I've seen some pretty sorry reviews of the AutoRust T-caps for the problem area that rusts out. They also seem like there is about $15 worth of plate steel they weld together to get a $150 part. While I am not the most advanced metal fabricator, I am entertaining the idea of cutting and replacing this portion of my frame.

Surrounding the "T" seems pretty solid and would be able to work with it. My intention would be to make a new portion of the frame out of plate, butt weld it to the factory frame with another piece of plate I would plug weld the two together with. Does this sound like a decent method for replacing that portion of the frame?

Thanks-

Let me take a guess.

Drivers Side?

It seems like there must have been a problem with the battery acid or something washing down the drivers side frame rail because I have rarely seen the E-body frame rails rust only at the T section. It's usually the whole rail.

Before you make a plan of attack I suggest you look over the entire frame rail even to the point of cutting holes on the floor to see inside the rail. I will bet that the rust is worse than you think and even the T-Caps won't be big enough.

If you find it is only the frame at the T section and choose to repair it consider this. The frame at that point supports the transmission helps to evenly load the body with weight and braking/acceleration stresses. But most importantly it is the anchor for the T-bars.

This a bad section to be trying to fab something up if you are only a OK fabricator. I'm not saying you can not do it but be sure you are confidant you can do it right.

Assuming you want strength and not going for a show car restoration, here is what I would do.

1. Check the entire frame from bumper to transmission cross member and decide how much HAS to go.

2. If it is localized I would clean the rust from the inside with a good blaster. Rustproof it then build a cap for it and weld it over the existing metal. Leave drain holes.

3. If it is cancerous but only on the trans cross member I would get a whole cross member from either a donor car or a new one. If it is cancerous in the rail I would get a new rail and do the whole thing right.

When you do start cutting it up I would get a bunch of RV load leveling jacks, or screw jacks and set the car on them before you start cutting.

Measure everything and then remove metal.

Position the new metal (maybe Tack in lightly) and measure everything again before you start the final welding.

Hope it helps

Thanks for the info, it is both sides of the car. Can you buy the entire trans crossmember/t-bar mount aftermarket? It's rusted completely through in several areas and seems to be pretty isolated to the "T" area.

Depends, do you care about your repair from a visual standpoint or just a structural one? If you don't care about how it looks, just so long as it's safe and structurally sound, you can cut/grind out all the rust, make your repair section and weld some steel plate over top, similar to what the safe-t-caps do. I've done this before on a few vehicles. Done properly, your repair while maybe not visually appealing, is perfectly safe and structurally sound.

I had the frame sectioned on a car , the person that did it basically did what you are suggesting , he put an 1/8" plate inside the rail and plug welded it to the rail on both sides of the butt weld splice .

Also check AMD , they may have a whole Tbar X member .

depending on your Fab skills, it is a pretty straight forward fix. only cut out sections you are going to fix at that time. You can use 1/16" plate to make new sections, make sure you cut far enough back so you are into good steel. with a little imagination, patience and a welder, you can do it.

The other option of course is to get a replacement. Call Rocket Resto in Olympia WA, they are getting ready to strip a 72 Challenger parts car and I am sure they would sell you the frame pieces.

This may or not be as serious as you all think, to me it's certainly not what it should be..but there is material to work with surrounding it. I definitely want it to be strong, but I also don't want it to look hillbilly-deluxe.

Here is the driver's side

Passenger's

(quote)I also don't want it to look hillbilly-deluxe

It all depends on your ability. If your not sure, then you need someone else to do it. The fix is as said. Remove rust replace with good metal. Not simple but very doable.

Once you start buzzing the rust down, it will be worse. Much, much worse. Been there, done that. However my suggestion to repair it will still work just fine. With some time and patience you can do a reasonable looking job of patching it yourself. I know not all of my frame repair jobs will win any awards for looks but they are strong. I did a similar type repair on my jeep to the rear frame rails and the subsequent heavy duty off-roading and ramping it over a small ditch has proven the strength of my repair!

The ps seems solid, unless its thinner than it appears, I don't see a real problem there. Ds, I would cut out a section of the lower rusted piece and find similar guage metal and replace that section. Now if its thinner foward of that are, best thing would be replace the rail... that goes for both sides. The crossmember, I'd replace the full piece for sure.

I had to do various patching on my rails in the challenger and I did alot of poking around to find any thin areas. I also had the floors cut out to replace them which made it easier. How bads the rest of the car, cause usually when they look like that underneathe, the rest needs alot too.