howie099

Here is my issues. My floors have some holes which is not a surprise since I am in Illinois here. My main issue with the rust is the transmission crossmember mouting holes are pretty messed up. The current OEM crossmember was welded in until I cut it to pull the trans the engine. So when I get down to this am I better off looking for roller here or try to fix up enough to be safe? I am going to race the car and don't want it falling a part. I need to buy an aftermarket crossmember for my TH350 and I don't wan to weld it in. Here are some pics.


hard to tell with the rust but you see part of a bolt left



this side just some rusted out holes


Here are a few of the passenger side floor board from the top. The other owner did weld in a roll cage and fixed some of the floor.




Passenger side behind front seat going to the rear seat



View of the rocker area on passenger side



front part of the floor pan about in the middle of the seat were the roll bar meets



Here is part of the tunnel in back seat passenger. Not worried about the back seats they don't exist now.



Here is the back seat passenger weak in the middle of it.



small hole starting up in the kick panel area passenger side.

3rdgenmaro

iTrader: (9)

Well..........how long you wanting to keep the car? That will only get worse and worse.

The cage mount point wont pass a good tech.

I would look for a solid roller.

midias

Personally I would rather move engines than do body work so I would look for a clean roller. That would be fairly expensive to repair right

howie099

A 6 point cage is not NHRA legal I just like it would help stiffen it up. I might just look for another car. I have to save stuff but the crossmember is the part that worries me the most.

3rdgenmaro

iTrader: (9)

How good do you like fab work?

That cage aint doing much to stiffen it up. The plates are small and are not tied into good metal.

I like saving stuff too, but there is a point that the cost to save just aint worth it.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

If you're going to cut the car up to build a race car, I don't see the problem. Cut and weld whatever you need for your goals.

howie099

I am going to use the car for bracket racing and use it around town in the warm months. I know you can get floor boards or just cut up pieces of 18g metal for the floors but what could I use or do for fixing the transmount area? My goal would be to be able to use bolts to remove the crossmember instead of welding like it is now. What could you use to replace some on the supports in the floor also? I know they don't sells those supports. By no means I am metal person. I do IT work for living and fixing things on the weekends. I have a MIG welder at home.

redneckjoe

one solution for the crossmember would be to weld some heavy angle on to each side, so that the angle goes up vertically along the sides of the subframe rails. then you could through bolt it in horizontally. might be a smart idea to weld in some small pieces of pipe where you plan to through bolt it so the holes dont get wallowed out. if done correctly, it should be very strong and easily removable.

3rdgenmaro

iTrader: (9)

Since you have a welder, Id go for it then. But Id also look around just in case you found a good deal on a solid roller.

Grind off the welds on the crossmember, drill out what is left of the bolts if they wont back out. Take a long drill bit and drill up through the bolt holes up into the floor. Then cut the sheetmetal out above the crossmember. And weld a plate with some welded nuts on it into the Channel. Then replace the sheetmetal above it.

I cant tell how bad the structural pieces are, but they dont look that bad. Either buy some UMI style sfcs or build you some out of square/rectangle tubing. Then weld in some outriggers off them and directly under your cage mount points. Stitch weld where you can. Then cut out and replace the sheetmetal that is rusted.

My dirt car was in WAY worse shape then that. A full cage tied into the structural channel with 2x3 rectangle tubing took care of it. Then I just welded in plate and sheetmetal where needed. Shoot my passenger side has a large spot just riveted in! But of course circle track cars arent known to last very long, so a ton of effort patching rust holes wasnt part of the plan!

howie099

I gave in bought a different car. I bought a stock 1986 TA that is out of Texas. The body is great and the floors and suspension look like 5 years old instead of 31 years old. The paint is shoot, surface rust on one fender, and the rear wing is missing. I am hoping this 9 bolt rear is higher than the 2.77. I have one of those already but my 89 has the better rear brakes so I will steal those. Plus this one has a fresh rebuilt 700r4 that I will sell off. The 305 I will try to sell also don't need that. Will strip the 89 and off it will go to the crusher...