GM: we have specific ways and trained techs to rebuild your C8. This will restore the structural integrity of your car. ROB: I have a harbor fright hydraulic kit, a few C clamps and a couple of tie downs.
Rob, save your time and money for long run issues. 3D scan a good C8 frame, mill it and weld in a good piece. It will be stronger than before and cost less in terms of having to redo later after everything is done in the car.
@@13christbane It's like people don't understand it's not an old school car and that a lot of engineering and analysis has gone into the design of this frame. I'm very sad that professionals won't be doing this repair and that some other person will be driving it. It just goes to show that you have to be very careful with salvage vehicles, regardless of what they are. They may look good, but if you need that built in safety, it just might not be there. Sad!
Yeah after I thought about it welding that coke can thin aluminum isn't gonna be easy and probably not very good for it it. Welding aluminum intercooler tubes is one thing. Pieces thin like this is another.
@@mostlymotorized You do understand what annealing is right? There's a difference between the quick localized heat of a torch cooling fast, and the wide, slow cooling of an open flame. Essentially the aluminium turns to a soft mess. Ever wondered why aluminium structures, in fires, collapse like a Picasso painting rather than the abrupt sudden churn of a steel one (with the admission that the fire would reach high enough to the give point of steel)? Now you know.
@@mostlymotorized I guess I need to explain this then. Welding to aluminum using TIG is fine, because you are adding material and you are not getting an entire Chunk if the aluminum hot, just A localized section. What Rob is doing is heating a large section and then immediately bending it weakening immensely. For steal this would be fine to do but aluminum is already a weak metal. Edit : aserta already said this basically before I could finish my message.
I think he's okay as long as it doesn't get too hot, i don't know the range for sure but i want to say as long as he keeps it under 500F i think it won't permanently lose it's strength, but still lose enough of it (temporarily) to bend it where he wants. Obviously I am just speaking from what little knowledge i have so please correct me if someone knows better.
Chevy knew Rob is on his way to creating automotive perfection. In their efforts to stop him, they only made him want it more. Can’t wait to see this wonderful machine fully together... in 10 years... with wiring problems...
John Meray, I’ve had enough problems, wiring problems in particular, to count for us both. GM = f u wiring, plastic. Not that Corvettes aren’t any good, they are. Their wiring, ???
And he hit us with it again at the end. Thus further reassuring us that what we had just witnessed was greatness. With a promise of more greatness to come.
@@justjake3405 Yeah, No, plenty of people have used ratchet straps and trees to straighten out frame rails and thrown it back on the street inspected and insured. The equipment (google the kits) to do in in the shop follows the same principle of operation. If you get the frame rails straight and see no obvious stress cracking. Congrats you've done the same that a shop would have done. Side note: This vette was no where near the area of needing clip and weld. The shop would have just pulled it.
@@AbsolutionArmament we pulled the frame of a Ferrari 348 with a 69 Dodge polara, a 30 foot tow strap, a few cinder blocks, and a forklift. Rod went through the block and the tire got cut while the old owners raced a guy. We junkyard 5.3 ls swapped it and now that motors dead so we are debating whether to use one of the spare vg30 Nissan 300zx motors at mine and a friends house, another ls, or put in a super mundane 4 cylinder just cause it was sitting outside for 20 years and is kinda crusty
Hey Rob my dude!!!!! I am a Autobody tech by trade. there is a reason why GM will not sell those parts to the public. there are specific Repair procedures that need to by followed to the letter. What you are are doing is fine to straighten out the frame rails for replacement. But you have a badly damaged frame that needs to be replaced. Those frame rails have done what they were made to do and take the force of the impact. Aluminium gets it frames are held together by rivets and structural adhesive.. but have most likely been damaged from the impacted. Your plan to "box in the damage" is a huge mistake. What your about to do will affect the way your reacts in another collision. You are risking the safety of yourself, anyone in your car and the other people on the road!!!!! please take the frame to a shop to have repaired the right way. then rebuild the rest of the car man!!! seriously good enough or that will work is not the correct choice
Thank you for this. As long as that car stays on a track and Rob is aware of the danger then it's okay, but if it's going to be near others then he needs to change his plan
He's mentioned several times that the adhesive is damaged so he is aware, and as he said this isn't his first rodeo with frame damage so I'll trust hell more then likely address the more rear and less superficial damage once he has the front ram straightened
Chevy wants to maintain the integrity of their product. They want the repairs done right. These modern cars have alot of structural engineering. Not just a frame and some wheels like the old days. Not hating on rob, i love what he does, but to chevy he is not qualified.
Can you imagine the lawsuits that would ensue if they gave parts to anyone on the street? Especially since it's a high profile target, especially since there's a loooot of fraudsters out there who made it a job to attack such things to make money. Don't kid yourself, kid, communism sucks all kinds of balls, but capitalism is just as bad and the things that go around them, in this case, how a lawsuit can work, yeah, equally bad. They've the right to say no to protect their product, brand, pocket. Not even mad about this since it's a low production car with a certain cost and image. I'd get slightly irked if say, Volvo would say they won't sell me parts to repair for a normal production car, but not this.
