Stress fractures in body of C2

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lib - 24 Aug 2007 02:20 GMT

I am finishing up the re-build of my 63 SB roadster and have it in the body
shop where they repaired,re-painted, and re-installed the original hood.
They did a poor job of matching the hood to the rest of the body paint, but
that's another story. They went to considerable lengths to point out the
spider-web fractures at other places on the body (perhaps to get my
attention away from the hood color), Has GM came up with a process in the
newer Corvettes to stop stress fractures or do they just happen over a
period of time and use?

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Dad - 24 Aug 2007 02:44 GMT

>I am finishing up the re-build of my 63 SB roadster and have it in
>the body shop where they repaired,re-painted, and re-installed the
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>stress fractures or do they just happen over a period of time and
>use?

I'm not clear on what you are asking, was the entire car painted? If
so the paint match is inexcusable along with the existence of the
stress cracks. If all they did was the hood, you're on your own. I
would never have taken the job without telling you it was going to
look like crap without doing the entire car, you just described the
results of not doing so. What your have described may well be paint
failure and not a stress crack in the fiberglass or both???.

The newer Corvettes are not laid up fiberglass as is your '63 but a
more advanced press molded compound. In other words if it has a stress
crack it has been hit hard and more than likely broken, not just
cracked.

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Dad
05 C6 Silver/Red 6spd Z51
72 Shark Black/Black/4spd
64 Red/red/white top/4spd

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lib - 25 Aug 2007 04:21 GMT

Dad-I was just curious about the new body composition, etc, and if they'd
came up with a solution to mitigate the stress fractures.According to your
answer, it has been addressed, successfully. Thanks. I've owned my car since
1975 so I was well aware of the the existing fractures. I knew going in that
just painting the hood was a crap shoot. The car had a new paint job a few
months before I put it into storage in 1983 and hadn't seen the light of day
until 2 years ago when the re-build was started. I was just a bit surprised
that in this current era using their paint scanner, chips, etc. that they
were unable to get the new paint color closer to the existing. Fortunately,
it won't affect the way the car runs. I'm going to drive it home next week,
approx. 800 mi., so I will get to feel it again. I imagine the thing I will
feel the most is my sore butt and back after the second day- lib

>>I am finishing up the re-build of my 63 SB roadster and have it in the
>>body shop where they repaired,re-painted, and re-installed the original
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> advanced press molded compound. In other words if it has a stress crack it
> has been hit hard and more than likely broken, not just cracked.

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Dad - 25 Aug 2007 06:31 GMT

> Dad-I was just curious about the new body composition, etc, and if
> they'd came up with a solution to mitigate the stress
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> so I will get to feel it again. I imagine the thing I will feel the
> most is my sore butt and back after the second day- lib

Good luck on your trip. The ride would be worse if it was just a year
older, I can still feel the pain of a 16 hour drive in a '61 back in
'62, man that was a long time ago.

Many things have happened in the last 24 years of paint technology
least of all the nearly outright ban of lacquer which would be my
guess is the old paint job on your '63. Now it is nonexistent or way
beyond the average shop doing a lacquer job. Unlike paint will look
just like that, unlike each other. Painting one panel without the
ability to blend the colors is going to scream at you even though red
is not all that hard to match or at least hide the shade or two
difference by blending.

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lib - 29 Aug 2007 01:39 GMT

Dad- Thanx again for more info. The painter mixed up some more paint this
past week-end. My brother looked at the sample panel the painter shot and
said it was very close to the existing. I gave him the go-ahead to re-shoot
the hood and to blend into the top of the fenders and nose adjacent to the
hood. I'm flying up tomorrow a.m. so I'll know then what I ended up with.
At the worst case, it may be an color annoyance that I can solve in the
future, with an outlay of cash. If all problems were that easy to resolve,
I'd perhaps be a happier person.

>> Dad-I was just curious about the new body composition, etc, and if they'd
>> came up with a solution to mitigate the stress fractures.According to
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> going to scream at you even though red is not all that hard to match or at
> least hide the shade or two difference by blending.

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Dad - 29 Aug 2007 02:50 GMT

> Dad- Thanx again for more info. The painter mixed up some more paint
> this past week-end. My brother looked at the sample panel the
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> cash. If all problems were that easy to resolve, I'd perhaps be a
> happier person.

Sounds like a plan, as long as he brought the old paint to the best
polish it would take you should get an agreeable blend.

Have a great trip..........

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