Hi Carl,

I will take some pics tonight and post them. At leat of what I can see....

Thanks

So I guess I could use a 65 - 70 Impala frame right ?

You haven't mentioned how much of the frame rail is rotted, ie is it just the side of a rail or is it completely around the circumferance. If it its just a small portion of a side it isn't a big deal. For the price of having a body shop or a fabrification shop do this repair you can now purchase a 110 amp. mig welder and a 5 hrs. compressor together with sufficient air tools to complete the repair yourself. As you already know the floor is a problem you can go ahead and cut it out so that you can see the repair you need to do; by way of using a die cutter. You can then cut out the portion of the frame rail causing you the problem and then decide how substantial the repair will be, or you can have your friend come back and look at it. In any event even he will have to cut out all this stuff so that he will be able to see what is really required, hence you have saved yourself the money of him doing the preliminary work. I had been convinced by friends that a 220 amp. welder was required for this work however in discussing the problems with both the leading welder supplier in my area and the leading fabrification shop here, both stated emphatically that a 110 mig. will weld up to 3/16 ths. steel with absolutely no problems. As I am not the professional and they are, I bow to their expertise. At this point if the problem is small then you can acquire the appropriate thickness of material to weld into the cavity you have now created and proceed to repair the damaged area by way of butt welding, grinding and painting to make it look original. In the event the damaged area is more substantial then you may wish to tackle, have your friend or a reputable fabrication shop quote you on the frame repair portion only. The crossmember is merely a support for the frame to keep it square and you can either cut it out and replace it or repair the damaged section. The floor can be repaired by using regular sheet metal or purchasing reproduction floor sections from a full size Chev. , I think.