I used to race speedway sedans and put chassis hold downs in the concrete floor to be able to hold the whole vehicle whilst pulling the front chassis rail straight again. The hydraulic kit you have is a good starting point. Good luck with the straightening task.
You could have called Superman....he's pretty busy but for a charitable contribution he might have flown in and repaired that metal with his bare hands....he can weld also by creating friction with his fingers.
30 years ago I was taught you have to do the same force in reverse, so when a vw Polo came in with the front wheel bent back, my boss said drive up to a concrete post, he tied a heavy chain around the wheel to the post and told me to reverse hard. I'll never forget that. It fixed it, I'm glad to report xD
true that. aluminium is not steel. you can pretty much trash bent aluminium. bending it back makes it even weaker. it's a very bad material for fixing.
@@tropfen that's why he's cutting out the bent parts and putting plates in. The bent/damaged pieces are FPO (for position only). If he gets a proper welder to do it, a tig weld will actually be as strong if not stronger than the original material. I've seen material tear LONG before a weld lets go.
Rob. Buy some hockey pucks, cut some slots into them, and use them as cushions for the frame bender. They will prevent the tool from piercing through the aluminum.
Rob, DO NOT HEAT ALUMINUM BEFORE BENDING!!! Aluminum is what is called "hot short" which means it will crack easier when it is hot. I know this footage is a month plus old but I thought I would give you insight for the future. Keep up the awesome content! Good luck with the C8 build! Stay safe out there! Dan @6-4_Fab Glen Rock, PA USA!
ROB! FYI, certified aluminum repair requires isolation and prevention of contamination of any of the aluminum with any kind of steel or iron dust and fillings. Keep your tools separated and in partitioned working bays. But using a grinder or sand paper on steel then on the aluminum will cause embedded steel into the aluminum and make corrosive reactions even after being painted lofty
The frame paint is electro coat, multiple stage dunk tanks, quite a cool process. The key part of it, the anodes are by PTI which are much better than what used to be used which were made by Koch.
"But Rob you weakened the aluminum and now if you crash the car won't crumple into a ball the right way, you're putting the entire world at risk by plating that section cuz you have to heat treat it and make sure the crystals all line up" - Every RUclips Engineer
I once used a hydraulic ram to attempt to push a STEEL frame rail. I squatted about 10' away, directly in line with the trajectory. I had a 8" x 8" x 24" block of wooden railway tie in there as well. I did a poor job of planning and executing the job. The block flew out of that high pressure situation and hit me square in the face before I could react. I lived, but begrudgingly. *Rob did a much better job.*
Hey rob, I watch your videos regularly and I love seeing where you take your projects. But just for future frame straightening, as you push or pull frame rails out, tap around the bent area of the rail with a sledge hammer to help relax it so it doesn't jump back to where it was when you started, also always push the frame about 2 inches further then you need it to be because it will always jump back a couple Inches once you release it so it'll he right where you need it. If you were closer to me in Florida I would've had you bring it to me and I would've put it on the frame machine and straighted it for you easily, I'm an autobody repair technician, but anyways keep up with the awesome videos man!
@@keegsterkeegster3754 samcrac makes a business out of fixing auction cars, and having the titles re certified as clean. If the repair fails, its his ass on the line both figurative and monetary wise. Pretty sure he doesn't want someone dying and the family suing him out of existence because of a shit tier frame welding. Pretty sure his welder is certified in alum, and also has an ultrasound machine to check the integrity of the welds, but does not do it on camera.
Good work. I suspect that you are going to be welding that 7003 aluminum. You are probably going to get a heat effected zone around the welds, which will adversely effect your strength. I recommend you bolt in aluminum plates on both sides of the welded section to add strength back.
My father was a frame mechanic for 49 years. I seen him bend, straighten, rebuild, and build from scratch many different types of vehicles. He worked on big rig trailers, dump trucks, cars, literally every kind of vehicle made. Back in the day he installed T-tops, sun roofs, moonroofs, he chopped cabs, extended cabs ECT... So you get the picture, he was a seriously bad ass frame mechanic. His view was bending/modding a steel frame was child's play. Rebending an aluminum frame was a fools game. Please be careful doing this as aluminum does not have the same integral strength steel does. You might make It look good and line up straight, but it is not going to have the structural integrity of a new part. Awesome videos, thanks for sharing, hope things work out for you and your car!
@@MachtPlays of course. It's just an unsafe repair. He needs to get those rails fixed at an authorized dealer and do the rest himself. (which is what I bet he does.)
i dont follow alot of car oriented channels but i do follow 2. MCM and Rob Dahm and watching this series is damn exciting! after watching his 4 rotor rx-7 series, im now a dorito power fan. excited for future episodes
In Illinois, where you need a license to rebuild, my brother, with fifty years of rebuilding experience, would need one. I put myself through college and medical school working in my dad's body shop. My brother graduated Rochester Institute of Technology with a masters in electrical engineering. If it has a salvage title, one will not get a permanent tie to operate it on the roads. My brother has a 1970 Corvette that he restored. He is now working on a 2006 that needed a motor and has another that needs to have a little frame work done on it. Buy used parts, like he did!
