This is an ugly sight. Frame rail damage due to rust! The capture nuts had rusted so much that they were completely useless. The outside of the frame rail was beginning to thin out because it was being eaten away at from the inside. My ’69 mustang didn’t have a front bumper for the longest time because I simply didn’t have anywhere to bolt it to. Our favorite tool for this job is an angle grinder with a death wheel (AKA a cut off wheel). After making our initial incision, this is what was uncovered:
Once the offending piece of frame rail was cut out, it was soon realized that there was a lot more work needed. This is a fairly substantial section of structure that was compromised due to moisture getting trapped.
Once we got a good look of what was left, the remaining loose rust was ground down with a wire wheel and coated in Rust Bullet to prevent future damage. Rust Bullet can be painted directly onto rust, preventing it from spreading! The frame rail opening was cut to a shape where we could easily weld in a patch.
Our frame rail patch was ordered from Mustangs Plus which is based in Stockton. The patch provided is plenty long enough to replace a large section of frame rail. As a personal preference, I laid down an extra bead of weld around all the capture nuts since they no longer have a separate spot welded bracket. Once cool, the frame rail pieces were painted with more Rust Bullet.
A paper template was used to mark the frame rail patch. It was then clamped and welded in. The extra length of the capture nut patch was used to create the bottom half of the frame rail.
