I should never be left by myself

elevatordude

elevatordude

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
325
Location
Palmer, Ma.
I told them to never leave me in the house all by my self ...now all i have to do is get the frame all set before the snow flies ( I'm taking bets 100 to 1 says I will be brushing snow off my work van)

OK now for the questions I am going to be sand blasting the frame and painting with POR 15. Is there any way to clean and protect the inside of the frame any and all recommendations will be appreciated. I am on a budget so dipping or powder coating is out of the question.


Vette007.jpg

This is what got me motivated my buddy's brought a friend car to a show last week.
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Oh man Ray, your in for a chore. I would defenitely count on the snow thing.:suicide::lol::lol:

Blast whatever you can, and apply the POR 15 inside the frame rails with a wand like undercoaters use. Do the inside first, then wipe off the leaks and finish the part you can see last. I do the bottom first, then flip and do the top last. :wink:
 
When I first used POR15 I liked it, I got the small "beginner's" kit for $15, enough to do the windshield frame.
Once I used epoxy primer for the first time I realized how superior this stuff is - this PPG DP40 is some nasty stuff, it seems to stick to just about anything. I like it a lot better than POR15 which is not good for clean sandblasted steel, it seems to work better on rusty surfaces.
DP40 is white, I think DP 50 or 60 is black.... it's about $65 for 1.5qt, mixing ratio is 2:1 as far as I remember and it's been a while since I bought it....

Are you going to weld gussets to strengthen the frame ?? Now is the time to do that....

There are quiet a few products out there for use inside the frame - make sure it's dry and the product does not trap moisture... undercoating for example is the worst, once it separates from the steel surface it leaves a gap where moisture can accumulate.

I like Tectyl because it adheres well and unlike undercoating it stays flexible so it won't crack:
http://tectyl.valvolineeurope.com/index.asp?pageid=ad31dda49ac6481c83d9ab69c3659c11
 
front crossmember, lower A-arm channel, engine mounts, rear kickups.... there are many weak spots on these frames....
 
elevatordude said:
Thanks guys... At what points would you weld the gussets on?
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Ray,
Find on Flea Bay the "Chevy Powerbook." 1970's edition. Everything you want to know is in there. We proably have some frame info in the downloads section.
 
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I guess I can't complain its been 3 months and the front end is all done now the money end is about to start. New spring, and trailing arm ahhhhh I can't wait.:devil:
 
Your making nice progress Ray. When you restore the suspension, magic happens. You get a nice, tight, responsive car. I found the rebuilt steering box, Bilsteins, new springs, new bushings, rebuilt T/A's, all worth every centavo. I used the VB&P Grand Touring kit, and thought "all new for 1,000?" Not that bad a deal.;)
 
Great progress!
Thanks for the link to the book!

I went the cheap way.. Rustoleum Gloss black. I scraped, wire brushed, sand blasted my frame (still on the car), then used a bunch of rattle cans! It's stayed nice so far.
 
My biggest fear in doing a frame off was that I would become "one of those guys" you know that guy... the one that takes his car completely apart and then looses interest or just doesn't have the knowledge to reassemble it, and then ends up selling the parts or just lets it sit and rot into the ground. Thank god I got over that fear.
 
elevatordude said:
My biggest fear in doing a frame off was that I would become "one of those guys" you know that guy... the one that takes his car completely apart and then looses interest or just doesn't have the knowledge to reassemble it, and then ends up selling the parts or just lets it sit and rot into the ground. Thank god I got over that fear.
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I really believe that syndrome happens to guys who never actually work with their hands, or are engineering types....
guys who got in over their heads because they never did anything more than push papers.....

they are NOT attracted to this site....I say a factor of 10-1 easy in that statement....

Methinks my wife has more balls than many men on projects.....

serious....:D:flash:
 
I resent that engineering comment. Not all of us are all books, no hands. In fact, the bulk of the engineers I've met are skilled and used to, or continue to maintain their cars. Only a few I know that have no idea what to do with cars, but typically they are skilled in another regard.

Back to topic, the progress looks good man. Nice and clean and that's good you got over your fear.
 
greg75vette said:
I resent that engineering comment. Not all of us are all books, no hands. In fact, the bulk of the engineers I've met are skilled and used to, or continue to maintain their cars. Only a few I know that have no idea what to do with cars, but typically they are skilled in another regard.

Back to topic, the progress looks good man. Nice and clean and that's good you got over your fear.
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Yeh, you probably right, maybe I was too hard there, but I got that distinct impression from the men I worked with for about 5 years in the early 80's....

so many individuals, and too many job sites....:drink:
 
greg75vette said:
I resent that engineering comment. Not all of us are all books, no hands. In fact, the bulk of the engineers I've met are skilled and used to, or continue to maintain their cars. Only a few I know that have no idea what to do with cars, but typically they are skilled in another regard.

Back to topic, the progress looks good man. Nice and clean and that's good you got over your fear.
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Thanks Greg ,You know what the best thing is ...working on a car where rust isn't falling in my eyes all the time. You should see one of the trailing arms I am getting rid of, every time I move it there's a new pile of rust there is nothing left of this thing.
 
Ok i have every thing in except the tank straps and drive shaft.I will be ordering that from dennys most likely this week. I have called 3 friend and my brother to set a weekend for putting the body back on. As soon as the body is dropped and the body bolts are in the party starts. Steaks and drinks woooohooooo!:beer:

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