One of the bolts for the upper control arm shaft on my 69 Elky pulled all the way through its mount on the frame. I imagine I should have seen the problem earlier when I kept losing shims, but I didn't.

I'm thinking that the fix is to weld the hole closed and redrill it in the right place.

I figure that if I take all the shims out of both sides, and measure the distance between the bottom of the other side's control arm shaft (below the bolt) and the frame, I can use the control arm shaft on the bad side and a shim of that distance to get the hole in the right place.

I have a Lincoln Weld-Pak 10 (110v wire-feed) with .035 flux core wire. I also have the MIG conversion for this welder but I haven't installed it. Given that I'd turn the amps all the way up, is this sufficient to get enough penetration to have an actual repair, or is this something that I need to leave to an actual frame shop?

If this is something that I can do with what I've got, should I use the .035 flux-core, or should I use the MIG? Is the flux-core hard (wear-resistant) enough to really last in this spot? Is the correct fix actually to get a frame shop to pull the UCA shaft mount from a donor car and weld the whole new mount in?

Am I an idiot for even thinking about doing this myself?

see post over at PT.com

I'd think about welding a piece of steel behind the hole and using that to hold the bolt. It's easier and more secure.

Peter

Hrmm. Not a bad plan, but wouldn't I still need to weld up the existing hole and redrill, so there wouldn't be a chance of it wobbling around?

Once the bolt is right tight I can't see how it would still wiggle. But then, I'd probably still try to fill the hole if possible. Putting a piece behind would keep it from pulling through the weld again.

I also think you will have a hard time getting decent penetration with that welder. It will probably work well enough if you put a piece behind but not for just filling the hole.

Thanks, y'all. I'm going to grab some 1/8" steel stock tonight so I can weld it in behind the hole tomorrow.

I wouldn't even try it with that flux core wire graemlins/sad.gif That stuff absolutely sucks! Nothing but spatter.... and you end up with the crappiest looking weld you can imagine.
Get a bottle of 75/25 argon, and some .030 wire.

I was remembering backward - thinking that the shaft was on the outboard side of the frame - so I could drill through from the wheel-side using the shaft as a guide so I'd be sure to be drilling in the right place.

The shaft is actually on the inside, and it doesn't look like I'd be able to get a drill in there since the engine's kinda in the way.

Can this be done with the engine in place - either by me in a driveway, or by a frame shop? Or would it be a pull-the-engine thing for anyone who tried it?

Derek-cut the damn thing off and weld a new one on-it is a known weak link anyway, don't mess with it.