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dart swanger

dart swanger

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calgary, AB. Canada
I removed my driver side control arm and revealed a rust hole. What's the best way to attack this? It's in a tight area, I might be able to fab a plate of 1/16" and fit it in a weld. Just wondering if that's the proper way to fix this.

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Doesn't look good. That car must have spent some time on salty roads! Where do you live? I'm in Denver and most all the old A Bodies have some rust issues. I would start by tapping around the hole, to find where solid metal begins. You may be surprised! You're just seeing the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately.
 
No. That will not be a proper "fix". You will most likely need to replace the whole frame rails and inner fenders. What does the rest of the car look like? There is only so much service life to anything. At some point, that service life is over.
I've thrown a lot of cars away that looked like that.
 
I agree. May be better off to part that one out, and get one from the desert that isn't rusted. Then use your motor, tranny, seats, etc to build a good one. The entire car prob has rust issues. How's the floor and trunk pan? Wheel wells?
 
What you see there is probably the tip of the iceberg. As mentioned poke around with a screwdriver, my guess is you will find more thin weak spots.
 
Not trying to discourage you, just be prepared for more than what you see.
 
Dig in and find out just how bad it is.

Frame rails can be replaced, if you're up to the task. I've never done it, but I can only imagine it's a chore.
 
Good luck! Hope the OP fixed the bad parts. Always questionable when someone else has a hand.
 
Poke around with a body hammer.
If pointy end breaks through,keep going until it doesent.
1/16” isnt heavy enough.
Look at it this way, you cant make it worse. Its already bad. A solid donor is what you need to find. Is a big can of worms.
 
Hey Dart Swanger.

You have to be from the Canadian East Coast to understand what real rust is LOL!!

Here's a great solution to your problem.

Available from Classic Industries.


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+ Click to Expand

MM8185 - 1960-76 Mopar A-Body Upper Control Arm Mount; RH
If you are having difficulty maintaining proper front end alignment, be sure to check the mounting points for your suspension. This is a direct replacement for the control arm located in the "horseshoe". We have found that these tend to deteriorate pretty badly on cars that sat for long periods of time.

Made in USA

Applications:
  • 1960-76 A-Body all models


Product #: MM8185
In Stock Now!

MSRP: $252.99 ea
Classic: $229.99 ea
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Ive done frame rail before , if I were do again, Id start with a better car....LOL. If your problem is rail mount and suspension only..... Your lucky. Can buy patch parts as mentioned previous. All good if done properly.

Dave
 
I had upper control arm mounting tab rust off on mine. Used some flat steel and angle iron and welded in some bracing. It’s not pretty but it is solid. Mine is just a driver, so I don’t care about perfect. As mentioned above, if you can get back to some good metal, with a torch and a welder and a little improvising, you can probably fix it. I am not high skilled at all in metal fabrication, but mine worked out ok.
 
Dave69 shared my thread
I am not an original guy and intend to modify my A body rather heavily, like most of my builds.
That being said, I cut a section of the inter fender out (that had some rust too) so I could access the rail section I wanted to replace. I had the car on stands and used jack screws to support the front of the rails, plus a cross bar for a little extra support. It took me about 10 hours per side. I didn't cut the entire thing out only the top down to about 1 inch from the bottom on the inside and .375 from the bottom on the outside of the rail. Measure a lot, right it down, and I recommend doing one side at a time and one side per day. For me I want to cut and replace in the same day so I don't forget something. The classic ind. part may be perfect for your problem. I however had more rot and needed more metal, the donor rails worked out great.
 
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