Yeah, and no offense (I don't know if you know how to weld or not) but another rookie welder is not going to be the answer for fixing this car. Whoever welded on it previously surely did not know what they were doing.
I still say a lot are blowing it out of proportion. Ok let's say you do go back to a stock frame. I see complete ch***is from resto mods go for under $500. You can install m2 yourself if you can turn a wrench as you should not be using weld in m2 on a 49-54. Just unbolt the stock front suspension as an ***embly and roll out and start bolting on the m2 stuff. Buy spring perches off eBay and weld to the g body rear end. Reason I asked if planning to lay frame is when I had 3" blocks in my 53 the rear was REALLY low. If you had lakes pipes on it they'd s****e before rear hit frame. In all the pics it appears most of the factory body mount positions are still intact. The ones that aren't would be easy to put back. And mounts to put the current engine and transmission in a factory frame would be cheap to get. You might see if the seller still has the original frame laying around
Here's the only silver lining... if I knew I could pull this off, I would be willing to practice welding on s**** pieces of metal for even a year every single weekend until I got better... but I'm not sure how good enough I would be to weld a frame without many years of experience. I'm not interested in doing a **** job like the previous person. I could using the 220 v outlet for my kitchen range find a welder with experience who might be willing to work on it for me say in two weekends and it would cost less than taking it to a shop... Also I definitely value my house way more and do not want to burn it down.. I'd be willing to weld outside in the driveway though but not sure about in the garage as an amateur.
Hmmm yea I see the point of going back to stock frame... the issue is getting this body off and onto a different frame.. I do think I will get hurt attempting this totally alone.. even if I got another person to help I'm not sure if that would work. I bet I could pay some people to help me lift for a little while though if I put a post up somewhere. In San Diego I wonder if I would find any of the ch***is for $500 like you mentioned... that could be a better route at this point and maybe to do a c-notch and 4-link in the back it would be a few grand ***uming I did the mustang 2 bolt in route. However the mustang 2 front end kits with airbag run about $3k. If I went with the one gene-koning showed before for $3k and sold some of the stuff I don't need maybe that would work out better since it has mustang 2 front end.. however it still needs a c-notch and 4-link. There's no way around this, it's a lot of work. If it weren't for the fact it's hard to find people to do chop and gl*** for $10,500 I would be more convinced I should unload this as is. If I'm doing a static drop I'm going to get frustrated s****ing a lot. I want to bag it so I can raise it all the way up getting in and out of my driveway and other places easier. This is turning into way more of a project than initially thought, and that's good and bad.. the good is I would learn a lot, the bad is I am dying for free time quite often! Any hints where I could find a ch***is cheap for about $500 in my region?
Over thinking removing the body like me and fastcar1953 have been saying. Remove fenders and hood. Raise it a foot on stands with regular jacks. Roll frame out
And honestly i could get you a complete one for $100 if willing to drive. But really should see if seller has original frame still. When I bought the 54 off fastcar1953 it was as is without a frame at all. When he heard I planned on building it he offered the original frame with small upgrades for an additional $200
Geez, we're kinda beating a dead horse here. There are only 2 real choices here. 1).Find a welder/shop that will fix the frame and work with you. 2). Sell the car and look for something else. Swapping the frame for a stocker isn't viable because the body (with G-body floors) won't fit it a stock frame anymore, besides, you would be taking a running car and basically starting a completely new build.
