Frame Repair

[robmorais]

I have an 82, auto trans with 120K miles. After turning a corner the drivers ball joint failed and the car hit the road. I was not going very fast and the shop told me it could just replace the ball joint. However, when we got it on the road it was clear there was something VERY wrong... It seems that when the ball joint snapped it stressed the frame and where the cross member ripped out of where it connects to the side rails.

I called the insurance and they have totaled the car... The question is... how difficult is it to put new frame rails and a new cross member on the car?

Here is a pic of the damage... sadly both sides of the frame need to be redone, the one is totally ripped out, but you can see the other is on the way...

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9SiEJ ... 1ExTDVmWnc

Any help would be appreciated....
Rob

Rob

[azruss]

The condition of the cross member needs to be looked at separately. the studs that hold the lower a-arm, stress cracks, etc. Replacing the square tube requires some pretty good sheet metal skills. If you have a good set from a donor car, then you are only looking at 100 hours or so. If it were me, i would fab some overlays with 1/8" angle iron or channel. remove the vertical studs from the bottom of the channel (picture looks like they are already gone. drill thru the entire tube vertically, lay the angle over the top and run long bolts from the top of the tube thru the cross-member. This can be done without removing the cross member. The anle iron will be far stronger than the existin channel. what needs to be determined is how much metal has corroded from the channel.

[manoa matt]

This post may help some: http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... =a&start=0

[vandor]

This is actually not an uncommon repair on Spiders. Reinforce the top and bottom of the box section and drop bolts from the top all the way down to the crossmember. The crossmember may or may not need to be replaced, it needs to be inspected and if it is sound then it can stay. While they are doing other welding they should also seam weld the crossmember, especially at the ends.