I don't know if I want to hear that answer to this question but it has to be addressed. The passenger front frame rail on my Comet is rusted out. My little brother didn't tie the battery down good and it fell over into the alternator fan, cutting a hole in the battery and slinging acid all over the place. Well he didn't clean it good enough evidently and the frame rail and cross member are both in very bad condition. So I have several questions. I will post some pics of the damage if I get to it tonight. Has anyone done a frame rail and cross memeber replacement or repair? What year frame rails will fit a 73 Comet? Are there after-market cross members available and would that be easier? Thanks for any info and advice you can give me.
Most of the frame can be replaced with .083 wall tubing. Not a big deal there. Just give the whole section a baking soda solution bath to neutralize the acid, then wash off the basic solution with some vinegar, then rinse with lots and lots of water. Now you should be neutralized and ready to weld. Cut out 1 inch beyond the effected sections, using the thinest cutting wheel you can find, and replace with new metal. After you weld, grind it down, paint it, and you'll never be able to tell it was repaired. Other "structural" sheet metal is 14 ga I believe. If you have 2500 bucks laying around, you can also remove the entire front end and replace it with a mustang II. Still need the .083 rectangular tube steel for a frame, but if you can use a tape measure and a plumb bob, you can build a frame and suspension. It's repairable, but will definitely take a lot of patience and attention to the smallest details. After that, it's really not so hard as long as you can weld.
Welding is not a problem. I can handle that and general metal working. I think I would rather find a donor car than try to use the rect. tubing. I need to take a look at that again. That damage is all the way back past the shock tower. Doens't the rail curve up at some point there? I'll look some more tonight.
any maverick or comet should make a good donar car if you want to go that route with it. cut from one weld to another. while yoour down there though it might be a good time to go with the mustang II set up like mentioned above. good luck
Interesting, without having to do the searches can anyone give me a 2 sentence benefits summary of what the mustange II switch will give me?
I think a better question would be what benefits would it NOT give you. Rack and pinion steering, better handling, you can put practically any engine you could imagine in the car (no more shock towers), you can get drop spindles, big brakes, and all kinds of cool stuff for it... It is an all around better front end. If I was going to do that much work (ohh wait, I am doing that much work ) there is no way in hell I would do it without going to a Mustang II front end.
Yeah well he was 16 and I was living in 3 hours away so that = he knew more than me. lol. It was my Dad's car then and they supposedly took care of it. They did do the baking soda solution at the time but not to the extent that neutralized everthing. Battery acid is baaaaaaaad stuff. I'll try to get some pics on here so you can see what I'm talking about. Maybe it's not as bad as I think. I really didn't want this to become a HUGE ordeal. I just wanted to get the car fixed up so I can drive it again. I loved driving that car in high school.
A Comet too...thats sad to me. If you can afford it or if you have a junked Pintostang, go with the Mustang II front suspension definitely.
any time you create a weld, the welded area becomes stronger than the host material. i would just do the repair as previously stated. to replace the whole front end is not a complicated procedure, but it does take the expertise and planning to ensure the end result is safe and roadworthy. dont overthink a simple problem and you will have an easier time resolving it.
Ok here are some pics ( Just for you PAINTANK) lol. After looking at it again tonight I am not even going to think about the Mustang II swap. That is too much work for me right now. If I had a bigger shop then I might take it on but not with what I have now. At this point I want the car road worthy and free of rust so it will last. I am also going to be spending money on the engine rebuild so that sucks the funds out of the huge swap. That being said, here are the pics. Again, any further advice will be welcomed.