I just found out about the first 500 miles thing. Ur tach is set lower in the dash and wont let you rev it up to its true redline until after the First 500 miles. Oh, how satisfying its going to be once you hit that 501 mark and the tach recalibrates.
Rob, on your small tourch, use MAP gas. Its the yellow bottles not the blue bottle. You will be impressed how much hotel the touch is. Not as good as oxy and acetylene but hotter than propane. I won't go back unless I'm doing light heat work.
Go to B is for Build here on youtube. He did a Lotus Evora with the same damage a couple of years ago. Frame rails alloy, he redid them in steel. Safety wise I don't know what is worse, doing the rails in steel (crumple zones and all that) or alloy rewelded straight. Metals weaken when they bend. Just a thought.
I have done this back woods frame fox before . if I can spread any knowledge it is to continue to put body panels on to make sure the gaps are good: even 2 mm off will make it look weird . Be very precise
I am an autobody tech with OEM training with Mercedes, Audi/VW and Landrover Jaguar A lot of OEM have the same rules, especially for aluminum structure vehicles, it's the way the industry is going and there is reasons for it
So on July 1st, 2018 I was sitting in my 2007 with 24,000 miles at a stoplight when some A -hole in a stolen car hits me head-on going 40 miles an hour. That car sat in the shop for 3 months. Then they couldn't find the specialized tools to do whatever with the frame. Then they were talking about maybe taking the front third of the car off and replacing that. The estimates were getting pricey. Over 25 Grand. That's when I raised a fuss, that car would never be the same. State Farm cut me a check for 28 grand and I went and bought a 2008 with 41,000 miles. I sure do miss my old car though. That thing saved my life but it only does it once.
You gotta find an aluminum certified body shop that has access to the GM program. They'll order you whatever you want you just may have to pay a little more. I work for a Jaguar/ Land Rover dealership parts department and we have a similar program. There's always a way to get what you want.
Rob i rebuild front front frame on my viper and was worst than your C8. Just some advise from my experience. Make a hole in the outer side of the rail by the bent and put a tube in the hole and hammer the kink of the inner rail. Also remove the steering rack or you might crack it. Dont ask me how i know. Make measurements rear wheel to front wheel on both side and make sure they are the same length. DO NOT START PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER UNLESS THE FENDERS HOOD AND MOST IMPORTANTLY HEADIGHTS LINE UP. You will endup removing and reinstalling everything when you realize the headlights have a bigger gap one one side than the other.
Guess I’m 6 months too late to help. If you heat the aluminum and get it back to “O” temper you should minimize any cracking. O is flexible like aluminum foil almost (depending on thickness). How do you know you get to O temper? Strip the paint to bare aluminum. Burn some soot on the desired location of the bend. Heat that location until the soot burns off. Bend. Final temper depends on cooling. Look more into tempering processes for more guidance. Aerospace uses a lot of tempered aluminum.
Even if the looks straight when your done it’s really important to put that car onto a frame machine and have it checked. An impact like that can transfer through the complete frame.. mild steel, high strength steel and aluminium all need different kind of welding as well.....
Rob, love where your heads at. If you can get it straightened out, have an engineer take a look at it and give you some pointers to add some bracing to it while maintaining crash structure for future safety. Some materials stuff i learned in school... Aluminum is heat treated during production. The T# after the series value (6061-T6) is the heat treatment value. It cant just be heated and reformed like steel can and maintain material strength properties. It can only be bent and formed into shape a certain amount before it becomes so brittle it can't absorb impacts.. Also, for the love of God please dont use a griding disk on aluminum. it will melt the aluminum into the disks, then will cool, and when it heats again when spun up and used, it will cause the disk to explode violently into literal deadly chunks. Also 7000 series aluminum cant be welded via tig very well. I think they use some sort of friction stir welding or something to join 7000 series stuff, i cant remember. Lookin forward to seein what comes of this car!
To straighten you need to push and realise so can the metal stretch and in small pressure on part hammer it in the damage area to remove unwanted energy like you saw popping and poking through the working area, a bit at a time
You might want to check into it but a lot of 7000 series aluminum is now weldable. it will obviously physically weld but is extremely brittle afterward.
Newest car i have ever bought was a 62000km car that was 7 years old. Feels miles newer than my other car which have traveled 270000 km and was made in 1996
Similar situation with a generation of 5 series BMW, there was no one in LA area to repair aluminum frames. In the end after 8 months they changed out his car
Years ago when I was racing we built and car with an aluminum cage support structure for the front frame, a steel frame. This proved very durable in crashes. And, easily repaired.
“I know this isn’t helping but I’m doing my best” I try that one all the time with my wife. It NEVER works. If it does it means she’s plotting to kill me. 😆
When you heat it up make sure to throw some water at it when you have it at the position you want it at. Also make sure it’s not too hot because then you’ll ruin the material and make it brittle
Don't forget to consider that the damaged parts have strength considerations (you said I'm going to plate it) but they are also designed to fail (crumple) in a predictable manner. Don't do a "gas monkey super car fix" make it look ok then hide it under paint. You don't want to build something that puts someone at risk!