This could be debated on forever. There have been several options already laid out. It shouldn't take much to get the car movable under its own power so you can back it out of your driveway, turn it around and drive it back into the garage. While its out of the garage, you can park it at the end of your driveway and get a good look at how the car sits. In its current condition, its probably not safe to drive very much at all, personally, I probably would not drive it around the block. That steering system could get wonky pretty quickly, it needs another support towards the steering box. I wouldn't invest in that at this time. Back away from the keyboard and take a couple of weeks to look for: 1) Someone that is a qualified welder and is willing to work with you, will actually look at your project, and give you a real set of numbers. Get a real hourly rate and talk with previous customers, know he can actually do what he says he can do. A good shop should be able to prove their abilities with many happy customers for references. Looking at pictures won't provide a good estimate. I also doubt you will find a welder that will work at your place unless he does a lot of portable welding and has equipment on a truck. 2) Find out what is available around you, and how much it will cost to get it to your place. 3) Find out how much the added options you want will add to the cost, by someone that can actually do the work. 4) Find out who can perform the frame swap, be a hands on guide through the process, or is willing to give you a hand, and how much it will cost to do what ever you don't think you can (or don't want to) do. When you have real factual information, come back and we will help you sort it out.
Thanks he doesn't have the frame, he bought it like this (supposedly) and it was being kept at his friends house because his sold and he bought a new one in northern CA.
The horse is getting beaten for sure. I looked underneath and all of the body mounts are in the correct position. I think what the guy meant about mix of G-body floor and stock floor is the rear is raised almost like someone would do for a c-notch. Maybe that would be good as is for an actual c-notch on a stock frame but I'm not sure about the very back if that would mate with a stock frame or not. That's a good point. I found someone in LA who said he thinks it can be saved for $2k and he'd make some body mounts. He does work on kustom cars. I also listed on FB marketplace, maybe someone wants it for the $10,500 I listed it for (exactly what I paid for it)
He may have meant the hump in the back (like for clearing a c-notch) was made to fit/clear the g-body frame. I'm not sure what or how that would work with a stock frame... it might make it easier to clear a c-notched stock frame.
Ok keep in mind I have to beg people to help me with anything... even though I often help people so much with favors. Removing fenders seems doable. Removing a hood alone? I'm nervous about dropping it. What about removing an engine and trans? I'd need a cherry picker and I'm guessing it might be hard to do alone? I suppose I could jack the body up with a floor jack and use jackstands and roll the frame out but probably need a second person. Let me think about who/what/where I could find extra general manpower that I could pay to help me.
Thanks, yep I'm already looking into these options. A guy in LA who builds kustoms said he can work with that frame to fix the bad welds and reinforce it and make body mounts all for about $2k. He said to do a frame swap and add mustang II and do a c-notch and 4-link we're looking at $10k (this includes the needed parts). I'll lay out the options better once I talk to more people. I will try to get it out of the garage and on the driveway so I can see the car more. I'm not going to drive it on the street except to turn it around (maybe).
Hood on these cars can be lifted by one person. And an engine easily removed with a cherry picker by yourself.... especially if body is off
So I went back last night and looked again because the guy who is in LA and said he might be able to save this frame asked me to take photos and look at the contact points. It has 3 contact points between the rear wheels and front wheels. The one furthest back is bolted, the other two the body is just on the frame in those places and one of them it misses entirely. Rear of the rear wheels its on the frame there and bolted.
Alright....... so I'm not sure this is going to be a good option (maybe.. maybe not).... there's an autoskills hobby shop on Naval Base San Diego that I have access to. They have car stalls, car hoists, even welding equipment (though I haven't seen the welding equipment) and usually some staff that come to help you with your car projects (and make sure you're not doing anything crazy dangerous). It might be an option for swapping a body with extra help there... I wouldn't want to do any welding of any type there though as I need to practice at my own pace. I'm not sure what they charge for car stalls these days and I'd probably need 2 of them. I may call and get some of this worked into the various options and costs and circle back for advice.
I’m not sure if these photos indicate whether the stock frame can easily be used with this body and the floor mod already done? This will help me determine how much the stock frame option would cost. It might need floor work too for fitting back onto a stock frame. The last photo was from the ad before I bought it. Also I hate hate hate hate bucket seats in these things. I’d want to put the stock bench seat in. However the back is altered and I’m not sure what could go in there with that big round hump. It doesn’t look like stock seats will go in the back so I’m not sure what could go there but I can’t stand that rear thunderbird seat either.. I want to throw those in the garbage now but I know they’re worth something so I would need to sell them.
The Jalopy Journal
