Starting floor pan repair (pretty good sized areas) and frame rail repair directly under possibly this holiday weekend. Should the car be blocked up in the middle or something while the material is removed and welded back in? Could the car 'sag' in the middle while this area is out?

Flip side: When the new material is going back in, would it be possible to jack the car up in the middle and build a bit of 'pre-load' arch into the frame? Like truck trailers and laminated beams.

Ignorant, inquiring minds want to know!

steve77

I would say it depends on how much material is being removed and how much weight is still on the car. If possible pick a couple of points front to rear, top to bottom, side to side and measure before you cut. Then measure again and compare before you start to weld. Just to make sure you don't have a sag going. And on the flip side if you do preload the metal, how much?

Good luck.

Now if the motor was mid mounted then some calculated preload would be benefical.

You wern't going to do a mid mount where you?