Frame rail carnage. Fix or forget.

[=Enigma=]

Thanks for the words of advice guys. I decided to go forward with the POR for now. My main worry was that this was more than cosmetic. There are no cracks and absolutely no rust anywhere that I can find. Woohoo! In fact, under the tar undercoating, there was a pretty stubborn layer of primer that had to be stripped off as well.

Here's a tip for the rest of you, don't attempt to refinish the bottom of your car unless you have your car on a rotisserie. I spent the last two days on my back stripping the undercoating and finish off with tar chips, paint, dust, sparks and wire wheel bristles ricocheting off my face and this was only the floor pans. Unfortunately, I have to do this in sections because of the difficulty doing this from underneath. My arms and shoulders are so damn sore. I think I have a total of 15hrs into it at this point and it's ready for the coat of POR-15.

Next comes the rear section, then the wheel wells, and lastly the front frame rails........

Happy Easter! :bunny:

[madkaw]

i just had this same dilemma and decided to fix it . My rails are rust free and I am doing a complete resto. I thought this won't be much work.:stupid: Actually it wasn't that bad. i cut a hole in the floor to access the frame and beat the frame back out. And it took some pretty good shots to get the dent out. You won't get it done by drilling holes and using a punch. You need a 3lb hammer and a big flat dolly for it to come out right. So you have to cut a big enough hole for the dolly to fit in. I am a perfectionist which usely cost me time and money, but to each is own.

[=Enigma=]

Wow, it looks like the whole rail is bent up, not just bent in. Did pounding it tear any of the spot welds loose? I'm still considering giving it a go before I lay down the POR sometime this week.

[beandip]

I must agree with what others have said . I have similar damage under my Z . I think this kind of damage is from driving off a curb and hi centering. At least this is what mine seems to be . I replaced the floor on my passenger side but it was because the floor was cracked length wise along the floor rail. I would just treat the metal and POR it . Gary

[madkaw]

yes it did actually cause me to do some welding. but as you see, my damage was worse then yours. I still think that to fix yours right you will have to can-opener your floor like i did to get a flat piece of metal on it. I used 1/4" steel bar and had to hit hard and a lot to starighten her out. But you can't tell there is any damage at all now. You should see what i did to my frame rail in the engine compartment. Yes, my car was hit in the front end at one time but that damage you see was probably from a curb or jack

[=Enigma=]

I think I might be able to straighten it by opening the floor like you did, supporting the frame rail on a jack stand with a piece of flat steel between the rail and the jack stand, and then beating the fracking wizz out of it from above. However, the damage to my rails is so far forward that I'm afraid I might damage the dash while trying to swing the hammer with enough force to do any good. Perhaps I should just live with it........ If I do, and you guys ever see it in person and say "Nice car, what happened to you frame rail?", I just might blow a gasket.

[=Enigma=]

Ok, I'm done with the POR on the floor panels. This stuff goes on way thin and self levels very well, even when upside down. I'm a bit worried that it's too thin but I'm not sure how I would have laid it on any thicker. Is a second coat feasible or even recommended? Also, I totally overestimated how much it would take to cover this area. I ladeled out 9oz and only used like 3.5oz so the rest was wasted. Anyway, it turned out great. Here are some pics just after I finished cleaning up. I have a few black dots on my face...I guess they're gonna be there a while.....

[geezer]

Hey Freckles :eek: - You should have applied a few more coats after it was set up a little. I usually put what is left over in a jar of the appropriate size (to limit the amount of air left in the jar) and then find something else to paint within the next few days. It's a little too pricey to waste. Sometimes it will skin over in the jar if you don't get back to it in time, but you just break through the skin to get to the POR that hasn't set up.

PS- Looks good though.

[=Enigma=]

Hey Freckles :eek:

Funny guy.... :devious:

[Jer260z]

Geez... You want to see some bad rails? If that's they only problem, your in good shape!

[Babalouie]

Is there a rail in that pic?

[Zs-ondabrain]

Hey Freckles :eek: - You should have applied a few more coats after it was set up a little. I usually put what is left over in a jar of the appropriate size (to limit the amount of air left in the jar) and then find something else to paint within the next few days. It's a little too pricey to waste. Sometimes it will skin over in the jar if you don't get back to it in time, but you just break through the skin to get to the POR that hasn't set up.

PS- Looks good though.

The only issue with that theory is every time is "Skins" over, the POR thickens. You need to use the POR solvent to thin it back out. I've resealed my containers numerous times and each time the POR gets thicker and thicker.

It does still harden but self leveling and how much area the remainder will cover become another issue.