Where Do Birdcages Rust

I have many birdcage repair videos on the MYM Channel.

"Where do birdcages rust?" This is one of my most asked questions. The short answer is they can rust anywhere the birdcage is. The trouble is birdcages rust is like an iceberg. The rust below the surface is generally much worse than what is exposed on the top.

If you are looking to buy a car where you suspect the cage is rotten. First make your self familiar with the cage and its components. Below are some examples of common rust.

Coupe Gutter Rust

Here is a really dramatic example of a 64 coupe with bad rust in the gutter and the windshield pillar. to fix this properly, the fiberglass surrounding the pillar like the front end, hinge pillar and possibly the firewall would need to be removed.

Coupe Gutter Rust

This rust damage is on the 67 coupe Overkill. Debris gets trapped in the gutter and rusts out the gutter and latch pillar. To repair this the hinge pillar needs to be removed and the 1/4 might need to be removed as well. This repair is deceiving. If you see this you will have a lot of work ahead of you.

Windshield Frame Rot

The windshield rust can be hard to spot if the car is 100% complete. This car has the inside trim and dash removed. Note how the fiberglass hinge pillar is in perfect shape but the steel is completely missing. This creates a unique challenge for Corvettes. This car might be able to be patched. Most likely it will require much more surgery. To spot this damage you might be able to crawl under the dash and look up for evidence of this rot before you take the car apart. You can also pull the windshield to find the damage.

Severe Windshield Frame Rot

This patient is Overkill as well. I saw evidence of rust in the tops of the hinge pillars and in the windshield channel. I had to remove the remaining front end pieces, firewall, and firewall bonding strips. That exposed the rust. It needed the inner and outer lower windshield frame, both inner and outer lower corners, and both hinge pillar top caps. This was a pretty severe example but this is somewhat common rust.

Rocker Channel and Pillar Rot

This example appears to be a C3 passenger side latch pillar but it is a good visual. They removed the front splash shield to be able to expose this rust. You could remove the body mount 3 access cover to see this as well. If you suspect this damage the doors might not latch properly if the car is moved to different surfaces. The doors could sag if this is in the hinge pillar. To see this put the car on a lift or crawl on your back and look up at the body mount. If you see this... RUN!! To fix this 100% OEM you need to strip most of the fiberglass off the entire car to expose the entire cage. This is real heavy surgery.