Torsion bar crossmember repair cap

[440beep]

My 69 Bee has some rust cancer on the drivers side only, the rest of it is solid. Anyone use a repair cap to fix one? Of course the major players’ websites state “coming soon.” Looked on eBay and nothing. Anyone know of an available part?

Guess I could always cut the rust out and weld in some steel plating to fix. I can’t weld so I need to farm this fix project out to a willing buddy who can weld AND has the time.

 

[threewood]

If that is just a cap that goes on on top of the rusty piece I would pass. Cut out old, weld in new is the best option. AMD makes full pieces.

Edit: Well crap...out of stock. Did yours rust out where the frame rail meets the crossmember? Maybe someone has a donor section for sale.

 

[66 Sat]

Whatever you do you have to cut out the rusty section and get back to good metal. Covering the rust with a cap is a band-aid fix in my book.
I would do all the prep work myself and then get your welder in to complete the job.

 

[hunt2elk]

There is no way I would weld a "cap" over a rusted portion of metal. Do it right and either cut out the bad area to replace a chunk, or replace the whole thing. Just a heads up if you decide to replace. The AMD piece has had reviews of being a tad shorter than an original, although they may have addressed that by now. Best scenario is if you can find a solid original part.

 

[dvw]

I'd pull the torsion bar. Then cut out the bad spots. Then determine what good metal is left. If the cap covers the missing portions, then it would be easier than replacing the entire crossmember. You could also seaction a portion of the factory cross member in. It is posible to swap out the entire cross member without removing the front floor. But you will have to drill some of the floor welds and pry the floor up while twisted the new part in. It takes a bit of persuasion. All depends on good your fab and welding skills are.
Doug

 

[440beep]

I have no fab or welding skills, that’s the issue. And the cancer is only a small portion, but it’s bad. Hasn’t reached the torsion bar socket yet.

 

[66 Sat]

To give you some idea of the work involved here's some photos of mine from when it was fixed. Only one small portion was rusted, and before I started poking around it was one tiny area, but like yours it was bad.

 

[threewood]

I had to repair mine the same way only I had a donor section to use. It is very doable by fabricating a piece too.

 

[eldubb440]

I've done both....... donor section on my GTX and and repair on a Challenger with 16 gauge pieces....... anything but a cap

 

[440beep]

Finally got pics of the cancer. But think I already know what needs to be done.

 

[Doorkicker]

Hmmm... Not as bad as i was envisioning