Conrad is out of business now, I believe. He ran out of wagon and ElCo rails a year or 2 ago, and I got one of his last sets of coupe/sedan rails from him early this year.
Frame Rails
- Thread starter Poppajac
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How much of the original rail is still there and how far up and back the side walls of the rail has the cancer gone?
I am asking because one way to rehab the damage is to acquire sections of +/- 1/8th thick flat plate and make your own inserts or wall sides. I will concede that this approach entails a lot of work and cutting, fitting and trimming of the panels plus the services of a good welding machine. The biggest hassle might be recreating the rounded edges where the sides bend in to become the bottom. For that a break would be useful but a large hammer and an anvil would produce the same result
The big thing with the G version rails is that, unlike the monolithic designs that used to be made by hydro-forming the steel, GM went to making the frames from short sections that were stamped to shape and then fused/welded together into larger structures until a complete frame had been assembled.
As a side thought to all this, has anyone ever approached Conrad Lozier and asked him if he has any plans to return to business?? Enough interest and who knows?
Nick
I am asking because one way to rehab the damage is to acquire sections of +/- 1/8th thick flat plate and make your own inserts or wall sides. I will concede that this approach entails a lot of work and cutting, fitting and trimming of the panels plus the services of a good welding machine. The biggest hassle might be recreating the rounded edges where the sides bend in to become the bottom. For that a break would be useful but a large hammer and an anvil would produce the same result
The big thing with the G version rails is that, unlike the monolithic designs that used to be made by hydro-forming the steel, GM went to making the frames from short sections that were stamped to shape and then fused/welded together into larger structures until a complete frame had been assembled.
As a side thought to all this, has anyone ever approached Conrad Lozier and asked him if he has any plans to return to business?? Enough interest and who knows?
Nick
Nick,
I sent him an email yesterday in the off chance he may have something laying around. I haven't heard anything back as of yet.
Conrad was making replacement rails for about 30 years. I used to see him at swap meets around southern Ontario. He also did installations but stopped doing that years ago. He's getting older now, so I don't think he will return to the business.
Poppajac, the only suggestion I can give you at this point would be to see about fabricating the areas that need repair, or trying to source eith a clean southern wagon frame, or at least the rear part of a southern frame.
Poppajac, the only suggestion I can give you at this point would be to see about fabricating the areas that need repair, or trying to source eith a clean southern wagon frame, or at least the rear part of a southern frame.
Might want to touch base with LongRoof or Bonnewagon. Both are wagoneers and possibly would know who/where to source a replacement wagon frame or know of a yard that might have them.
Nick
Nick
So I spoke to Rob at Dixie Restoration today about a frame rail for the wagon. They have some listed for a Malibu and just wanted to check and see if they had any that would fit a wagon. He said they did not but assured me that the 78-87 Rear Frame Rail from an Elco would fit the wagon with a few mods. I would need to cut the inner tab off and drill a hole for the body mount. He sent me an email showing the difference between all three frames, same one shown on this site, mounts and they have worked in the past. We will see.
Thanks Nick,
I wish I was able to accommodate our friend, but I don't know of any parts cars or parts hoarders at this time, unfortunately. It seems like yesterday I knew a guy that had a variety of G-Body wagons and El Caminos. I wish I would've stocked up on parts at the time.
Judging by Conrad's comparison pics of the frame rails. They all look like they're shaped the same, only for the difference in the mounting perch locations and mounting access holes.
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