Be careful to not heat the aluminum up too much. Heat can anneal aluminum but it can also cause the cracking issue to become worse. Aluminum is “hot short”, meaning that it becomes brittle when heated too much. What you did with the propane torch is fine I’m sure but don’t take a big oxy acetylene torch to it.
yes those are the impact absorbers. If their not within spec it will determine weather the vehicle gets a rebuilt title or not bcs the vehicle will not collapse in an accident the same was as it should out the factory and compromise passenger safety.
GM: we have specific ways and trained techs to rebuild your C8. This will restore the structural integrity of your car.
ROB: I have a harbor fright hydraulic kit, a few C clamps and a couple of tie downs.
It’s Chevy, it’s what they would have done anyways lol
This is some Shitbox Nation kinda stuff and I love it
After the stuff I've seen "trained" techs do to peoples cars I'll pass honestly. This comment is gold 😂
@@Lifesabishi The less dealer techs touch your car the more it's worth to me.
@@Dante_S550_Turbo 🤣🤣🤣 Never. EVER. AGAIN.
I'm interested to see where this build goes .
It will get 60% done and then he will start another project and leave it unfinished
See ya in 2032
Hopefully forwards, depending on the bend quality
@@mikeburnie6668 there is only one way to find out and that's by watching 😁
@@NotQuiteMelvin a dogtracking C8 would be funny though, eh?
You need Bender "Bending" Rodriguez.
GM said "Bite my shiny metal ass!"
With blackjack and hookers.
Rob, save your time and money for long run issues. 3D scan a good C8 frame, mill it and weld in a good piece. It will be stronger than before and cost less in terms of having to redo later after everything is done in the car.
you dont want it stronger. it's engineered to be like it is for safety.
@@13christbane It's like people don't understand it's not an old school car and that a lot of engineering and analysis has gone into the design of this frame. I'm very sad that professionals won't be doing this repair and that some other person will be driving it. It just goes to show that you have to be very careful with salvage vehicles, regardless of what they are. They may look good, but if you need that built in safety, it just might not be there. Sad!
@@tmedocianis this is Rob's c8, if he fucks his welds and crashes, it's his ass
Demonic Koala uhhhh did you watch,its a give away car dude
@@jonmeray713 Ah no, they are giving away a brand new one. This is getting a rotor
Hey. Rob, buddy, pal. Heat weakens aluminum a lot permanently
Yeah after I thought about it welding that coke can thin aluminum isn't gonna be easy and probably not very good for it it. Welding aluminum intercooler tubes is one thing. Pieces thin like this is another.
he heated the section he plans on cutting out??
@@mostlymotorized You do understand what annealing is right? There's a difference between the quick localized heat of a torch cooling fast, and the wide, slow cooling of an open flame. Essentially the aluminium turns to a soft mess. Ever wondered why aluminium structures, in fires, collapse like a Picasso painting rather than the abrupt sudden churn of a steel one (with the admission that the fire would reach high enough to the give point of steel)? Now you know.
@@mostlymotorized I guess I need to explain this then. Welding to aluminum using TIG is fine, because you are adding material and you are not getting an entire Chunk if the aluminum hot, just A localized section. What Rob is doing is heating a large section and then immediately bending it weakening immensely. For steal this would be fine to do but aluminum is already a weak metal. Edit : aserta already said this basically before I could finish my message.
I think he's okay as long as it doesn't get too hot, i don't know the range for sure but i want to say as long as he keeps it under 500F i think it won't permanently lose it's strength, but still lose enough of it (temporarily) to bend it where he wants.
Obviously I am just speaking from what little knowledge i have so please correct me if someone knows better.
“No assembly required “.... 🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤷♂️😂😂😂
I hope giving that guy a shout out wont put him on GM’s target list.
He is done for sure........
@@yeahok115sure no lol he's fine
My thoughts exactly
I provided Rob with the parts that I could. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m still employed.
Good demonstration of exactly why GM will not sell those parts to just anyone.
Chevy knew Rob is on his way to creating automotive perfection. In their efforts to stop him, they only made him want it more. Can’t wait to see this wonderful machine fully together... in 10 years... with wiring problems...
Chevy is well known for their poor quality, along with the other two, unfortunately.
Well Chevys come with wiring problems from factory so at least he’s keeping the gm spirit
And yet in my 5 chevy products ive never had a problem,why not take care of your shit guys,and not buy their trucks hahahah
John Meray, I’ve had enough problems, wiring problems in particular, to count for us both. GM = f u wiring, plastic. Not that Corvettes aren’t any good, they are. Their wiring, ???
never met a corvette that didn't have wiring issues
You know the video is going to be good when it starts with "Hi, I'm Rob Dahm"
lmao so true
He forgot "this is Jackass".
