69 Valiant For sale-Nebraska
Hi Guy's Just so we are all clear the torsion bar cross member is in VERY good condition. It will need front floor pans (L,R) and 12" of frame that runs towards the front of the car. All these parts are available at Year One for under 350.00. This car is a good start. Like my add said this car has not been started or driven since 1983 or4 .This car is up for barter.
Sorry for the confusion about the frame rot, thought I saw a through hole in one of the close-up pics.
Anyway, this only reveals a more serious issue. Frame rail rot is much more time consuming and expensive to repair than what's needed for a crossmember. Your choices as far as I know are:
(1) a clean full frame rail from a donor vehicle, tacked in place and then finish welded on a frame machine (how I would want it done)
(2) patch in some metal where it's rotted, like the frame rail cap from Year One, and hope it hasn't weakened the structure or comes back to haunt you in a few years (not what I would want done, but I'm kinda picky when it comes to repairs)
(3) full frame replacement, like pro-street or pro-touring ($$$)
(4) frame replacement, like above, but only the front
Chances are you're gonna have to take a loss on the whole car, or spend some time parting it out to make your investment back. Sucks, and it's a hard lesson, but I guess you can be thankful you learned it on a $1500 Valiant and not a $20k+ Ebay "restored" musclecar.
