help! My frame rails have scoliosis

[1 Wild R/T]

I gave you the exemption....... I separated the carpenters from the fags with a crowbar

It's pretty easy to separate carpenters from fags.... Much harder to separate two fags...

 

[eldubb440]

It's pretty easy to separate carpenters from fags.... Much harder to separate two fags...

that's what the Buske post is for

 

[kiwigtx]

with a crowbar

Navy surplus.

 

[superchrgrheavn]

And it has begun... Unfortunately, the level of butchery is fairly extensive. Looking for advice on how to proceed. Below is the transplant. A 68 Coronet wagon

Here is where things get interesting. Sometime in the 90s, someone thought it smart to stick-weld the supports to the firewall, which warped and swiss-cheesed it fairly well. Is it dumb to cut out a strip of sheet metal around the spot welds on the right and left side of the donor, or should I try to make it straight and try to fix what I already have

Also, probably a good idea to do the same procedure Kern dog went through with this cowl section

 

[1 Wild R/T]

If you need the top of the cowl and the flanges why not section in the whole cowl from the floor seam just above the frame rail to the windshield posts, shame that didn't get cut 6" higher...

 

[superchrgrheavn]

If you need the top of the cowl and the flanges why not section in the whole cowl from the floor seam just above the frame rail to the windshield posts, shame that didn't get cut 6" higher...

Wrong side, but this is the picture I have on hand. Something like this? Cutting out the spot welds at the floor and cowl seams and taking out a section of sheet metal on either side of the old welds that has been warped?

 

[Runcharger]

What Wild is saying is the best way to clip that would have been to use as much as you can, sleeve the windshield posts and join that whole clip to the car about 6 inches up the windshield posts. You need all that sheetmetal off the new clip anyway. So you have to figure out how to use as much of that intact as you can. So you want to use the cowl from the clip, the area where the door hinges bolt on from the clip, everything. With the clip intact as it is right now, everything on it is jigged up correctly, try to use it without cutting it apart.
The less welding you do, the less parts you have to line up correctly. If you join one big part to the rest of the car, you only have do that one lineup (top and bottom of course). If you start cutting parts off and you have to graft 6 separate parts to your car, it's going to take a bunch of time, the welds won't look factory and chances are a few pieces may not fit correctly in the end.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

What Wild is saying is the best way to clip that would have been to use as much as you can, sleeve the windshield posts and join that whole clip to the car about 6 inches up the windshield posts. You need all that sheetmetal off the new clip anyway. So you have to figure out how to use as much of that intact as you can. So you want to use the cowl from the clip, the area where the door hinges bolt on from the clip, everything. With the clip intact as it is right now, everything on it is jigged up correctly, try to use it without cutting it apart.
The less welding you do, the less parts you have to line up correctly. If you join one big part to the rest of the car, you only have do that one lineup (top and bottom of course). If you start cutting parts off and you have to graft 6 separate parts to your car, it's going to take a bunch of time, the welds won't look factory and chances are a few pieces may not fit correctly in the end.

That would be my approach as well, issue is his donor is A/C & the car being repaired is non a/c

 

[Runcharger]

Yes: I seen that. Making that right isn't too bad either, I would do that little job before splicing them. Easy to weld a nice patch in there welding 2 pieces of full thickness sheetmetal.

 

[superchrgrheavn]

Blank stares of doom at my donor have passed, and it now seems doable. I have started spotweld cutting the donor on the firewall and the bottom of the frame rails, but it's still intact, so I can just weld the ones on the firewall back up.

If I understand, the idea would be to use the front of the door jam that butts up with the rocker, cutting spot welds up the door jam and using everything, including the firewall all the way forward to the core support



Would it be a bad idea to cut it along this line? If it were split here, I could notch the post, keeping my car's door jam, and only use a notch of the donor's post (the smaller section at the split in the last image). The only issue I can see is a harder time aligning it.

 

[Runcharger]

If I was doing it, that door jam and the rest of the assembly would be going onto your car in one piece, you want to bolt your doors onto it. That picture of the top of the new windshield pillar, you want fab up some metal to weld inside of there that go in about 2 or 3 inches and go up about 2 or 3 inches. You want to drill holes in the side of that donor piece so you can really weld those new pieces you made solid to the donor clip. Then on your original windshield posts, they will slip over those pieces (again with holes drilled in the bottom of the original posts that you can weld through into the pieces you fabbed). Idea is butt up your windshield posts to the donor clip and weld through the posts so it is stronger than it originally was coming out of the factory. If the posts on the donor had been cut 6 inches higher this would be easier but it is still what I would do, it will just be a little more finicky is all. Of course before you cut anything take measurements bottom to top of the windshield frame so you know what it has to be in the end.

 

[Runcharger]

I think you get it from your first photo where you are splitting it where the door jam joins the rocker (that's what I would do, just like the factory did it originally). You could certainly split the door jam however look how long that weld is going to be, not saying you can't do it, just I like to weld less if possible (less chance of not being true, less welding, less grinding, no chance of distortion if you don't weld it there to start with).

 

[superchrgrheavn]

Alright alright alright. Things are happening. The donor has been un air-conditionined and is at the blaster to get prepped and I'll throw some epoxy primer on it before I install. I'd really appreciate anything that i'm missing or alternatives in my plan. Only thing I cant show are the sleeves that will get rosette welded in the posts.

spot weld cut the bottom of the door jams all the way over to the caps over the front of the rockers. I'm thinking if I keep the squared off section of the a-pillar in the top of the photo, it will give me a good reference point as well as more welding surface on the pillar as the donor is cut at such a funky angle.

Then all the way across the top of the floor boards obviously

Today in preparation I'm planning on on bracing the door jams on both sides with 1" square steel and one piece connecting the two sides

Any and all advice welcomed

 

[superchrgrheavn]

Another question I have is if there is a better way for having the car jacked up than I do now. Currently the car is jacked up and shimmed level on 4 points with a jack taking the weight off the rear end. 2 Jacks on the rear frame just past the rear and and 2 more on the torsion bar cross member.

thanks, Destry

 

[superchrgrheavn]

That would be my approach as well, issue is his donor is A/C & the car being repaired is non a/c

The donor is back and cut to match. any concern or advice?

 

[eldubb440]

screw it into place......... enough to hold it, but dont over screw it

mock up fenders, hood, ect........ the sheet metal will tell you everything you need to know

 

[Runcharger]

That's looking good. Not as much welding this way, as Eldubb says it will tell you when it's right.

 

[Bighouse]

No welding until it alllllll fits right.

 

[superchrgrheavn]

screw it into place......... enough to hold it, but dont over screw it

mock up fenders, hood, ect........ the sheet metal will tell you everything you need to know


View attachment 1949127
View attachment 1949128

Alright, good deal. sheet metal screws are acquired and rosette weld skills are moderate. I should be good to go. My door hinges are shot, so after those arrive I'll start cutting and prepare to mockup

 

[superchrgrheavn]

That's looking good. Not as much welding this way, as Eldubb says it will tell you when it's right.

It all makes sense now. Now I'm debating leaving spot welds on the frame rail and PS floor unwelded and patching the floor after everything else is connected and in place