framerail

Ok well after getting the car home we ( my dad and I) discovered that the frame rail on the passenger side was less then perfect, in fact it was very very sad! As you can see in the pics below it had holes in it and was starting to twist, buckle, and just come apart. As this is the major support for the whole front of the car it was a bad situation. We decided to fix it by welding another peice of metal in around/over it. This is a lot easier then it sounds and my dad is an excelent welder so here is a short run down of what we did and how hard it was.

This is what i was starting with, not good but a lot better then what i have seen elsewhere. This is also after i removed the mounting brackets for the fuel lines and brake lines that run along the frame rail. They are a pain in the butt to get off, the best way is to remove the lines from the clip then to dril out the welds that hold them to the frame, i suppose if your frame is bad enough you might just be able to pull them off with a pair of pliers.

This is the donor metal, its an old computer case, very heavy, it will be bent and cut to make the new replacement rail.

Just a few of the tools used to remove the brake and fuel mounting brackets, hammer, drill, and rotary tool hiding behind the battery.

The cardboard cut out that my dad and i made for fitting and messuring so that the metal will fit snug and we wont have to cut several pieces to make it fit.

The metal cut out of the case, traced the cardboard onto it then cut it out. We ended up cutting it into two peices to make it easier to get onto the car.

The first peice all bent up and ready to be put in, this is the peice that goes in front between the suspension mount and the crossmember.

The car up on ramps with my dad under it welding in the new peices. Almost done, i cant wait to take it for a spin!!!