Front Suspension ROT

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68 Notch Back

68 Notch Back

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This is from a 68 Barracuda that I bought about 6 years ago and it has been sitting in my car port since then. I took the front fender off yesterday and found this mess (bubba has been working overtime).

Can someone give me some options on how to fix this?

My welding skills are lacking, so I would have to get someone to burn in anything that I would fabricate.

What is that z piece of metal part name that the shock goes through? and Is it spot welded to the inner fender?

This will not be driven on the street.....Strip only use.

Thanks

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There is a cap but that wouldn't solve your issue. You can find a used rail on here I would bet fairly easily. 67- 72 I believe A body is the same so that gives you options.
 
That looks like rust ate through a lot of the metal and stresses finished the job. If it were me, I would have the engine compartment and under carriage steam cleaned thoroughly.

I would then pull the car apart, find a good donor car or fabricate parts to replace and strengthen the offending pieces, buy a decent mig welder and swap the parts over making sure you keep things where they belong.

On my '68, I found that the Z structure near the shock had broken loose at the spot welds on the inner fender well. I welded it solid to the inner fender and installed a complete chassis stiffening kit from US Cartool with a quality used mig welder I bought. It has saved me a lot of money from not having to farm welding work out over the years. I learned to weld by using Google, trial and error and practice. Mig welding is one of the easier ways to weld, but to be really good at it, it takes practice and experience.

The alternative is to have a body shop that is experienced with this type of repair do the work for you. You will likely be money and tools ahead if you study the process by using this forum and others and do the work yourself. There is a learning curve, but break the project down into steps and tackle them one at a time.
 
Replace the rail.

They don't make them, but if that's the driver's side there's one available on here. Lee Robinson is the seller, shipping will be expensive for you but I've done business with him before, he's a good guy.

Here's the listing, you'll want the rail for the standard bumper brackets (blue one). Even has the shock tower attached...

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=307984&highlight=frame
 
You have rotted structure and even worse, a rotted suspension pick up point. I would do a full rail replacement. Better start checking the rest of the car too.


If you can't do this yourself be ready for a big bill. $1,000+
 
72bluNblu said:
Replace the rail.

They don't make them, but if that's the driver's side there's one available on here. Lee Robinson is the seller, shipping will be expensive for you but I've done business with him before, he's a good guy.

Here's the listing, you'll want the rail for the standard bumper brackets (blue one). Even has the shock tower attached...

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=307984&highlight=frame
Click to expand...

Yes, Lee is an awesome person to deal with! I bought the red one from the scamp from him and he GreyHound Expressed it to me all boxed up too. Lee's parts are clean and excellent quality!
 
If it is just the upper a-arm mount you may not need to replace the whole rail.

Like mentioned your need to clean it all up from front, back and t-bar mounts and inspect.

The front arm mount is available from Classic Industries or autorust.com.
 
Lots of good advice here. If this occurred at this area, the rest of the car is suspect as well. Some corrosion is not as easy to spot either. Once clean, inspect the rest of the car's chassis. It may be less expensive and easier to avoid trying to replace and repair a corroded chassis by finding a good doner car to make one good car out of the two. You may be able to offset your initial expenses by selling the parts you do not need.
 
Thanks for the info guys.
I ordered a rail from Lee an it should be here next week.
Now..... can anyone offer advice on what all I haver of do to get the rusty one out?
I will wait until I get the other rail so I can see how he took that one out and maybe I can follow his lead.
 
You can start by drilling out the spot welds. Harbor freight has the drill bits for about $10. They work well.
 
I helped a friend with a similar problem over the winter on a 68 RR we did both frame rails.First things first. I would drop the drive train, suspension and K member. Then square and level the body on jackstands prior to drilling out ANY spots welds. Then take every measurement that you think you may need. For example from the top of the firewall on the driverside corner to the top of the rad support on the passengers side (meaning on a diagonal). Also the distance from the frame rail to the ground. Once tou have those drill away. Also support the body with a minimum of 6 jack stands.

Thanks
James
 
You also need to check the passenger side and torsion bar crossmember especially where the T-bar anchors are welded in. It's common for the T-bar crossmember to rust from the inside out leaving the metal paper thin. When that happens the T-bar anchor twists out with a bang and the front end will immediately drop because the spring is no longer anchored.

BTDT.
 
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