area bove the shocktower looks pretty bad. people are making whole cars out of aftermarket panels now, so it should be available somehow. a doner car would work if nothing else.
if you could find a shell with less rust, you might want to go that route. i have seen complete rear clips from wrecked cars occasionally for sale.
it will be a must to remove the rear springs/diff and also easier with subframe removed to do a good fix, so, yes.
The subframe is in two seperate peices, right? so i could remove the front but not the back, or visa versa? If i find severe rust on the subframe, would it be possible to purchase a replacement?
Im afraid ive gotten in WAYYY over my head. WHen i started this all i thought i was gonna have to do was put new floor pans in, MAYBE new quarter panels, and a new paint job. Never in my wildest dream did i imagine all of these problems appearing.
front subframe is the front. it bolts in at the firewall and under the floor. it is one piece. the rest is unibody with rear framerails welded in.
it will be a bit more than quarters and floors, but if you can handle them, you should be able to handle this, i think.
maybe cut all that crap out and just tub it? buy one of those rear frame diff sections?
front sub is no problem,. there are repair patches, and other models will fit if it is bent. also there are new replacements with better geometry and lighter frames if you have the $$$.
David, yes you can get donor subframe, in fact worst case scenario, I have one down here that is in good condition that you can buy for cheap; shipping might be a little bad though.
Is there any type of literature somewhere that can walk me through the process of taking off the body? Or is it simple enough just to be told? I looked again, and the rear frame, at the very back has some rust. I was looking at your pics Fbody and noticed you left the rear fram on during your resto. Is it required to leave this on when lifting the body in order to give it strength, or can i take it off?
The rear frame rails are welded in place and are not usually removed in a restoration unless there is a problem. I have an extra front sub frame if you need it. Jim
