How To Inspect A Birdcage. Avoid Buying An Overpriced Lemon. Inspecting A Split Window.

Welcome to my KZbin channel. This channel is the home for all your vintage Mid-Year Corvette content.
I just finished restoring a 1963 Corvette Split Window and I am starting another split window build but this time its a race car build. I will be making videos every Friday. I will be making videos on my 1963 Corvette Split Window, my dad's 1965 Corvette, my race car split window build, my friends 1960 Corvette, and other projects that I find along the way. Let me know what you think about the video. Enjoy!!
If you are interested in an official MYM hat or if you have any questions please send me an email to [e-mail].
Check out my Instagram for some behind the scenes pics of my builds.
mid_year_mi...
Sit back and enjoy the show!
#IGotALotOfWorkToDo
#BuiltNotBought
#RatRodCorvetteSplitWindow

[@josephackeret7911]

You’re the right man for the job. You are using your gift very well. I love listening to how much you not only know but also the skills you have to follow through with these projects.

[@gsmith207]

now peeps know why one of these fully restored is big money. look at all the hours it’s going to take to bring this car back to concourse condition. crazy passion. love it Mitch, thanks for the education again. I’m still learning at 57.

[@MidYearMitch]

That’s a good point! They can be like an iceberg. They look nice on the surface but the more you look and the more you dig in the more you realize how much needs done. It’s going to need extensive work to rebuild it. It’s going to need a lot of new fiberglass and steel panels. But once that’s done it will be really nice.

[@user-zb6on4in9p]

Nice review and explanation of what to look for when considering the purchase of a c2. As always , you make it sound so simple to make the repairs needed. If this were my car, I wouldn’t know where to start.

[@user-zp6tu3fk5m]

Another great video Mitch. That restoration is not for the faint at heart.

[@jimrains8314]

If you're not considered an expert, who is? That poor poor car is in sad shape. The good news is that it seems to be in good hands now. Also, it is like you said fixable. Best of luck to the owner and don't give up. Great walk around. I never looked at any of that when I bought mine. Guess I got lucky. Take care and stay safe.

[@jimburig7064]

Now I understand the challenge of finding a nice C-2.

[@OutontheRanchwithDrLee-xb4lo]

Great job covering the rust areas and how to find them. This is def the best video online describing where to look... Even tho it's a 63 Coupe ($$$), it will be a non #'s matching car w/non original panels. So is a new RS frame or even a C3 frame conversion in its future???? Fun vid, Mitch! A+++++

[@aluckyboy]

This will be a project only for the brave. 63 coupe is worth the effort if you DIY. Thanks Mitch.

[@MidYearMitch]

Haha you definitely have to be brave to cut into a car like that. But I think Don can get it done.

[@alexgolovchenko3791]

I'd never take on such a task, wow, what a wreck, what a job. Too much for me considering you could buy a new one for the cost of the resto on the old one minus the labour. Got to admire the determination though.😮

[@bobdavis3389]

Very good video Mitch , looks like Don has a lot of work to do , I bet he wishes he would have passed on this split . Unless he got it really cheap .

[@MidYearMitch]

Thanks for tuning in Bob. He has his work cut out but I think that he can figure it out in time. He helped save this car from being crushed by the building it was in. So he definitely rescued this car.

[@micksterboone4517]

I was pleased to find green paint still on my C3 birdcage when taking the body off. It was in an abandoned warehouse it's whole life.

[@MidYearMitch]

That’s exciting to see that color. I don’t get to see that color very often haha.

[@jsh3234]

I'm guessing that C2 must have been sitting in a very damp environment for a long while after being run through a bunch of winters where salt is used. What a mess!!

[@julianp.1713]

Very Good very educational

[@MidYearMitch]

Thanks!

[@mchristr]

It's not as if the car can't be made better than new but you're essentially buying a title and VIN tag. As long as the buyer knows that it's going to be a time consuming and expensive job.

[@lilypondgarage2968]

Corvettes have all there own issues to contend with

[@MidYearMitch]

100% the truth!

[@MrTexasDan]

Hey there Mitch, Thanks for the education. This should come in handy when I go shopping! That 63 frame ... how did it not collapse in on itself? Yikes that's a lot of lost metal. I lived in Minnesota for a while as a teen. I drove my rusty 72 Camaro over a pothole and the leaf springs broke up through the rockers ... the car basically broke in half. Contrast that to where I am now in Central Texas. You can eat off the bottom of my 14 year old truck that has spent 100% of it's life parked outside. Take care, Dan

[@lamarw9901]

I've asked for this video on another channel. Good info. Crazy that the body is as solid as it is.

[@MidYearMitch]

Well that’s wild timing! Haha. I hope that answers your questions. I came to that same conclusion after I saw the chassis. It’s amazing that it isn’t worse.

[@thinshaw1]

Sure wish there was someone with your skill set to fix all the cracks and breaks on my 65 in central Calif. any recommendations?

[@steves9905]

wow that frame is sooo bad. Nice the owner allowed us to feel his pain. Maybe he went in eyes wide open. Is there some way to identify a '63 frame...meaning could another frame from another year be swapped in without being a huge red flag? I think there's a serial number somewhere on the frame tho no doubt this one has rusted away to nothingness.

[@bobdavis3389]

You need to watch all of Mitch's videos , at your leasure . He explanes how about all vette frames would work .

[@MidYearMitch]

Yeah that frame is shot. Don is going to build a Restomod so he will use an aftermarket chassis. I did a whole series on converting a 1978 Corvette frame to work with a 63 body that I called the misfit. The 63 chassis has unique body mounts as well as a special emergency brake setup. Those are both 1 year only. But you can swap a 64-67 chassis under a 63 easily. You can modify a 68-78 chassis with some more effort. You need to change the body mounts, frame horns, and the back about 2’ of the chassis to convert it to be a direct replacement for a C2 corvette. It can be done but it’s a fair bit of work. Check out that series on the misfit if you want to learn more about converting frames.

[@johnthiel7422]

Excellent video. You obviously have a very extensive background on Corvettes , my I ask where you got your education?

[@GarageofHope]

School of Hard Knocks?

[@MidYearMitch]

I learned the hard way and I learned through reading and doing research. The best way to learn is to do it. I didn’t know what I was doing when I started.

[@johnthiel7422]

@@MidYearMitch it's great work and very much enjoyed!

[@johnthiel7422]

@MidYearMitch hate to be a bother, but do you specialize in just midyear vettes , and my I ask where you are located? I sometimes run into people looking to have restoration work done.

[@kevinshorter5861]

I found 1979 corvette in north Indiana

[@MidYearMitch]

Nice! Best of luck with that.

[@davidsolloway9349]

like 52 !

[@kevinshorter5861]

How do you see that with body on it!!

[@MidYearMitch]

That’s when you have to be creative and very observant. If you know the area that the car is from. Say Ohio. You know the car will most likely have rust down low. Start with the chassis and the rockers. You can see a fair bit of the rockers with a mirror or bore scope. Or put the car on a lift. Open and close the doors. See how they shut. If they don’t consistently close properly that’s a sign of a bad frame or a bad cage. The windshield frame is hard to see. But if the car is very weathered and it sat outside for years you can bet the windshield frame is rusty. You are right that it’s hard to see the full story with the body on. But that’s when you have to be resourceful and think about all the clues that the car has to offer.

[@johnkelly6942]

The only reason the car from Ohio didn’t have rust on the roof is because it hasn’t gotten there yet! Given enough time in this part of the country total destruction is not uncommon.

[@MidYearMitch]

Haha good point.

[@larrysalomon1632]

That car is a bunch of junk. He sure got screwed