And he hit us with it again at the end. Thus further reassuring us that what we had just witnessed was greatness. With a promise of more greatness to come.
Take it to a certified shop and have those rails done right..
They wont let him insure it otherwise
@@justjake3405 thats not how that works...
@@justjake3405 Yeah, No, plenty of people have used ratchet straps and trees to straighten out frame rails and thrown it back on the street inspected and insured. The equipment (google the kits) to do in in the shop follows the same principle of operation. If you get the frame rails straight and see no obvious stress cracking. Congrats you've done the same that a shop would have done.
Side note: This vette was no where near the area of needing clip and weld. The shop would have just pulled it.
@@AbsolutionArmament we pulled the frame of a Ferrari 348 with a 69 Dodge polara, a 30 foot tow strap, a few cinder blocks, and a forklift. Rod went through the block and the tire got cut while the old owners raced a guy. We junkyard 5.3 ls swapped it and now that motors dead so we are debating whether to use one of the spare vg30 Nissan 300zx motors at mine and a friends house, another ls, or put in a super mundane 4 cylinder just cause it was sitting outside for 20 years and is kinda crusty
@@dekhunter148 K-swap + ebay turbo it
Hey Rob my dude!!!!! I am a Autobody tech by trade. there is a reason why GM will not sell those parts to the public. there are specific Repair procedures that need to by followed to the letter. What you are are doing is fine to straighten out the frame rails for replacement. But you have a badly damaged frame that needs to be replaced. Those frame rails have done what they were made to do and take the force of the impact. Aluminium gets it frames are held together by rivets and structural adhesive.. but have most likely been damaged from the impacted. Your plan to "box in the damage" is a huge mistake. What your about to do will affect the way your reacts in another collision. You are risking the safety of yourself, anyone in your car and the other people on the road!!!!! please take the frame to a shop to have repaired the right way. then rebuild the rest of the car man!!! seriously good enough or that will work is not the correct choice
Thank you for this. As long as that car stays on a track and Rob is aware of the danger then it's okay, but if it's going to be near others then he needs to change his plan
He's mentioned several times that the adhesive is damaged so he is aware, and as he said this isn't his first rodeo with frame damage so I'll trust hell more then likely address the more rear and less superficial damage once he has the front ram straightened
@@yutub561 He's giving it to the winner of a lottery it looks like.
The car has a destruction/parts title. It'll never see the road, or shouldn't ever see the road, again.
If u can't buy new parts that's gm fault not robs
*_HOW TRIGGERING_*
You own the car and willing to buy the parts. *They still say No?* Why Chevy why
its possible they need all the parts they can get to catch up on producing cars? idk.
it's because they have a deal with their repair shops to eliminate competition. it's common
Same with Tesla tho, here only Tesla approved body shops are able to get structural parts
Chevy wants to maintain the integrity of their product. They want the repairs done right. These modern cars have alot of structural engineering. Not just a frame and some wheels like the old days.
Not hating on rob, i love what he does, but to chevy he is not qualified.
Can you imagine the lawsuits that would ensue if they gave parts to anyone on the street? Especially since it's a high profile target, especially since there's a loooot of fraudsters out there who made it a job to attack such things to make money. Don't kid yourself, kid, communism sucks all kinds of balls, but capitalism is just as bad and the things that go around them, in this case, how a lawsuit can work, yeah, equally bad.
They've the right to say no to protect their product, brand, pocket. Not even mad about this since it's a low production car with a certain cost and image. I'd get slightly irked if say, Volvo would say they won't sell me parts to repair for a normal production car, but not this.
It’s funny how anyone who pulls an all nighter working on something begins to speak quietly once the sun rises! Lol! This is good stuff!
GM: we have a whole trained separate part of the company to fix your aluminum chassis.
Rob Dahm: hehehe harbor freight bottle jack go bbrrrrrrrrr.
I used to race speedway sedans and put chassis hold downs in the concrete floor to be able to hold the whole vehicle whilst pulling the front chassis rail straight again. The hydraulic kit you have is a good starting point. Good luck with the straightening task.
You could have called Superman....he's pretty busy but for a charitable contribution he might have flown in and repaired that metal with his bare hands....he can weld also by creating friction with his fingers.
“Even if this isn’t helping, I’m trying to do my best” incredible
Rob: built a billet 4 rotor AWD FD rx7, among many other insane projects
Also Rob: has never purchased a new car
30 years ago I was taught you have to do the same force in reverse, so when a vw Polo came in with the front wheel bent back, my boss said drive up to a concrete post, he tied a heavy chain around the wheel to the post and told me to reverse hard. I'll never forget that. It fixed it, I'm glad to report xD
If there was ever a guy that deserves good luck it is this guy! Wishing you good luck with this project!
Fixing a modern aluminum frame is like fixing a bike helmet. Missing the point.
true that. aluminium is not steel. you can pretty much trash bent aluminium. bending it back makes it even weaker. it's a very bad material for fixing.
