Its been a while since I last posted but I really need your help.
I pulled the seats and carpet out of my 70 Parisienne Conv. and I saw that I had to replace or repair the rear floor pans. I had a journeyman welder come by, a real honest guy, and he said I have a bit of frame rot along the side rails (at the body mounts) and the cross memeber where the rear seat goes..... So this welder guy, didn't want to take on this job in my garage... with good reason I guess....I appreciate his advice but I need your help.
So my dilema is... what do I do ?.... can this sort of repair on the frame be done with the body of the car still sitting on the frame or will this involve removing the body panels.... Guys I will be honest, this is the first time I have had to deal with this so I am a little green. What kind of money am I looking at heer so I can prepare for it ????
All your advise would be so greatly appreciated as I was hoping that a couple of patch floor panel would suffice but I guess not.
Rob
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67 Impala Fast Back 327 70 Parisienne Convertible 62 Ford Super Stock Galaxie 406 4 Speed
i just notice your from ottawa and i don't know if this helps but these guys in carp, bring up rust free car from the states. maybe they can bring up a rust free frame for you. for reference the last rust free frame i bought was $600 but it wasn't from them. hope this might help
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.
Wow thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. It is only a couple of spots along the driver side rail. The cross member only has a small area that is rotten as well. Any recommendations on a decent mig welder.... I have to be honest that I have never welded before but I have always wanted to learn.... nothing a few hours on some scrap sheet metal can't solve I guess.....
I really appreciate the help ....I guess I just felt overwhelmed for a second there so thanks for putting in perspective for me.
I will keep you guys posted for sure
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67 Impala Fast Back 327 70 Parisienne Convertible 62 Ford Super Stock Galaxie 406 4 Speed
