Nick has been making progress on the frame repairs. He's spent countless hours with wire brush and flappy pads, removing rust and ugly welds. I've been able to spend a few hours every few weeks helping out and I think he's happy with the results.

After checking several measurements from fixed points on the frame, we are confident that it's square and ready to proceed.

With the help of Nicks buddy Will, a professional welder, all the old welds have been ground and reinforced. According to Will, the old welds at the graft connection points were actually very strong. There was plenty of penetration... they were just really sloppy. He made quick work of the reinforcing. He gave us some pointers on using the wire feed welder, then left us to cut off the excess steel and box everything back in.

The process went something like this... a little welding, then a lot of grinding... a little welding... a lot of grinding... a little more welding... a lot of grinding... repeat...


graftRepairs.jpg

The finished joints look really good, IMHO.


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The frame is now boxed just past the rear shock mounts. Each plate was made a little oversized and was welded in the valley between the plate and the top of the C channel. After welding all the plates this way, we learned that grinding down these welds, to make them invisible, was counter productive. We should have cut the plates undersized to fit inside the C channel. Our welds are strong, but obvious. We re-welded, then ground the areas that will most likely be seen.
The factory welds on the Lincoln clip were surprisingly sloppy. Lots of splatter. They've now been ground for a clean look and a little body filler to even out the low areas really finishes the repair.

Originally Nick was leaning toward powder coating. But he's come to the conclusion that the expense isn't justified on this cruiser. He's degreased the front half of the frame and is ready to etch the metal in preparation for coating with Por-15.