@@tropfen that's why he's cutting out the bent parts and putting plates in. The bent/damaged pieces are FPO (for position only). If he gets a proper welder to do it, a tig weld will actually be as strong if not stronger than the original material. I've seen material tear LONG before a weld lets go.
Rob. Buy some hockey pucks, cut some slots into them, and use them as cushions for the frame bender. They will prevent the tool from piercing through the aluminum.
Does the prize C8 have a front end?
It's only the front end. You have to repair the entire rear end by yourself. And GM won't sell you factory parts.
Put a Chevette front end on it, it'll look better...
@@daverodkey C'mon bro, Vega front end, its gotta be GLASS afterz all
I am so eager to see this thing completed, I love watching the process too.
Chevy won't sell me parts...
Okay..
Start bending frame back💯
Love it 👌💯
Rob, DO NOT HEAT ALUMINUM BEFORE BENDING!!! Aluminum is what is called "hot short" which means it will crack easier when it is hot. I know this footage is a month plus old but I thought I would give you insight for the future. Keep up the awesome content! Good luck with the C8 build! Stay safe out there! Dan @6-4_Fab Glen Rock, PA USA!
ROB! FYI, certified aluminum repair requires isolation and prevention of contamination of any of the aluminum with any kind of steel or iron dust and fillings. Keep your tools separated and in partitioned working bays. But using a grinder or sand paper on steel then on the aluminum will cause embedded steel into the aluminum and make corrosive reactions even after being painted lofty
I’m glad to see Rob doing stuff he’s never really done before and going out of his comfort zone. That’s how you get stuff done!
thats how you make useless unsafe repairs.
@@13christbane that's how science works
The frame paint is electro coat, multiple stage dunk tanks, quite a cool process. The key part of it, the anodes are by PTI which are much better than what used to be used which were made by Koch.
Nice. Taking matters into your own hands. I kept waiting for someone to show up to do the work part, but you kept diving in.
"But Rob you weakened the aluminum and now if you crash the car won't crumple into a ball the right way, you're putting the entire world at risk by plating that section cuz you have to heat treat it and make sure the crystals all line up" - Every RUclips Engineer
Today, with the growing access to 3D Printers, there has to be a machine shop or tool & die firm somewhere that can reproduce needed parts.
I once used a hydraulic ram to attempt to push a STEEL frame rail. I squatted about 10' away, directly in line with the trajectory. I had a 8" x 8" x 24" block of wooden railway tie in there as well. I did a poor job of planning and executing the job. The block flew out of that high pressure situation and hit me square in the face before I could react. I lived, but begrudgingly.
*Rob did a much better job.*
I have nothing but respect for Rob's one armed abilities
Single men unite!
Hey rob, I watch your videos regularly and I love seeing where you take your projects. But just for future frame straightening, as you push or pull frame rails out, tap around the bent area of the rail with a sledge hammer to help relax it so it doesn't jump back to where it was when you started, also always push the frame about 2 inches further then you need it to be because it will always jump back a couple Inches once you release it so it'll he right where you need it. If you were closer to me in Florida I would've had you bring it to me and I would've put it on the frame machine and straighted it for you easily, I'm an autobody repair technician, but anyways keep up with the awesome videos man!
Go look at vtuned and watch what he did on sam craccs lambo that had a bent aluminum frame rail. Might be able to help you man.
those guys have no clue what they are doing and make unsafe "fixed" cars
no
@@keegsterkeegster3754 LOL! Yeah dude! What a dumb comment. "those guys" do it the right way.
@@keegsterkeegster3754 samcrac makes a business out of fixing auction cars, and having the titles re certified as clean. If the repair fails, its his ass on the line both figurative and monetary wise. Pretty sure he doesn't want someone dying and the family suing him out of existence because of a shit tier frame welding. Pretty sure his welder is certified in alum, and also has an ultrasound machine to check the integrity of the welds, but does not do it on camera.
@@chubbysumo2230 on the R8 the welder xrayed his welds
Good work. I suspect that you are going to be welding that 7003 aluminum. You are probably going to get a heat effected zone around the welds, which will adversely effect your strength. I recommend you bolt in aluminum plates on both sides of the welded section to add strength back.
My father was a frame mechanic for 49 years. I seen him bend, straighten, rebuild, and build from scratch many different types of vehicles. He worked on big rig trailers, dump trucks, cars, literally every kind of vehicle made. Back in the day he installed T-tops, sun roofs, moonroofs, he chopped cabs, extended cabs ECT... So you get the picture, he was a seriously bad ass frame mechanic. His view was bending/modding a steel frame was child's play. Rebending an aluminum frame was a fools game. Please be careful doing this as aluminum does not have the same integral strength steel does. You might make It look good and line up straight, but it is not going to have the structural integrity of a new part. Awesome videos, thanks for sharing, hope things work out for you and your car!
Chevy: sorry we can’t help you fix your C8
Me: *sad rotary noises*
Rob: no assembly required😂
Modifying those front rails (heating, bending welding plates) YOU ARE CHANGING THE CRASH STRUCTURE CRUMPLE ZONES !!!! NOT SAFE and NOT RECOMMENDED!!!!
