Cut it out!

Rust inside of frame rail

Rust removed. Looking at pass side from engine compartment

Looking at pass side thru the wheel well

Oh, the HORROR!

Ouch!! Looks like you've got some work to do.

The easy part is removing it..... now comes the fun part (?):cross-eye

Hmm, that ended up being more than I thought, with your earlier description I thought it was mostly just the frame rail.:surprised

Me too. The closer you look, the more you find. As you can see, it's going pretty quickly though. I only started pulling the motor yesterday afternoon and I rest more than I work!

You better get all the rest you can now, cuz you're gonna need it when you get started putting it back together...:devious:

Notice why the frame rails rust out from the inside out? It's the welded in plate that makes the C channel into a box section. The moisture gets in between that and the inner fender and there it goes.....

With all that front frame cut away, how are you supporting the chassis so that when you weld new metal in it will be straight? Just wondering, since I have some similar work to do....

With the motor and tranny out, there isn't much there to support. I've got a couple of 6 ton jack stands supporting the rear cross member, two 20 ton screw jacks under the front cross member and 1 20 ton screw jack under the passenger side rocker pinch weld. I don't believe the car has moved a millimeter. Screw jacks are nice because you don't need to shim them like jack stands to get rid of any rocking or wobble of the car. The side-top channel that runs by the strut tower top is pretty strong too and it is helping the passenger side hold its shape the rest cut out.

Hadn't thought about screw jacks - I've seen them but don't have any. Sounds convenient. I've got six 6 ton jack stands right now. You're right that there's not much weight left, but the front end still needs to be supported so it wouldn't sag, and it sounds like you are.

Thanks. I might look for some screw jacks. :classic:

I got my screw jacks at northern tools a few years ago to do some house leveling, I ordered 20 of them and 6 came in by the time my better half put that project down (long story) so I have 6 of them now. But they have come in handy other ways. You probably don't need the 20 tonners.

I'm dressing the edges now for welding - and the distinct odor of bondo is present. It seems the P.O. bondoed the engine bay, firewall, battery tray area, frame rails, the whole thing! No wonder the extent of it was not evident.

Bondo, the meat and potatoes of a PO!

Will