Rear cross member cracked need options

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TURNA

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Jul 24, 2009
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OOFA!!!!
 

pontiacgp

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Mar 31, 2006
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Here is an example of the binding caused by a solid upper. We boxed a stock upper on my GP to see what the results would be when we were racing a Metric, the hole on the axle side is elongated and it was only on the car for a month.

binding.jpg
 
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chiturr

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Oct 16, 2018
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Since this is more of a race car that is street driven ... I’m not looking for perfection but something that is secure and functional.

If I could really not get the whole body off and perhaps bring it to a shop that has a jig to make sure it’s straight and weld it back up.

One idea I had is cutting the floor to do this operation and weld it back ounce finish. Any thoughts ?



2cdd2eee5e64c2ec4adf631e3765f886.jpg



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TURNA

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Anything is possible!!!! Give it a shot.
 
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I actually don't think it would be very difficult to plate that frame and weld it up. Obviously the body would probably have to be off or you'd have to cut out the floor in the back seat.

I would take some measurements before I welded it, but putting it in a jig would be overkill in my opinion.

Keep in mind the factory welds on these frame sucked and there was a margin of error from the factory.

I think the bigger issue is finding out that caused it to crack there as others have said.
 
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pontiacgp

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If you want to leave the body on I would weld a turnbuckle on each side of the crack so you could draw the two halfs back together and then weld it, Removing part of the floor will help and then you can add some materail to give it more strength. A word of caution with the seam sealer on the floor joints, that stuff is flammable so be careful with it when you are welding, I found out how flammable that stuff is when I was was welding in a body mount
 
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565bbchevy

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Aug 8, 2011
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I would attempt to fix it in car, I would probably remove the rear end and anything that would give me more access to the repair area.
I think with the rear end out if you can get the crack to realign and get some welds on it and maybe use pontiacgp's turnbuckle idea if it needs to be pulled together.
Weld some reinforcement plates after the crack is repaired and look for any other stress cracks that might be starting.
I think cutting a patch out from the rear seat would also help, maybe drill some pilot holes from underneath to give you an idea how big a section you need to cut out.
Also once the repair is done mock up the rear end and check for binding through out a full range of motion.
 
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chiturr

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Oct 16, 2018
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All good ideas guys.

Really appreciate the advices.

I found this car 2 months ago. It belong to my father 15 years ago and I’m kinda sentimental about it and want to keep it a long time.

If this repair don’t work I will probably change the frame or buy that bracing someone mentioned in the thread.


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TURNA

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Thats pretty nice,

but for the money these guys are asking I could bring it to a chassis shop and have that made and installed
 
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