Gentlemen, I have bad news..

[Romaniac]

Got some photos of the frame for the experts here. Need an honest word of advice. Patch the frame or replace the frame rails, and how much is that gonna cost me as I do not have the means to do it my self. I mean, I could rent a welder and tools and learn to do it in my driveway but.. that's unlikely.

The frame, left side



the frame, right side behind the wheel



Right side, infront of the wheel, and the rest of the frame looks like this



some more photos of the car

and some more pics here http://s1281.photobucket.com/user/theevolutionman/library/Monte Carlo?sort=3&page=1

I got an offer for her for 750 with no engine, but I'd rather fix that frame and enjoy the ride my self. Let me know what you think it will cost me to keep this lovely clean gbody on the road and which method is best to take. cheers!

 

[SafariWagon]

It's still worth saving. My 78' wasn't as bad as yours but I still did the rear frame rails on it with the body on the car. The top edge can't be welded with the frame on the body. So you can weld the other 3 sides. What I did was do a slight frame notch to the "seam" at the same time. That way with the outer side of the frame rail off I could weld the top from the inside and I welded the other 3 sides on both sides. The frame notch only gains you 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch but thats all I needed for the wider tires. Ground the outside smooth. You can reach to the top to put some JB weld on it with your finger to seal it off from the outside on top. I used Conrad Lozier's frame rails on this one. I have used nice used ones off of Ebay on a diffferent car. They both work just fine. I would guess $200 for used frame rails $350 for Conrad's and $500 or so labor if you can find somebody willing to do it. Good luck! It looks like a nice car other wise, so in my opinion dumping $800 bucks or so into fixing the frame is worth it. Even with the rotten frame rails I would say it's a $1200-1500 car around here (Minneapolis, Mn)

 

[Carlola]

3rd gens are gems. Respect to anyone who has the cohones to bring one back to former glory+. I say go for it, if you have the time and money ofcourse. An amazing car, most bada$$ car of all time IMO, I am horribly bias though, still, doesn't mean im wrong..

 

[BPTTONE420012]

i vote fix it... if you cant get your hands on a welder, make a welder out of a lawn mower, an alternator, n car battery... or if you dont want to make one, BUY one... i ALWAYS looked at it like this, with what you will spend to PAY someone else to do it, you can usually afford to buy the right tools with that money and do it yourself... besides, it always feels better to make or fix something YOURSELF... and after you have a welder you can start making all sorts of sh*t

 

[Pit]

Fix it, you can't imagine how desirable this car is in the side if the world!
And it's just a rear corner...

 

[Trevor87]

I also vote fix it. My left has a small hole in the same location and the right appears to be getting weak(still no hole). my next purchase for the car is the kit from Conrad however it might be until next winter until I get er done. Good luck to you!

 

[Romaniac]

It's still worth saving. My 78' wasn't as bad as yours but I still did the rear frame rails on it with the body on the car. The top edge can't be welded with the frame on the body. So you can weld the other 3 sides. What I did was do a slight frame notch to the "seam" at the same time. That way with the outer side of the frame rail off I could weld the top from the inside and I welded the other 3 sides on both sides. The frame notch only gains you 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch but thats all I needed for the wider tires. Ground the outside smooth. You can reach to the top to put some JB weld on it with your finger to seal it off from the outside on top. I used Conrad Lozier's frame rails on this one. I have used nice used ones off of Ebay on a diffferent car. They both work just fine. I would guess $200 for used frame rails $350 for Conrad's and $500 or so labor if you can find somebody willing to do it. Good luck! It looks like a nice car other wise, so in my opinion dumping $800 bucks or so into fixing the frame is worth it. Even with the rotten frame rails I would say it's a $1200-1500 car around here (Minneapolis, Mn)

thanks for the info, i was expecting to pay well over a grand for just the labour part of the frame fix

i vote fix it... if you cant get your hands on a welder, make a welder out of a lawn mower, an alternator, n car battery... or if you dont want to make one, BUY one... i ALWAYS looked at it like this, with what you will spend to PAY someone else to do it, you can usually afford to buy the right tools with that money and do it yourself... besides, it always feels better to make or fix something YOURSELF... and after you have a welder you can start making all sorts of sh*t

is this something easy to do with a step by step instruction? I have no experience welding but I can learn, if it's something that doesn't require much skill.

 

[MrHernandez]

Time to c notch it and lay frame 8)

 

[BPTTONE420012]

welding is super simple... i was surprised at how easy it was... i had never welded before until i took out my trans crossmember, chopped n channeled it, and welded it back together... i was worried the bolt holes wouldnt line back up, but the bolts dropped right in... and as for the welding part, the guys welder i used (who has been a pro welder for 30+ years) said "i couldnt of done that better if i tried, 36 years of people coming in and out of this shop, and those are by far the best welds i have seen" then he grabbed a sledge hammer and smacked what i just welded, laughed and said "just testing it"... but yeah welding was the easy part, just remember when welding, the sticks are covered in flux, so after welding a bead you need to clean that weld BEFORE you can weld onto your weld or right next to it... the flux turns crusty n flakey, i used a needler in between welds to clean them...

THE CROSSMEMBER (looked better painted but i didnt take a pic)

 

[Romaniac]

welding is super simple... i was surprised at how easy it was... i had never welded before until i took out my trans crossmember, chopped n channeled it, and welded it back together... i was worried the bolt holes wouldnt line back up, but the bolts dropped right in... and as for the welding part, the guys welder i used (who has been a pro welder for 30+ years) said "i couldnt of done that better if i tried, 36 years of people coming in and out of this shop, and those are by far the best welds i have seen" then he grabbed a sledge hammer and smacked what i just welded, laughed and said "just testing it"... but yeah welding was the easy part, just remember when welding, the sticks are covered in flux, so after welding a bead you need to clean that weld BEFORE you can weld onto your weld or right next to it... the flux turns crusty n flakey, i used a needler in between welds to clean them...

THE CROSSMEMBER (looked better painted but i didnt take a pic)

that's awesome dude. It looks really good. I would love to start a "how to" thread on welding but I'll just do my homework :? :lol:
One thing though, what's this needler? Googled it, kept getting results about guns from halo

thanks for yalls input.