I was doing a little exploratory surgery this evening. I wanted to dig out the badly rusted-out body mount in the RR of my '66 Beaumont. It's in the typical spot that a gapping hole usually shows up (or at least on most of the 66's that I've seen). A replacement patch-panel and body mount will be required for sure.

Anyway, after getting the mount bolt out of the hole, and cleaning up around the area, I was able to examine the remains. My question is this........is it normal for the mount-hole (on the frame) to be that UN-circular? Photo 1 (http://www.cf-18.com/images/Beauframe01.JPG) Photo 2 (http://www.cf-18.com/images/Beauframe02.JPG)
It just seems overly jagged. Is this normal, or does it need to be brought to a nice circle?

Thanks,
Lyle

No its not normal but is common
You can cut a new piece of steel, cut the correct circle in it and weld on over the old hole to correct. Thats what I have had to do and it works great.
Good Luck

Yeah, I figured that was the case. I see that the bracket (welded to the frame) is available as a reproduction. I'll maybe do the repro when I do a frame-off down the road (no space or money to do that now).

The quick fix sounds simple enough......what should the hole diameter be?

Then I have to find somewhere that I can pick up just one bushing and bolt set.

Lyle

There is a source for washers, with the same I.D. as the bushing hole. A buddy just redid his frame and welded a washer over every hole (Ohio salt damage) The best one looked like yours, others were worse.

Here's a source for those washers and how to fix that.

http://home.comcast.net/~petelohr/einstyn1/einstyn-06.htm

Thanks for the great tip. That'll work perfectly.

I also checked with a parts supplier and found that I can get a full set of body mount bushings for a decent price. I'll fix the one noted above, but I'll go around and replace all the connectors.

Not a true frame-off, but it's as close as I'm gonna get for now.

Lyle

SInce you aren't removing the body, you can actually set the washer in place, then temporarily install the body bushing with the bolt thru it into the body mount. . That way you can locate the washer exactly on the frame and clamp or spot weld it in place. Remove the busing again and do a final weld on the washer to secure it permanently. Or, if you do the frame repair washer before replacing he body metal and cage nut, you can weld in the repair washer, then install the bushing and bolt in order to locate the postion for the cage nut in the body sheet metal.

As you read in his article, Pete recommends removing some original metal under the washer, around the hole, so the body bushing only has to be located into the washer opening. But if that's not possible, I believe the rubber on the bushing will accomodate the resulting double thickness of metal. Good luck.