🤣🤣🤣 have you ever watched this channel... but maybe he will see this and stop the build 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I think it's already been crashed so I don't think he cares about that
It was already wrecked.. wouldn’t that compromise the crumple zones already lol
OK, Karen.
@@MachtPlays of course. It's just an unsafe repair. He needs to get those rails fixed at an authorized dealer and do the rest himself. (which is what I bet he does.)
i dont follow alot of car oriented channels but i do follow 2. MCM and Rob Dahm and watching this series is damn exciting! after watching his 4 rotor rx-7 series, im now a dorito power fan. excited for future episodes
In Illinois, where you need a license to rebuild, my brother, with fifty years of rebuilding experience, would need one. I put myself through college and medical school working in my dad's body shop. My brother graduated Rochester Institute of Technology with a masters in electrical engineering. If it has a salvage title, one will not get a permanent tie to operate it on the roads. My brother has a 1970 Corvette that he restored. He is now working on a 2006 that needed a motor and has another that needs to have a little frame work done on it. Buy used parts, like he did!
I just found out about the first 500 miles thing. Ur tach is set lower in the dash and wont let you rev it up to its true redline until after the First 500 miles. Oh, how satisfying its going to be once you hit that 501 mark and the tach recalibrates.
Imagine Artur Tussik making his repair videos like this. Every car would take 450 episodes to complete.
Rob, on your small tourch, use MAP gas. Its the yellow bottles not the blue bottle. You will be impressed how much hotel the touch is. Not as good as oxy and acetylene but hotter than propane. I won't go back unless I'm doing light heat work.
That frame is moving like butter👌🏼...3 2 1 Braap Braap Braap Braap.. rotary music 🎼
Go to B is for Build here on youtube. He did a Lotus Evora with the same damage a couple of years ago. Frame rails alloy, he redid them in steel. Safety wise I don't know what is worse, doing the rails in steel (crumple zones and all that) or alloy rewelded straight. Metals weaken when they bend. Just a thought.
Also known as a "Porta-Power".
AWESOME peice for "almost" anyone to add to their tool collection!
I have done this back woods frame fox before . if I can spread any knowledge it is to continue to put body panels on to make sure the gaps are good: even 2 mm off will make it look weird . Be very precise
I am an autobody tech with OEM training with Mercedes, Audi/VW and Landrover Jaguar A lot of OEM have the same rules, especially for aluminum structure vehicles, it's the way the industry is going and there is reasons for it
Sent you an email dude, hope to hear back from you.
That driver door to fender gap is better than what GM did on the assembly line
So on July 1st, 2018 I was sitting in my 2007 with 24,000 miles at a stoplight when some A -hole in a stolen car hits me head-on going 40 miles an hour. That car sat in the shop for 3 months. Then they couldn't find the specialized tools to do whatever with the frame. Then they were talking about maybe taking the front third of the car off and replacing that. The estimates were getting pricey. Over 25 Grand. That's when I raised a fuss, that car would never be the same. State Farm cut me a check for 28 grand and I went and bought a 2008 with 41,000 miles. I sure do miss my old car though. That thing saved my life but it only does it once.
You gotta find an aluminum certified body shop that has access to the GM program. They'll order you whatever you want you just may have to pay a little more. I work for a Jaguar/ Land Rover dealership parts department and we have a similar program. There's always a way to get what you want.
Rob i rebuild front front frame on my viper and was worst than your C8.
Just some advise from my experience.
Make a hole in the outer side of the rail by the bent and put a tube in the hole and hammer the kink of the inner rail.
Also remove the steering rack or you might crack it. Dont ask me how i know.
Make measurements rear wheel to front wheel on both side and make sure they are the same length.
DO NOT START PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER UNLESS THE FENDERS HOOD AND MOST IMPORTANTLY HEADIGHTS LINE UP.
You will endup removing and reinstalling everything when you realize the headlights have a bigger gap one one side than the other.
Great videos Rob. You can,t do the same repairs with Alu as you can with steel. NO BENDING !
Btw, I shouldn't have an issue getting those pieces. Our body shop for our dealers is aluminum certified repair facility. Bob Moore in OKC!
Guess I’m 6 months too late to help. If you heat the aluminum and get it back to “O” temper you should minimize any cracking. O is flexible like aluminum foil almost (depending on thickness). How do you know you get to O temper? Strip the paint to bare aluminum. Burn some soot on the desired location of the bend. Heat that location until the soot burns off. Bend. Final temper depends on cooling. Look more into tempering processes for more guidance. Aerospace uses a lot of tempered aluminum.
Even if the looks straight when your done it’s really important to put that car onto a frame machine and have it checked. An impact like that can transfer through the
complete frame.. mild steel, high strength steel and aluminium all need different kind of welding as well.....
U NEED a Car-O-Liner Frame Machine to put it on, Rob, get it exactly bent back precisely!!
