Well, what started off as a simple project has quickly became more than I can handle. I pulled the gas tank, rear end, and misc. other parts off the rear of my 66SS with the intention of cleaning and painting the under side of the car. Much to my surprise after removing undercoating and road grime my car has some pretty significant rust damage. Two of the rear body mount perches are rusted through, one of the gas tank straps is rusted nearly in two, the trunk has a lot of pinholes in it, the passenger side inner wheel well is rusted through along the bottom rear, both rear quarters have been patched behind the rear tire opening, and the two fron floor pans suffer from a crappy patch job. I don't have the facility or experience to tackle these kinds of repairs and would prefer to have it done correctly the first time. I'm wondering what kinds of questions I should ask and what things to look for when selecting someone to do a frame off? I've read a lot of posts here and some tech references by Skip Cain and others, so I have some general ideas. There is one guy locally that does really good work, but he's not cheap. I believe he gets $12,000 in labor alone to do a complete frame off. Does this sound high? What sort of things can I do (engine/transmission removal, interior disassembly, etc) that might lower the cost of the frame off? Can I save money by doing some things myself (engine/trans removal, interior disassembly, etc???). Will I compromise the end result by not letting them do the whole job?

Sorry for the long post but I'm both dissappointed and unsure about how best to proceed. Thanks for any feedback from people who have already been through this process.



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Ken Jett
1966 SS396 3750lbs
460ci Grimes Twister
11.87@116.79 w/1.85 60'
Team Chevelle Member
Atlanta, GA.

My 66SS (http://kjett.home.mindspring.com)

Iwould be willing to give you advice on your project. I can even perform some of all of the work you were asking about. I can work with you if you want to do some of the dissassembly and assembly.You can e-mail me at gvm67442@hotmail.com. I'm located in the Chicago area