New Chassis

[hermanrodriquez]

My dad just passes away and left me his Centurion. I'm getting ready to bring it back! I had a bodshop take a look at the car prior to starting my restoration. What we found was a lot of corrosion in the chassis especially at the rear where the suspension bolts together. I need some help with this. I'm not sure what my next steps are.

Any suggestions? :confused4:

[73 Centurion]

Hi Herman,

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad.

There are 2 ways to fix the chassis, and I suggest you go to a couple of different shops and get their opinion on which you choose.

A) You can have the rust cut out and new steel welded into the frame. If the shop knows what they are doing and the damage is not too large this could be a solution. They will probably have to raise the body off the frame to get clearance to weld.

B) Replace the frame. I think the frame from any 1971 or later full size Buick convertible could be made to work. I think the major differences will be in the 1971/72 frames and 1973 and later which had the 5 mph bumpers. The body shop should be able to tell you what frames will work. You might even be able to use any full size GM (excluding Cadillac).

Replacing the frame will be the cleanest looking and it has the benefit of fixing any weakness not visible from the outside. But it also will probably take more time, and you'll have to find a good donor frame, which might involve shipping.

Keep an eye on eBay. There have been a couple of convertibles that were damaged (fire, vandalism etc). Depending on the damage the frame might be fine.

Let us know some details of your Centurion (year, color, options etc.). Pictures are always a treat.

Good luck,

John

[hermanrodriquez]

John, thank you for the help. I just dropoped it off at a very good frame guy in my town. He's going to put it on a lift shake the front end to see how bad it is. From there I'm going to know what I have and next steps. Have you heard of anyone selling rolling chassis for our car?

Thanks for the quick reply!

[hermanrodriquez]

I had the car looked over and the body is in worse shape than the frame and the frame needs to be replaced! I found another car in extramly good shape and will post pictures very soon. I plan on keeping my fathers car for parts. The key thing is I have the same type of car my dad wanted the boys to have....thanks for the help. I hope to be an active member.

[heavycenturion]

Herman,
I'm about to bring home a new parts car.. 72 Centurion Hard top.
I'm buying it primarily for the quarters.. and maybe the doors. It came out of NV and has no rust. No engine or tranny, but the frame should be very solid.

If you're interested, give me a call.
Dennis
770-337-0296

[hermanrodriquez]

Thank you but i've been told this is a different frame than the convertable!

Thanks for thinking of me....have a great holiday.