Even if you keep your Corvette...
Even if you keep your Corvette off the road in the winter, there is a good chance you will end up with a rusty frame. Luckily, there are replacement frames now available for C2 and C3 vintage Corvettes. This story is about a Collier Technologies frame being installed in a C3 Corvette by the car building specialists at Jory's Race & Custom in Westland, Michigan.
So you have a C2 or C3 Corvette that drives a little less "tight" than it used to and you are starting to wonder why. Well, it could be that your frame is rusted in a few key areas, allowing the suspension to move askew ever so slightly going down the road. How you check whether a frame needs to be replaced and how to fix this issue are what this story is all about-and if you are thinking this problem doesn't apply to your summer-only vehicle, think again. This issue is very common to all the early Corvettes. The Corvette shown in this story was a summer-driven car (and cold stored in Michigan during the winter), but the frame rusted out anyway . . . so an all-new frame was ordered from Collier Technologies and is shown being installed here by the pros at Jory's Race & Custom in Westland, Michigan.
Frame Checking
Besides a frame that is damaged from a car crash, the next most common reason for having to replace an early Corvette frame is it being rusted out. The early generation Corvette frames are susceptible to rusting from the inside out at the rear mating point of the two frame sections, just behind the seating area. It's hard to see the damage with the body on, but one of the most common methods to investigate this issue is with a long screwdriver, a flashlight, and spending some time under the vehicle.
To investigate the condition...
To investigate the condition of your frame, plan on spending some time crawling around underneath the car with a few different-length screwdrivers and a powerful flashlight. Use the screwdrivers to lightly poke the frame everywhere you can reach and the flashlight to see any areas that feel soft. Softness is bad and means you need a new frame.
The screwdriver is used to poke at the frame in various areas while the flashlight lets you peer into the small openings in the frame to see what you can see. If you feel any "soft" areas on the frame with the screwdriver, you will need to replace the frame.
While the area where the main framerails and the rear suspension framerails mate together is the most common area for "softness," the frames can rust in multiple areas. You want to look for areas where dirt, moisture, and other debris accumulate, as this is what often leads to a rusty section of the frame. The only solution to fix a rusted out frame is to replace it. This is an involved process, as the entire car is built off the frame, but it will make your Corvette like new again, or better-setting you up for many more years of enjoyment with it.
This is the new Collier Technologies...
This is the new Collier Technologies frame being delivered to Jory's Race & Custom for install in the '75 Corvette. It was ordered already powdercoated.
To get the rusty frame out of a vehicle, the short answer is you need to take the body off the chassis, and then completely disassemble everything off the frame. It's a big job that is best done with a two-post vehicle lift. This allows you to get underneath the frame to access all the fasteners (spraying them with penetrating fluid first, then loosening them) and also to easily lift the body off the frame when it comes time to separate the body and chassis.
The body/chassis separation is probably the easy part when compared to completely disassembling the drivetrain, suspension, steering and other systems from the rusty frame, stripping these components of many years of road grime, inspecting the parts for damage or excessive wear, and then painting or powdercoating them in prep for reinstallation. On this frame swap, the prep and paint work took the longest amount of time and definitely took the most effort.
To start the frame swap, every...
To start the frame swap, every fastener should be drenched in penetrating oil, like WD-40. Be prepared to have to cut a few bolts off their nuts as they will be fused together. A set of lift straps are used to grab the body at strategic points to lift it off. The team at Jory's use their two-post lift to carefully separate the body and chassis.
You can order a Collier replacement frame with just about any setup you like. Want a C2 'Vette with a C4 suspension? No problem. Want a frame built out of stainless steel? No problem. Want that stainless steel frame fully polished? What do you think? That's right-no problem. The Collier team is a very talented bunch and always enjoys a challenge. In this case, we ordered one of the off-the-rack, powdercoated frames for a C3 Corvette. Collier had it delivered and we started installing new or rebuilt parts as soon as it arrived.
One of the most impressive aspects of the Collier replacement frame was the accuracy of all the mounting locations. Sometimes with fully fabricated frames, it is hard to hold position on the locations-but the Collier replacement frame is spot-on. Very impressive.
Before lifting the body off...
Before lifting the body off the frame, the various connectors for systems like the electrical, steering, drivetrain, and others need to be separated. Here, the steering system "rag joint" has been unbolted and is being carefully pried apart as the body starts to lift off the frame.
Surprisingly, this Corvette...
