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1971 Cuda paint and body - frame rails #3189052
11/06/23 01:36 AM
11/06/23 01:36 AM
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 203
Alabama
David1971 Offline OP
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David1971  Offline OP
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Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 203
Alabama
Dents in frame rails and cross members. Floor pans that have been crushed inward. How are they repaired?

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Re: 1971 Cuda paint and body - frame rails [Re: David1971] #3189094
11/06/23 01:16 PM
11/06/23 01:16 PM
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,492
north of coder
moparx Offline
"Butt Crack Bob"
moparx  Offline
"Butt Crack Bob"

Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,492
north of coder
as much as you may not want to hear this, the frame rails look like there may be rust issues, although how bad remains to be seen.
the only way to repair the dents and crushed areas is to cut them out and weld new material in there.
if the rails are too far gone, rail replacement will be required.
as to the floor area, a [REALLY] BFH and a piece of wood could possibly be used to get the floor into it's approximate position, depending on what your wanting the outcome to look like.
if the floor is rusty at it's edges, you may be in for a floor pan replacement.
beer

Re: 1971 Cuda paint and body - frame rails [Re: moparx] #3189172
11/06/23 05:55 PM
11/06/23 05:55 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,669
Eagle, Idaho
Neil Offline
The Doctor is in.
Neil  Offline
The Doctor is in.

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Posts: 20,669
Eagle, Idaho
Stud welder and slide hammer on the frame rails and blocks of wood and a big hammer on the floor pans. If the pans have any obvious dents lines or creases work those out first and the rest will want to spring back into shape a lot easier. You could also work on those frame rails upside down by welding some pull tabs or washers on the frame rails and pull them downward with a chain and a barbell weight attached to it to act like a slide hammer. When done you have to grind the tabs off and paint over it.

When rust is really dark colored and scaly on sheet metal then it's usually about to go thru, or has big pits hidden under it. Lighter colored rust, like what I see there, may look worse than it actually is once you clean it down to bare metal. I've cleaned up stuff that looked like that and found it to be a mix of dried dirt and rust with nice metal hidden under it.

Last edited by Neil; 11/06/23 06:19 PM.
Re: 1971 Cuda paint and body - frame rails [Re: Neil] #3189199
11/06/23 07:50 PM
11/06/23 07:50 PM
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,848
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Can...
moparmike1 Offline
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moparmike1  Offline
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Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Can...
Before assuming anything related to rust, I'd suggest using a scope-style camera tool inside the frame rails to see what they look like.

Re: 1971 Cuda paint and body - frame rails [Re: moparx] #3189249
11/07/23 01:10 AM
11/07/23 01:10 AM
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,757
Phila
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PhillyRag Offline
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Phila
Originally Posted by moparx
as much as you may not want to hear this, the frame rails look like there may be rust issues, although how bad remains to be seen.
beer


Agree
Could be distorted from rusted/weakened rails.
Or, someone placed a jack or stands wrong.
Tapping the areas with a small hammer may give some insight.
If light tapping produces more distortion, then likely rusted/thin.

Re: 1971 Cuda paint and body - frame rails [Re: PhillyRag] #3189589
11/08/23 11:00 AM
11/08/23 11:00 AM
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 203
Alabama
David1971 Offline OP
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David1971  Offline OP
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Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 203
Alabama
Some sections look bad and some look OK. Thanks for all of the replies and providing me with some insight.....definitely need to take a harder look and do some "probing".

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