I think my frame may be cracked in the location so many of you have pointed out.
What are my options?
How major is it? (I should be alright for a year or so, right? It's not a daily driver. And, this is the only crack I can see)
http://www.euniron.com/picture/crack.jpg

I'd say that since there doesn't "appear" to be any loss of material through corrosion, that you might have a correctable situation there. If you get it welded up by someone that knows what they are doing, it will probably be stronger than when it was new. That being said, I would avoid trying to do the repair yourself UNLESS you are the one that knows how to weld. I hate the thought of me learning to weld on the frame of MY car, so I suspect others would feel the same way about their own learning curve (and quite likely the same about not letting ME learn on their frames!)
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THe whole crack is about an inch long and it doesn't appear to go around the bottom. I don't know how long it's been there. So, I am hoping it'll not change much in a few months until I can get together the money to fix it. I guess I can start calling ASAP. I know a few rod shops around here that do a lot of frame work, though I think they'll charge quite a bit. I also have a friend who is going to weld in my bucket seat brackets. I don't know if he has any frame experience though. Kind of depressing. But, it doesn't look like a big deal and now I know to check before I buy my next A Body.

If you know someone that is a good welder, have them weld it up and weld a patch over the olblong tie down hole that creates this weakness in the first place. E-mail, search for Fo Fidi Fo's frame build up. If I remember correctly he had a similar situation and did a repair on it. Welding is not rocket science, and yes the completed weld should be as strong or strogner than the original metal. I would also weld a plate over that oblong hole to strengthen that area.

I had a crack in my 71 El Camino frame. We put on a patch plate and welded it in. Its been perfect for the last ten years.

The crack in my 70 frame was similar. Took it to a freind that does welding, he cut the section out, including the oval tie down hole, and sectioned a piece of steel into the cut.after painting, you cant even tell that its been repaired. I would limit driving the car until its repaired though. Those cracks will continue to grow, And if you get into an accident, that frame has a good chance of breaking.
Terry

How much does that entail, since my frame is obviously not off the car. I really dont want to pull the engine or frame.
Is your firend willing to do another car? (I am in So Cal) smile.gif

email your phone #, and a good time to call, I'll talk to him this weekend sometime and let you know. He owns a small cnc mill shop and is a very good welder as well.
Terry

to properly repair that you can not just weld it in a straight line on either side of the weld there is a heat affect zone produced which will weken the area and cause it to crack again. the area should be ground down and a plate should be welded over the area a couple of inches on each side and will minimize the amount of weakening from the welding
good luck
bob

One thing I have been wondering is, concerning a plate welded over the original, wouldn't the bare metal under that plate (on both pieces) corrode over time?

okay, you guys got my attention. i wanna look on my 70's frame to see if i have the same crack. it sounds like you guys have heard about this area being cracked on other A-bodies so i wanna check mine out, where is this common crack located? any other common spots i should check out?. (mine is a daily driver)

Originally posted by 72ElCaminoSS:
One thing I have been wondering is, concerning a plate welded over the original, wouldn't the bare metal under that plate (on both pieces) corrode over time? Not in our lifetime, if it's seal welded all the way around.

If I were fixing it I'd grind a groove into the crack, fill it with weld, grind it flush, then weld a re-enforcement plate on top.

You could stop drill the crack with small drill bit this will stop the crack from spreading till it can be repaired.( I work in aviation and this is a common practice) I would get it repaired as soonas is practial. Just a thought

Originally posted by Slowpoke70:
okay, you guys got my attention. i wanna look on my 70's frame to see if i have the same crack. it sounds like you guys have heard about this area being cracked on other A-bodies so i wanna check mine out, where is this common crack located? any other common spots i should check out?. (mine is a daily driver) Actually, I only looked cause I saw it here. The area you are looking at is a large oval hole just behind the front wheel. It seems like the drivers side is the one most often cracked

Originally posted by smittyocat:
You could stop drill the crack with small drill bit this will stop the crack from spreading till it can be repaired.( I work in aviation and this is a common practice) I would get it repaired as soonas is practial. Just a thought I've heard varying opinions on this. Do most else here agree? How large of a hole are we talking? The crack is still a hairline.
What I am really worried about is the frame bending at the crack (the two sides seperating). It seems like this would be possible even if it were to crack no farther.

1/8" to 1/4" hole is fine. i would do it. here is some of the stuff i did to my frame.
http://hometown.aol.com/smartasreality/page04.html