Surprisingly, this Corvette was a summer-only car since it was purchased brand new, with its winters in an unheated Midwest garage-but as you can see that wasn't enough to keep it rust-free. This mating point of the framerails was completely rusted out on both sides of the vehicle. Note the frame bolt that was "hot wrenched" (that's code for a torch!) off the frame...
The remaining components left...
The remaining components left on the rusted out frame were unbolted at this time. This included the drivetrain, suspension, steering system, and other components. All of the components were inspected for damage and then sent out to be sandblasted before coming back in for painting. A lot of reproduction parts were ordered at this point to replace worn-out components (the advantage of being a Corvette!).
As the suspension pieces were...
As the suspension pieces were prepped, the team at Jory's started to reinstall them on the new Collier frame. All of the fasteners were replaced with Stainless Works repop items, and many of the chassis items were also replaced. The engine and transmission were also sent out for rebuilding.
The main rails are fully boxed from laser cut metal pieces that are welded together in special jigs-which means that these are not like the factory 'C' channel rails, but rather a four-sided rail (often called a box rail)-so we thought mounting reproduction pre-bent fuel and brake lines would be a challenge. We were wrong. The lines went right on the frame like they were meant to be; the only thing we had to do was drill and tap some holes to mount some hold-down tabs.
Other than that, the various systems bolted right on the frame and everything looked great when everything was reinstalled. The owner of this vehicle is very excited to get it back on the road and enjoy the better-than-new performance of his beloved Corvette (a car his dad drove for many years and now is ready to once again be a longstanding family heirloom).
Without a doubt, swapping frames is an involved job, but if you have a rusty frame and want to enjoy safe, durable miles with your Corvette, you have to replace the frame. It's a tough choice, but one of those tough jobs that will pay dividends for years to come.
As the original chassis parts...
As the original chassis parts came back from their rust removal process, they were wiped down with solvent and painted (as these parts are in Jory's paint booth).
The men behind Niagara Falls-based Collier Technologies, Bob and Rick Collier, are both Corvette enthusiasts. The engineering and manufacturing side of Collier Technologies, Davert Tools Inc, started in 1996, but these guys have over 20 years each supplying assembly line equipment as a Tier 1 automotive supplier to the OEMs including most GM plants in North America (including the Bowling Green Corvette plant).
Their frame business started many years ago when Rick needed a new frame for one of his vintage Corvettes and couldn't find one-so the brothers decided to build their own. Like most car guy projects, the frame building program was soon an over-the-top project utilizing Davert Tools engineering and manufacturing as well as other resources to build a frame better than the factory piece. Other than being fully fabricated, the Collier replacement frame has been through extensive simulated durability testing to ensure it can handle the rigors of being driven for thousands of miles.
The Collier Technologies frame...
The Collier Technologies frame is a fully fabricated unit that honors all the original frame mounts. In fact, some of the components bolted up to the Collier frame easier than the team at Jory's have experienced with stock frames!
While their journey to a final product was lengthy, we think it was worth the effort as every Collier Technologies Corvette frame is a fully-boxed work of art in its strength, mounting point accuracy, suspension flexibility (it can be set up to mount late model Corvette suspensions under an early vehicle) and appearance.
As a heads up, the Collier frame is slightly different from a stock frame, but once we spent some time with it, the appearance and functionality of their frame won us over. In the end, we would recommend the Collier frame for someone who plans on driving their Corvette like a regular car and wants late model rigidity and functionality in their older Corvette.
| Difficulty Index - 3 Wrenches |
| Anyone’s Project: no tools required | 1 Wrench |
| Beginner: basic tools | 2 Wrenches |
| Experienced: special tools | 3 Wrenches |
| Accomplished: special tools and outside help | 4 Wrenches |
| Professionals Only: send this work out | 5 Wrenches |
One tip from the team at Jory's...
One tip from the team at Jory's is to mark the heads of the final torqued fasteners and the surrounding frame section with a line drawn by a paint pen, as shown. This line allows the team at Jory's to quickly visually inspect if a system or component has been final installed.
Reproduction brake and fuel...
Reproduction brake and fuel lines were purchased for the project and installed surprisingly easy on the Collier frame-considering it is a fully boxed frame. To mount the lines, the crew at Jory's drilled and tapped some 1/4-inch holes in the frame in locations near the stock frame mounts.
The final assembled package...
The final assembled package looks impressive and will provide years of fun, safe support for this vehicle. As soon as the engine and transmission are back from the rebuild shop, everything will be reinstalled to get this Corvette back on the road.