C1 Chassis Condition

[Mark P.]

I would appreciate any opinions on the condition of my chassis for my 1960. I am planning a restoration for my car which has spent most of its life in California and I believe has never had a chassis restoration. Is this pretty typical ?

Other than the repairs to the rear cross member I don't see anything apparent that looks unusually in bad condition. Do you think the cross member should be repaired or replaced ?

If you see anything not original I would also appreciate hearing about it.

[Gary C.]

Re: C1 Chassis Condition

Mark, frame looks pretty good. However you don't know about it until it's inspected with a chipping hammer to see if there are any poke through holes. The rear cross member is a different story particularly if the welded on plates are cover rust through areas. Would have to remove the plates to see what's underneath as well as test the rest of the rear cross member with the chipping hammer to see how rusty or weak it is. If you do replace it make sure to weld the rivets back to make it looks like rivets. Good luck, Gary....

[Bill M.]

Re: C1 Chassis Condition

Hi Mark:

I'm in the rust belt. I'm not sure if the rust pattern here is the same as CA. I've seen rusted-through C1 frames here. Make sure you check the rear half of the boxed sections carefully. I saw one '61 frame where the bottom and both sides of the siderail (in the kick-up area) were rusted through. The car was very nice other than that!

I'm about to start a restoration on a '59. My '59 chassis looks a lot like yours, but I don't have the rear sta. bar. I don't see anything non-original.

Good luck with your project.

Bill

[Wayne P.]

Re: C1 Chassis Condition

Rear cross member might be ok. The patches appear to be where factory holes are located. Don't know why anyone would do that. I have seen trailer hitch repairs similiar to this also. If it turns out to be rust I would replace it.