torque box replacement

[Bob M]

I hope this is the proper place for this inquiry. I inherited an email seeking a shop in the Dallas area with the experience/capability to change a torque box on a '78 Avanti. I have not done this myself and do not know of anyone who has. Does anyone out there have a suggestion?

[jmenacker]

Bob:

Try to get advice from Corvette enthusiasts in the area. They should be familiar with shops that know how to care for work around a fiberglass body. We had an excellent experience replacing a torque box on our '82 with a stainless steel replacement unit from Classic Enterprises:

Classic Enterprises Avanti Parts

Joe Menacker

Martsinburg WV

[lschuc]

I hope this is the proper place for this inquiry. I inherited an email seeking a shop in the Dallas area with the experience/capability to change a torque box on a '78 Avanti. I have not done this myself and do not know of anyone who has. Does anyone out there have a suggestion?

Bob:

Look up the excellent how-to articles in Avanti Magazine Issue 134 (Spring-Summer 2006); one by AOAI members Thomas Gipe and the other by Ernie Wolf. Thom did it himself in his well-optioned shop, and Ernie worked with a local shop to replace the hog troughs. They did it in both a 1982 and 1983 Avanti.

After reading the article, you will quickly learn about whether you want to tackle the job yourself, like Thom did, or work with a shop to get the job done, like Ernie did.

Lew