Chassis Tear Down and Rebuildnew
This Chassis tear down went much smoother than that of the '79 even though the bolts had been on for ten additional years. The Body came off easily, partly because the front clip had been removed exposing the front frame and all of the body bolts were already loose. The suspension components were in relatively good condition considering the shape of the rest of the car. Although most of these components will all be replaced with the Performance Plus package from Vette Brakes, the A-arms were given to Fast Corvette as a core for some of their other components I purchased and the sway bars were sold on eBay. In the top middle pic it looks like the rear is leaking, but that is liquid wrench that I used to soak on the parts for a couple of days. I laid the front suspension out on the floor for a comparison pic of the new 'coil-less' suspension further down the page. The trailing arms had only surface rust so they were professionally rebuilt. The differential had little wear, but was completely overhauled as well.... one of those things that is very easy to do now, but would be a royal pain to do later with the body on!
I don't need no stinking brake lines!
New stainless brake lines provided by Corvette America.
For a 34 year old frame it was in very good shape. There were 3 questionable sections that were cut out and replaced, but only on the flat side surfaces. The gussets were reinforced and all of the welds inspected before being sandblasted, primed with self etching paint, and then painted. The pics below show the green self etching primer with the patches welded in place and then finally the completed painted frame. Things are moving right along and I'm ahead of my schedule right now...... Although that won't last after I start the body.
