During an auto appraisal, it’s difficult to assess on site whether or not the mid frame rails traveling through the body center are very solid. The problem is that they recess into a cavity along the floorboard, allowing only visual confirmation of solid floor supports through a narrow, 3/8″ gap between the inner rocker structure and rail itself. Having a mirror on a stick isn’t particularly useful in this case. This is especially important on convertibles, as they tend to be more rusty, due to the top leaks over the years. A long, thin ice pick is your best defense to polk around, IF you can get away with it! The best way of course is to pull back the carpeting from the sills and look from the inside.

Technorati Tags: Buick, frame, inspection, oldsmobile, rusty floors, underbody

This is a beautiful Chevelle SS car. Restorer went frame off, and replaced all the crayon and paint markings. I spent over 5 hours looking it over and driving it, and it took me some time to find any flaws. Had a correct 3969854 block casting with a matching vin stamp, Tonawanda assembly stamp, CTW suffix code (350 hp mated to a turbo 400). Turbo 400 trans was stamped too. This car was a lot of fun to drive, even with an automatic! I posted a couple short test drive videos on youtube, which I can’t seem to link to from here. They can also be viewed on the website http:/www.autoappraise.com This car was inspected at Bay City Motor Company in Michigan for a prospective out of state buyer by certified auto appraiser Jason Phillips.