reaper667

Hi

I noticed I had bad holes hiding in the frame when I got the tire off. there is a nasty split/holes in the frame (near drivers side rear wheel area). as you can see in the picture. I was wondering is it possible to get this fixed by them installing a plate, I want the car and frame to last, is it possible to get this fixed or should I get a frame swap. The rest of the frame doesnt have holes but does have rust.
I would appreciate your answers, thanks!

birchymm

I'm speaking as a shade tree mechanic, not a trained professional so take it for whats it worth. usually welding plates on the frame is just patch work unless the rust isolated and neutralized, meaning, the frame would need to be removed and reconditioned. If you have one sore spot, and you can get to good metal somewhere on the frame to make a good weld than that plate may last 20 years, or 5. It also depends on your weather etc etc.

I cant view the pic so it doesnt help me out any

ford4v429

I'd say go with a western frame off ebay- they are pulling them now ahead of time, so you can see what you are getting...I was afraid to buy one sight unseen back in '03, and shipping halfway across the country woulda cost as much as the frame- so patched ours(actually only saved 3' of the front and the rear crossmember). Sad to say, but most of these frames rotted from the inside out, and from what I saw of ours, everything that was 'low' was gone...the bottom of the front rails to halfway up the rear arches- worse yet the torque boxes were gone. If I had to do it again, Id go with the ebay/arizona frame in a heartbeat.

I have never seen a frame repaired 'in the car' that was more than a temporary fix- you really need to drop it to be able to clean/weld properly, if going that far, might as well go the extra 25% of work to swap it out. expect to replace all the bushings, lines, etc, plus the rocker tunnel will likely need some repairs once the frame is dropped.

theres a bunch of pictures of ours at saving a 65 galaxie

__________________
Confidence: that feeling you have just before you realize the mess you've gotten yourself into...