Front Frame Rust. Is this save-able?

:SNSign: cool thank you , i will look into this more when it gets a little warmer out here in Va..


thanks stangnet

Photo with removed rust to bare metal would be much more useful. If the upper part of the profile is good you can patch it; it's very simple I would say sat morning job. Just need a small mig and auto darkening helmet especially for first cca 10 spot welds to keep the sheet metal in place (then weld all around). No way you can do it with an electrode welder, mig is a must. Overall would cost you about 1/3 what you would pay to the body shop

i havent read what everyone has said but it looks very repairble. i wouldnt give up on her yet. i have the save rust out on mine. but yours looks better to be honest. they sell the bottom rails i belive so i would just have it replaced. i would pick up a welder like someone eles said and do it yourself. belive me you can weld with some practice. even if you take a quick class or have someone sit odwn and teach you. it would take to many man hours to fix. looks worse than it is. good luck we all have hit rough spots.

Its definitely repairable

Anything is possible with the right amount of time and money

showngo50 said:

this is a pic of what i am dealing with, how bad do you guys thnk it is? fixable? or? ideas please.

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That's not too hard to fix, all the parts are available, and if you take your time and make a good drawing of bolt locations BEFORE you start, you can do it yourself. That is assuming you can weld. I fixed a car with the exact same problem, and I'm no brain surgeon.

If it were me, I'd support the car under the frame rails but behind the front suspension. Some where around the firewall would be fine. The make the frame rail part you're replacing level, by raising or lowering the rear end with a jack and supporting that with axle stands under the frame. I never rely on axle stands under the suspension when doing frame work because the first thing you know, someone will get into the car for some reason, bounce the suspension and there goes your "levelness". Anyway, place a level ( a "torpedo" level is fine) on the front frame rails (front-to-back) and the front crossmember (side-to-side) to make sure it's level, then measure the bumper bracket mounting holes on the frame as closely as you possibly can and make a nice drawing with every possible dimension. Measure from the bumper bolts to any point back on the frame rail (bolt, hole or anything you are leaving alone) to get the length right and you can't really go wrong. The frame extensions you buy are in two parts (inside and outside) so you can weld on both sides so you can grind the outside smooth and have it look factory. Don't forget to paint the inside with something rust resistant before you weld it together for good. Be thorough and be careful and it'll turn out nicer than if you had a collision shop/bondo palace do it at $70 an hour.

If I were replacing a frame rail in the absence of a chassis plate I would level the car and weld stands to the ends of the rockers (as far forward and back as possible). Then I would mark the placement of the car on the floor with a sharpie in case it gets bumped or something you can get it back to where it was. Then I would pick a bunch of reference points on the old frame rail and use a plumb bob to mark those spots on the floor as well as marking out reference points on the opposite frame/chassis. Then measure from the floor to the reference point on the rail, measure crossways, etc. You could even make a jig if you had time. If it's not a convertible you should be OK without bracing the car if you do one side at a time, but bracing never hurts, I guess. You should be able to get it in the ballpark this way. The car was probably never perfect even when new, so it may even be better. There used to be a guy on eBay who sold frame charts for Mustangs, not sure if they're still on there. There's also body assembly manuals available.

not gonna lie, its pretty bad in those spots but is repairable. It will be cheaper to go mustang 2 up front and get rid of the shock towers all together. Doing mustang 2 will also make it easier to replace the frame rails with all that crap out of the way.

jerry S said:

to arrive at a correct figure, take the highest estimate and then double it. I don't want to sound coy or anything. This is an awefully expensive hobby. When I was budgeting for my repairs, I was being conservative. I took my estimates and then added a margin of 25% on top of that. I was not even close.

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I wish I would have had that advice when my paint/body guy quoted me $6500 to do the paint/body/hood/ground effects on my car. Even after I told him the paint and materials alone would be 2/3rds that, easy. Didn't help that I had him do some "Xtras" like weld KB Matrix Brace and fill in all the extra holes in the engine compartment . . . yup . . . $6500 X 2 = THAT's ABOUT RIGHT !!

Wouldn't change a thing though . . . no regrets here.