Rob, love where your heads at. If you can get it straightened out, have an engineer take a look at it and give you some pointers to add some bracing to it while maintaining crash structure for future safety. Some materials stuff i learned in school... Aluminum is heat treated during production. The T# after the series value (6061-T6) is the heat treatment value. It cant just be heated and reformed like steel can and maintain material strength properties. It can only be bent and formed into shape a certain amount before it becomes so brittle it can't absorb impacts.. Also, for the love of God please dont use a griding disk on aluminum. it will melt the aluminum into the disks, then will cool, and when it heats again when spun up and used, it will cause the disk to explode violently into literal deadly chunks. Also 7000 series aluminum cant be welded via tig very well. I think they use some sort of friction stir welding or something to join 7000 series stuff, i cant remember. Lookin forward to seein what comes of this car!
putting those straps to form a parallelogram and using that ram is probably the smartest thing I've seen you do.
To straighten you need to push and realise so can the metal stretch and in small pressure on part hammer it in the damage area to remove unwanted energy like you saw popping and poking through the working area, a bit at a time
Welding on that aluminum might be really challenging and more trouble than it's worth. Plus I wouldn't think heating it with welding is good for it.
What alloy of Aluminum is it?
What filler metal?
What will the welding do the temper?
Guessing =💀
You might want to check into it but a lot of 7000 series aluminum is now weldable. it will obviously physically weld but is extremely brittle afterward.
Thats the true engineer.. salute . Keep up the good work. And more views.. from phillippines. .
#proudfan
really nice work man ,Damn guys like you is the reason why I smile for no reason sometimes ,keep up with that work your doing good
You got the red kit on the harbor freight kit, it's the cheap one. The blue one is where it's at (prly 2004 I got mine, works great)!
Glad to see you put on safety glasses. Not going to lie, I thought we were gonna be getting a new clip for ridiculousness.
Newest car i have ever bought was a 62000km car that was 7 years old. Feels miles newer than my other car which have traveled 270000 km and was made in 1996
Rob was one pair of cargo shorts and New Balances away from the Corvette owner fit lmao!
Similar situation with a generation of 5 series BMW, there was no one in LA area to repair aluminum frames. In the end after 8 months they changed out his car
You should pull the member instead of pushing a hole with harder metal tool, you can also control the direction/angle of the pull!😋
Love the Atari shirt. BTW, you need to hammer the bends to release pressure.
Years ago when I was racing we built and car with an aluminum cage support structure for the front frame, a steel frame. This proved very durable in crashes. And, easily repaired.
Yesssssss lessssgoooooo New Hampshire comin in clutch
Salute to Josh & that dealership 👋👋👋👋
We sell and service more C8’s than anyone else. Thanks for the salute.
Rob's optimism is unsurpassed.
When you used your hands to put together the porta power I really felt that
Hey Rob.. Im willing to crash my c8 to get you parts... First I need a c8
dont need a c8, just need a cheap and well insured rental you can crash INTO a C8 still on the lot haha
@@McBlah1976 be sure to hit the REAR of the car. Save the front for Rob ;)
@@McBlah1976 you smart!
This video exemplifies why GM doesn't sell certain parts to people who don't have the qualifications to install them.
i think rob gets this a lot but rob you are duhm for trying to fix these cars
youve got big passion for cars
Hit up someone like profab, throw a tubed font frame in. It's light, strong, and the start of a cage.
“I know this isn’t helping but I’m doing my best”
I try that one all the time with my wife. It NEVER works. If it does it means she’s plotting to kill me. 😆
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hey Rob, I saw a Y shaped 12 rotor today, when are you getting one and swapping it into a car?
That's a one-off build. Rob would have to build the gearbox sections himself.
Not even a good troll either
@@ScottKenny1978 really? I thought you could just buy one at Walmart...
That was very satisfying watching the metal bend back in place
Hey. It's Rob Dahm again. And I'm not creepy at all. 😃
When you heat it up make sure to throw some water at it when you have it at the position you want it at. Also make sure it’s not too hot because then you’ll ruin the material and make it brittle
Rob is ahead of it time with the super weight reduction C8 corvette!
Don't forget to consider that the damaged parts have strength considerations (you said I'm going to plate it) but they are also designed to fail (crumple) in a predictable manner. Don't do a "gas monkey super car fix" make it look ok then hide it under paint. You don't want to build something that puts someone at risk!
Be careful to not heat the aluminum up too much. Heat can anneal aluminum but it can also cause the cracking issue to become worse. Aluminum is “hot short”, meaning that it becomes brittle when heated too much. What you did with the propane torch is fine I’m sure but don’t take a big oxy acetylene torch to it.
yes those are the impact absorbers. If their not within spec it will determine weather the vehicle gets a rebuilt title or not bcs the vehicle will not collapse in an accident the same was as it should out the factory and compromise passenger safety.
Rob, that better be an aluminum cut off wheel. It might explode otherwise. No joke, will take your eyes or jugular out.
Good luck!! This is going to be a good series.
Wheres Oscar when you need him [B]
Happy to help!
Can't wait for 4 rotar to done
So excited
Interested to see the welding done. This is probably type 7 and cast alluminium.
You just keep adding cool on cool.
Great content.