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I took the engine and tranny out of my 74 and discovered a bad repair and crack in front of the drivers side motor mount. The crack isn't even running through a weld. It's running across the rail. That seems odd in itself.
Can this be repaired? Or am I out $4k for a new frame?
In front of the driver's side motor mount I discovered a previous repair and a new crack:
Looks like the frame has been eaten up with rust from the backside and has gotten so thin, it finally cracked open.
If that's the case, it's likely the rest of the frame is in bad shape, too.
On the other hand, if the thickness of the metal is adequate where you see those cracks, they can easily be repaired by a good welder. But, unless the frame is bare and can be transported, you will need to find a welder who has portable equipment and can come to you.
Last edited by 7T1vette; Jun 29, 2017 at 03:47 PM.
Looks like the frame has been eaten up with rust from the backside and has gotten so thin, it finally cracked open.
If that's the case, it's likely the rest of the frame is in bad shape, too.
On the other hand, if the thickness of the metal is adequate where you see those cracks, they can easily be repaired by a good welder. But, unless the frame is bare and can be transported, you will need to find a welder who has portable equipment and can come to you.
I thought this frame was damn near rust free. The outside of the frame is completely clear for about 70% of the frame and the rest has light topical rust. However ... what I've discovered is that this car leaked oil so bad that everything behind the engine seems to be somewhat protected by a thick layer of oil and grease. The area to the sides and in front of the engine, not so much.
I'm doing a body off resto so getting to it shouldn't be a problem.
Looks like the frame has been eaten up with rust from the backside and has gotten so thin, it finally cracked open.
If that's the case, it's likely the rest of the frame is in bad shape, too.
On the other hand, if the thickness of the metal is adequate where you see those cracks, they can easily be repaired by a good welder. But, unless the frame is bare and can be transported, you will need to find a welder who has portable equipment and can come to you.
The second picture, "A Closer Look", it appears that there is an old repair just forward of the crack. I'd look at that frame carefully before sinking many toad pelts into fixing that crack. Might be tossing them down a rabbit hole.
The second picture, "A Closer Look", it appears that there is an old repair just forward of the crack. I'd look at that frame carefully before sinking many toad pelts into fixing that crack. Might be tossing them down a rabbit hole.
The shoddy repair is what drew my attention to the crack. I was hoping the crack was due to not drilling out the tip of the crack (to release the stress) before welding a plate over it.
I would look for collision repair or someone hit a curb at a good lick
This may be the case. A previous owner replaced the front bumper with an ill fitting 75 bumper. The front support bar with the vacuum cavity looks amazingly new. It's completely black with zero signs of rust even though the the radiator support is moderately rusted at the bottom. Maybe it had a front end collision?
However, the rails are spotless, nearly devoid of rust on the outside. There is no signs of flaking on the inside around the keyhole.
Here is the keyhole in front of the driver side kick up. I think this is a typical rust problem area?
Although this looks like a lot of rust in the mounting bolt cavity in front of the driver side rear tire:
Although this looks like a lot of rust in the mounting bolt cavity in front of the driver side rear tire:
that pile of flaky metal is what's left of the sill panel to "b" pillar mount bracket. nasty stuff going on in your bird cage , have a look along the panel that goes under the door , you have to get down and look up, just above the chassis to see it .
I had cracks on both sides in my 75. If I hadn't noticed them, both lower control arms could have easily ripped right out from under the car. My frame was 100% rust free. It looked like it just fatigued. There must have been decades of flexing that eventually just cracked. It was re-welded, but I always had a fear the welds would fail or the crack would appear next to the weld as yours looks to have done. I'd certainly weld it, and put a small panel/brace piece over it as well.
I heard of vette frames stress cracking, first time I have seen one. I've seen a lot of rusty frames but never one rusted to point of breaking apart in the front section, not even close. Your frame looks pretty clean actually. I would go for the fix and if I couldn't competently do the welds I would do all the prep work as in cutting away the stressed areas and making and shaping the patches. Frame grafting is best done with backing plates hidden on the inside of the frame rails for repairs, a bridge if you will welded in place with a series of slots to be filled with welds through the original frame surfaces. take all the pieces to a welder and let them do it with your guidance. Most local welders are good a joining things but not much good for time consuming fabrication.
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Cracked frame - repairable?
