57rustbucket.com
Frame Repair
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The lower portions of both front frame horns are riddled with rust, literally like Swiss cheese. I've never seen this on an A body frame before.
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As expected there are a couple body mount holes that need rust repair. This is actually a simple repair that I've seen a lot of people turn into a big deal. First of all forget about buying the EXTREMELY overpriced repair washers from the well known restoration vendors. Go to your local hardware store and pick up a large washer with the proper inside diameter for less than a dollar.
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Center it properly and run a marker around it. Cut that area out with a cutoff wheel.
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Work the area slowly until the center is in the proper place. At this point grind the edge of the washer to fit the outside curve on the frame.
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Weld in the washer and dress the weld with a grinder.
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This is a simple very inexpensive repair to a common problem. It is visually seamless.
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I then gave the frame several coats of black epoxy. Top and bottom being careful to get in all the cracks and crevices.
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The remaining suspension components were also painted at the same time. Everything looks like new!
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this is the passenger front frame horn bottom. I've found two very nice frame horns from a donor frame and will need to graft them to this frame. I spent quite a bit of time measuring and deciding what to remove and what to keep. I will be cutting to the outside of the masking tape.
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Slowly cutting around the marked area.
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The rusted area is removed leaving a good margin to ensure there is a solid foundation to weld the repair piece to.
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Taking a lot of time I used the same measurements to mark off the donor horn. I cut it a little "fat" to leave a little wiggle room to work with.
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The initial fit is very nice.
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Working slowly with an angle grinder, I sneak up on the perfect fit to the hole in the frame.
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I've recorded a bunch of measurements before cutting out the original piece and verify they agree with the new part.
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Once I was confident it was correct I welded it in place.
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After dressing the weld with a grinder and sander the seam disapears.
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The drivers side is done the same way. The steering box is bolted to this area of the frame so the positioning must be much more exact.
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The area cut out and the donor horn.
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The needed area carefully cut from the donor horn as was done on the passenger side.
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The fit is checked and "tuned in". I mounted the steering box to verify and maintain proper alignment.
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Further checking and welding.
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Getting it all cleaned up.
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Like it never happened, both sides look terrific!
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A final coat of epoxy.....
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It looks as though it just came from the factory.
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This repair was very satisfying. Taking something that looks like Swiss cheese and bringing it back to new is a lot of fun. |