C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

[mike geary]

Looking at a '65 which apparently had the drive shaft get loose at the pinion flange and wipe out the center section of the jack storage compartment.
Does anyone know of a repair piece that's manufactured for this situation, or if not, a likely source for a "donor graft"? Man, you talk about UGLY!

TIA. Mike

[Mike Cobine]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

It was probably a repair instead of an accident. Lots of cars had the tunnel cut to get to the rear u-joint, just like may have holes over the differential so they could drop it.

[Jon #40768]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

Make sure you examin the differential front support for cracks. When I bought my car that support was broken and the U-joint hit the floor every time I shifted. That was a good thing tough as the woman I bought the car from thought that the noise was a big problem.

[Chuck S.]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

Mike, contact The Corvette Image in Oregon. They may be able to make you a repair panel to order. Now, grafting it in and making it look good...that'll be slightly more challenging.

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

Mike,

------Paragon has many, many tubs and I would think that they might sell you a section out of one of the worst of them thats good. Give them a call...........Bill S

[mike geary]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

Mike:

Boy I wish it had been a repair. This hole is as big as a canteloupe and looks like it was made by a hand grenade...

Thanks to all who responded. This will be a pretty intricate grafting job, but getting it to look decent on the inside shouldn't be too tough. Now the underside....that would have to wait until the posi is out!

Mike

[Gary S.]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

Mike, I had my half shaft u joint break loose and do a severe amount of very localized damage on a 66. I was fortunate that most of the fiberglass was still there to work with on the repair. I can tell you that this is a VERY difficult area to work on because of the huge amount of angles, turns, and bends in the glass. It can be made to look good with careful manipulation of the glass panel. I would suggest that grafting in a replacement piece can be done but no matter how careful and talented you are, there will be some evidence of the repair. Mine was only visible from the underside, as if you were inspecting the car on a lift.

One poster suggested Paragon. From the photos I have seen of their yard I would bet that they would most certainly have a donor avaiable. Get lots of clamps, cut pieces of plywood (to act a a form and a brace) and cut-t-length pieces of 2X2 to use as a bracing material. Go slowly and don't be hesitant to start over on a particular section. Btw, the buyer of my 66 never saw the repair when he was in the back of the car looking for damage, until I pointed out the area that had been repaired. There is no doubt that I could have let this slide without notice unless a buyer had wanted to go under the car for an inspection.

Gary

[mike geary]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

Gary:

Good suggestions about bracing the area to maintain alignment. Thanks.
I will be completely satisfied if I can make the jack compartment look normal from the inside. I'm thinking that if I can get a repair panel, I can splice it in using the same basic technique as grafting in a fender flare patch panel -- trim to create a nice butt joint, flush align with temporary screws & metal strips, tack bond with adhesive from the bottom, and then v-grind the joint on the inside followed by glassing & filling. The tacking adhesive underneath can stay there until later!

Mike

[Chuck S.]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

Mike, this is what the Eckler's book tells you to do: Use #10 bolts and nuts with fender washers (~1.25" diameter) sized for the bolts. Install the bolts/nuts by drilling clearance holes along the split line between the donor piece and the car body. Tightening the nuts with fender washers top and bottom will force the two pieces into alignment if you have made the joint in a relatively flat area.

Mix and apply body filler to the surface you will laminate last. It will probably be easier to put the body filler on the inside, and laminate the underside of the body first. It never will be easy to laminate the fiberglass in the overhead position, but at least application of the filler will be easy. On the other hand, when you later grind off the filler, you will have a dust storm in the rear compartment...you choose; six of one, half dozen of the other.

Once the filler is cured, proceed with laminating the underside...it sounds like you have your laminating technique down. When the underside is cured, grind off the filler and laminate the top using the same technique. If you spend the time finish grinding and sanding the repair lamination, it will be as invisible as you want to make it.

[Gary S.]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

As Chuck suggest, the use of fasteners to hold things in place while you glass and resin is a great idea. For the pieces of the compartment that did not want to stay in alignment with the surrounding glass, I placed some of the cut plywood inside the storage area and used long wood screws, screwed through the panel being repaired, to hold the offending piece and pull it into position while waiting for the resin to cure.

The glass repair in this area is done using conventional methods of fiberglass repair. Just a lot more difficult, IMHO, and much messier. This is especially true when working on your back under the car.

Gary

[Chuck S.]

Re: C2 Exploded U-joint Patch Panel?

Gary, I forgot to mention the important advantage of using the body filler across the joint and between the bolts. Once the body filler is cured, you can remove the bolts/nuts, leaving nothing that will be embedded in the lamination. The body filler replaces the bolts/nuts in keeping the sides of the joint aligned.