Frame rust

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BigBlockMopar28

BigBlockMopar28

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What's your guys' strategy when it comes to rust? Naturally these old hunks of steel rust over time and my area is pretty bad for that, my daily driver and my project both have some frame rust, somewhere in between surface rust and rot, and for the body panels. If I had the time I would do what I could to clean it up and slow the process down but that time is rare. What do you guys do when rust really starts to set in? Replace the bad section, find a new frame, build a new frame, junk the car, etc? I don't plan on getting rid of mine anytime soon. Sometimes I wonder why I dump money into things that will eventually rust out lol. Just curious because this stuff tends to eat at me sometimes and frames and certain panels are getting harder to find, especially locally.
 
BigBlockMopar28 said:
What's your guys' strategy when it comes to rust? Naturally these old hunks of steel rust over time and my area is pretty bad for that, my daily driver and my project both have some frame rust, somewhere in between surface rust and rot, and for the body panels. If I had the time I would do what I could to clean it up and slow the process down but that time is rare. What do you guys do when rust really starts to set in? Replace the bad section, find a new frame, build a new frame, junk the car, etc? I don't plan on getting rid of mine anytime soon. Sometimes I wonder why I dump money into things that will eventually rust out lol. Just curious because this stuff tends to eat at me sometimes and frames and certain panels are getting harder to find, especially locally.
Click to expand...
replace the rail
 
Just do what you can to prevent additional rust, check the key areas
of chassis for integrity. It usually has to be quite badly rusted before
the car is unsafe for normal driving situations. REMEMBER EVERTHING
IN LIFE THAT WAS ONCE GOOD WILL EVENTUALLY TURN TO ****!
 
Um... pretty much whatever the situation demands. Some are junked, some are fixed to various levels of "permanent" or "semi-permanent".
 
moper said:
Um... pretty much whatever the situation demands. Some are junked, some are fixed to various levels of "permanent" or "semi-permanent".
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Yeah...this sums it up.
What's your vision for the car? Do you want to keep it for years and years? Do you want to transport people whom you care about in it? Do you want to push the performance levels? Are you attached to the car on a sentimental level? Any of the above would indicate a real fix, as in welding in replacement components that are rotting.

If your goal is to just keep it kicking for a while longer, clean it up, paint on some POR15 and check it periodically.

If you want less effort than that, I hope you'll consider passing along the classic machine to someone who would love it...and replace it with a beat up Corolla or something.
 
Keep in mind many of those sections have reproductions now of the areas that typically go bad. I see used ones all the me at the Carlisle, Pa Mopar meet all the time. I just never needed one. That is until I get a car that needs these pieces at which time I wont be able to fine them!
 
Cut out what's rusted and weld in new pieces , or box it . That's what I did . Or if you have ton of cash replace all ! Or the first thing + roll cage , subframe connectors and j bars to keep everything holding together hahah .
 
AMD makes em they aren't that expensive and if you can spot / plug weld you can do it yourself , just get the car supported in the air level and solid and do 1 at a time , drill out the spot welds on the old one then use some pan head self drillers to position the new rail and start welding .Preparation and supporting the car with the suspension removed are the keys .Don't try to do too much at once .
 
AMD's rails are pretty close in price to what you will pay for the repair units that just box over your rotten stuff and worth the extra to have new clean metal .
 
Only way to get rid of rust is to cut it out and replace it. If the spots are small you can just cut out the rust and weld in patches, but if it's a significant area of the rails it's just easier to replace the whole thing. Pretty much everything on these cars is spot welded, so, you can replace everything with a spot weld cutter, a MIG and new pieces. It's actually not all that hard, the worst part is setting everything up level and square. More tedious than anything, lots of measurements to make sure everything ends up where it's supposed to be and you don't end up with a car going down the road sideways.

If you plate or box over the rusty spots all you're doing is buying some time, the rust will eat the new plate or boxing faster than the original stuff, you're just trapping it in a bunch of layers.

yeah said:
Cut out what's rusted and weld in new pieces , or box it . That's what I did . Or if you have ton of cash replace all ! Or the first thing + roll cage , subframe connectors and j bars to keep everything holding together hahah .
Click to expand...

Replacing a rail is easier than welding in a cage and all that reinforcing stuff. And less expensive in a lot of cases too.
 
72bluNblu said:
Only way to get rid of rust is to cut it out and replace it. If the spots are small you can just cut out the rust and weld in patches, but if it's a significant area of the rails it's just easier to replace the whole thing. Pretty much everything on these cars is spot welded, so, you can replace everything with a spot weld cutter, a MIG and new pieces. It's actually not all that hard, the worst part is setting everything up level and square. More tedious than anything, lots of measurements to make sure everything ends up where it's supposed to be and you don't end up with a car going down the road sideways.

If you plate or box over the rusty spots all you're doing is buying some time, the rust will eat the new plate or boxing faster than the original stuff, you're just trapping it in a bunch of layers.



Replacing a rail is easier than welding in a cage and all that reinforcing stuff. And less expensive in a lot of cases too.
Click to expand...
Just takes time...
 
Mopar Tim said:
Just takes time...
Click to expand...

Tell me about it. One spot weld at a time, over and over and over and over and over and over...

I haven't been counting, but by the time I finish replacing all the panels, rails and structure that my Challenger needs replaced I'll probably be in the thousands for spot welds cut and replaced. I know I'm well into the hundreds already, with the floor sections, rear frame rails, firewall sections, etc. And I still have full quarters, the roof structure and probably a front rail to do still.
 
a... yep better car! I rather spend another $500 for a better project than spend HOW many hours replacing frame rails??????, and if they are that rusted your floor pans, inside rockers, etc are crap by my standards. I have seen too many pic of undersides of rusty cars! OK so I must be too picky!
I have seen people from the city that would not travel 1 1/2 hours to look at a car for sale back in Missouri, Yet I could travel 500 miles looking for one! LOL Oh well.
 
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