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Frame is probabky junk, what direction to go?


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This may or may not be the right section for this....

 

So last weekend I finally got the rusted carcass of a body off the frame. The frame is no better unfortunately. Several of the holes for the body mounts are severely enlarged due to rust decay. There is an alarming amount of the frames surface flaking off in chunks due to being converted to rust (mother nature, dirt roads and neglect). To top it off, the car was hit in the drivers rear corner sometime during its life (I suspected) and there is a buckled section in the frame right behind where it drops down behind the rear tire.

 

So I feel I have 3 directions to possibly go.

 

1. Call up Art Morrison and get myself an erection inducing custom chassis with their sweet IRS setup. This would very likely end up with me immediately being divorced and homeless though, so its not really on the table.

2. Somehow find a used chassis in good condition and start there.

3. Fix the rode hard, toothless, meth head hooker of a frame I currently have while integrating some of the design elements and ideas I saw on some of the custom chassis from Art Morrison and Schwartz. This is also a good time to narrow the rear frame rails to get a little more meat under the back end. Although its a lot of work, Im liking this idea more and more.

 

Thoughts?

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Sam, Im not against that idea. My wife may have a different opinion though. :) The saving grace with this one is that I don't have to worry about wrecking anything, its kind of a blank canvas since so much needs replacement anyway. The biggest problem would be finding a decent car that doesn't need body work and is "affordable". Those two things don't Coexist as far as I can tell.

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Jeremy, Rooster2 (Carl) may still have the 70 body and chassis for sale that he recently posted in the For Sale/Wanted section. He told me it is an Arizona car so it should be good. :) He is in Michigan so shipping shouldn't be too bad.

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I bought the car with no engine since I have a strong 350 with very few miles on it. The restof the drivetrain came with the car and will need a rebuild. My original intent was to toss in the engine and drive it while fixing stuff here and there as I go. The car clearly had other plans. There were too many issues for it to be safe on the road so it turned into a full on frame off project. Which is fine, I Just have to wait alot longer to drive it now.

 

I already bought a pile of sheetmetal parts for it (still need more).Im not buried in it by any means but the more I think about it the more I look forward to the challenge. Its just metal after all, what could possibly go wrong? :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

IMO all frames rust ..that's just the way it is..I would fix the frame at the rear..there is no suspension tie in there and all it does is barely hold the back of the car up (gas tank)..take the frame and have it assessed by a body shop that have the correct frame straightening equip. by doing the simple repair it is well worth the extra cost and hassle of finding a new frame..I have seen some absolute horror bodies that have been brought back to life..but then again for the price of a morrison chassis you can get a whole car done nicely that all you need is a plate and go!!!!

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Art Morrison can handle that. Been talking to them about that very thing. Just give them a call. 1-800-929-7188 The Roadster shop can build you a frame and suspension as well, talked with them a few months back. 1-847-949-7637

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