Author Topic: Frame rail repair  (Read 3497 times)

Offline Scat Pack Fever

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Frame rail repair
« on: January 03, 2017 - 07:27:20 PM »
Hello All

Does anyone know if they make a rear frame rail piece that goes behind the back seat of an ebody? Its the part that curves upward.

Thanks,

Robert




Offline anlauto

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2017 - 07:32:44 PM »
You'd have to buy a whole frame rail and only use what you need :2cents:
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Offline 67vertman

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2017 - 08:19:45 PM »
You'd have to buy a whole frame rail and only use what you need :2cents:

 :iagree:  How bad is it? can you patch it together?  or like Alan stated, just use as much as you need.



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Offline Scat Pack Fever

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2017 - 08:39:23 PM »
ok cool. I'll bite the bullet and buy one. Thanks for the quick response.

Offline Beekeeper

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2017 - 10:01:50 PM »
Hey Scat, I'm doing this as well on a 70 Challenger hopefully in a couple months. I still on the front end but the back end will need work eventually. I'd love to see whatever pics you have of your work as you go along. I pick up great tips watching others on their projects.

Offline Scat Pack Fever

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2017 - 10:45:43 PM »
Hey Scat, I'm doing this as well on a 70 Challenger hopefully in a couple months. I still on the front end but the back end will need work eventually. I'd love to see whatever pics you have of your work as you go along. I pick up great tips watching others on their projects.

Sure!!! I know where there are lots of 71-74 b bodies. That area of the frame rail might have the same angle. I will keep you posted.

Offline HP_Cuda

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2017 - 01:27:51 PM »

Frame rack city.

Make sure you get good measurements before starting work.

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Offline Scat Pack Fever

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2017 - 10:19:40 PM »
I have decided to replace both rail to be safe than sorry.

Offline AARTA340

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2017 - 10:24:42 PM »
I have decided to replace both rail to be safe than sorry.

Good decision, and I can almost guarantee, the 2nd install will go faster.  :cheers:

Offline jimynick

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2017 - 11:22:48 PM »
AND, don't section the replacement rails. If the piece you're looking at is rotted, how far behind do you reasonably think the rest of it is? Welding good steel to old, corroded ****e is a recipe for disappointment. Put the whole rail in and never worry about it again- and that's my  :2cents:  :cheers:

Offline js29no

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2017 - 09:35:18 AM »
AND, don't section the replacement rails. If the piece you're looking at is rotted, how far behind do you reasonably think the rest of it is? Welding good steel to old, corroded ****e is a recipe for disappointment. Put the whole rail in and never worry about it again- and that's my  :2cents:  :cheers:
                 :iagree:

Offline 72bluNblu

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2017 - 01:35:32 PM »
Sure!!! I know where there are lots of 71-74 b bodies. That area of the frame rail might have the same angle. I will keep you posted.


71-74 B body rear rails are different. Only the front frame rails are the same between the 70-74 E and the 71/72 B bodies. 73-74 B front rails are different as well because of the isolated K frame mounts.

AND, don't section the replacement rails. If the piece you're looking at is rotted, how far behind do you reasonably think the rest of it is? Welding good steel to old, corroded ****e is a recipe for disappointment. Put the whole rail in and never worry about it again- and that's my  :2cents:  :cheers:


Sectioning the rails is not a problem at all as long as you take the sections back to good metal. Depending on what needs to be replaced and where the rust is, sectioning the rails can save you a lot of time and headaches. For example, if you don't have to mess with the rail at the shock mount crossmember, it will save you a ton of time and make it easier to maintain the frame measurements. Been there, done that.

I sectioned both of the rear rails on my Challenger. On the passenger side I just bought a replacement section, Sherman 16082-R. It's a 35" rear section that replaces the rail from the shock crossmember back and has a section that slides inside the old frame rail. Much easier to deal with, the only thing it actually locates is the rear shackle mount. And leaving the shock crossmember intact saves a bunch of time.







On the driver's side I found that the rail was soft further back than that. I bought part of a frame rail second hand, a member here had to buy a whole rear rail just to fix the first little section of the rear rail so I bought the leftover, which was the rest of the rail starting at about the sway bar mount. That goes through the shock crossmember. I added a couple of gusset plates on the inside to slide inside the old rail and went from there. In this case it would have been easier to just replace the whole rail. I didn't need to, the front part of the rail was solid, but it would have been easier to just spot weld the new rail in. But I definitely saved some money buying the leftover part and it replaced everything I needed it to. The install took more than twice the amount of time though, pretty much all centered around the work I had to do at the crossmember. The sway bar bracket also provided a nice gusset on this one.







Take lots of measurements!!!



« Last Edit: January 26, 2017 - 01:40:12 PM by 72bluNblu »

Offline Scat Pack Fever

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2017 - 07:37:35 PM »
I am seriously considering the rear section from Dynacorn. I will have at least $600 in new rails. I will still need the panel that goes across the end of the frame rails, plus I need both gas tank braces. You add that up and you get close to the $1,500 for the rear section that is already spot welded together and looks cleaner.

Offline AARTA340

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Re: Frame rail repair
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2017 - 07:52:20 PM »
I am seriously considering the rear section from Dynacorn. I will have at least $600 in new rails. I will still need the panel that goes across the end of the frame rails, plus I need both gas tank braces. You add that up and you get close to the $1,500 for the rear section that is already spot welded together and looks cleaner.

Haste makes waste. Nice to see you approaching this with time on your side. You may be on the path to the better fix, and after looking at it all again, the cost versus the time may be with you as well. Keep us up to speed on which way you go.  :cheers: