen these new frames?
I have not seen the complete frames but I have used their parts to repair several frames and have NO reservations about recommending them. Fit, etc is perfectDick WhittingtonComment
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Re: Has anyone seen these new frames?
I have not seen the complete frames but I have used their parts to repair several frames and have NO reservations about recommending them. Fit, etc is perfectDick WhittingtonComment
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