front a-arm bracket issues..welders and frame smart people inside......
06-02-2007, 01:22 AM
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front a-arm bracket issues..welders and frame smart people inside......
hello all, ive been away for awhile. I bought my '79 as a junior in high school, and its almost a show quality vette- my baby. I bought an ls1 camaro to satisfy my go-fast urges, and I am taking out a bit of a loan to "upgrade" the carmaro, and get the vette back on the road. I had some issues with the corvette that I couldnt afford to fix as an 18 yr old so in the storage unit it sits.
So, about three to four years ago i was driving down the street and my passenger side front wheel folded up into the fenderwell!
what i found after taking the wheel off is a bent a-arm and a royally messed up lower mounting bracket. this bracket is the one that mounts to the bottom of the engine crossmember, and provides a mounting point for the lower a-arms. the bracket had pulled away from the frame at some point in time, and had been bent back and some crap-job welds to cobble it together. im now at a point where i think ill have to have the engine pulled, have it put on a lift, and have someone arc-blast out the old crappy welds. im guessing ill have to fishplate the crossmember and then get a set of the newer, better a-arm brackets. the shop at the time managed to get the car driveable but had advised against driving it until I had the bracket issue fixed, and they also advised rebuilding the rear end. can anyone tell me about this project as i have no idea what to expect, or what i might want to set aside for money?
thanks much...
God i miss this car
So, about three to four years ago i was driving down the street and my passenger side front wheel folded up into the fenderwell!
what i found after taking the wheel off is a bent a-arm and a royally messed up lower mounting bracket. this bracket is the one that mounts to the bottom of the engine crossmember, and provides a mounting point for the lower a-arms. the bracket had pulled away from the frame at some point in time, and had been bent back and some crap-job welds to cobble it together. im now at a point where i think ill have to have the engine pulled, have it put on a lift, and have someone arc-blast out the old crappy welds. im guessing ill have to fishplate the crossmember and then get a set of the newer, better a-arm brackets. the shop at the time managed to get the car driveable but had advised against driving it until I had the bracket issue fixed, and they also advised rebuilding the rear end. can anyone tell me about this project as i have no idea what to expect, or what i might want to set aside for money?thanks much...
God i miss this car
Last edited by Yellow79; 06-02-2007 at 01:29 AM.
06-02-2007, 07:01 AM
#2
Drifting
Common problem
Yellow,
The standard method of attachment at the factory three decades ago was basic spot welding and after this time, it's not surprising some of the welds let go. My '74 when I got it had many beads of (arc??) weld on them to hold them in place. Not pretty looking, but strong. If I had my own way, I'd have TIG welded them in place, but it's too late now.
Any competent welder should be able to lay down some good beads of weld to hold those suckers to the X-member and you should not have to remove the engine. My suggestion would be to get it up on a hoist and take the load off the wheels to make sure the brackets are in the right place before welding begins. make sure that all oil and grease is steam cleaned from the area before welding and that there are no fuel leaks.
A pretty easy fix if you can find a good welder (weldor???) to do the job.
Regards from Down Under
aussiejohn
The standard method of attachment at the factory three decades ago was basic spot welding and after this time, it's not surprising some of the welds let go. My '74 when I got it had many beads of (arc??) weld on them to hold them in place. Not pretty looking, but strong. If I had my own way, I'd have TIG welded them in place, but it's too late now.
Any competent welder should be able to lay down some good beads of weld to hold those suckers to the X-member and you should not have to remove the engine. My suggestion would be to get it up on a hoist and take the load off the wheels to make sure the brackets are in the right place before welding begins. make sure that all oil and grease is steam cleaned from the area before welding and that there are no fuel leaks.
A pretty easy fix if you can find a good welder (weldor???) to do the job.
Regards from Down Under
aussiejohn
06-02-2007, 01:19 PM
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St. Jude Donor '11, '17
A quality rear end will be somewhere around $1500. Notice I said quality, you can get cheaper, but not better. PM me for a recommendation.
06-02-2007, 04:51 PM
#4
Le Mans Master
Yellow79...
You should PM Forum member norvalwilhelm . Norval has made a lot of modifications to his frame and I believe gusseting and reinforcing this area is one he's posted detailed pictures of before. If it's been done, he's probably done it and he's one of the most helpful folks on the Forum.
When he sees this thread, he'll probably post with a lot of good advice and lots of detailed pictures.
Good luck... GUSTO
You should PM Forum member norvalwilhelm . Norval has made a lot of modifications to his frame and I believe gusseting and reinforcing this area is one he's posted detailed pictures of before. If it's been done, he's probably done it and he's one of the most helpful folks on the Forum.
When he sees this thread, he'll probably post with a lot of good advice and lots of detailed pictures.
Good luck... GUSTO
06-04-2007, 09:13 PM
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thanks for the info guys. rat- pm sent about the rear end reccomendations. hopefully norval sees this thread floating around, id love to get some more pictures of how the brackets are actually supposed to look
06-12-2007, 02:28 PM
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I replaced the one on the passenger side on my car ('72) without pulling the engine. It was difficult but doable. The power steering pump is in the way on the other side but if took that off, I think I could do that side also. Take a look at Kortensi's follow-along thread on pages 2 and 3. He has some good pictures of these brackets and the gussets that he made.
06-12-2007, 02:42 PM
#7
Race Director
Find a good muffler shop. These guys weld exhaust system all day, everyday and are some of the best around. I'm sure you can work out a deal.
The originals just suffered from poor welds, the design was sufficient for a driver.
The originals just suffered from poor welds, the design was sufficient for a driver.
06-12-2007, 08:13 PM
#9
Le Mans Master
Here are a few photos of when I repaired mine. The pass side was separated from the frame about .25".
Then I welded the seam as well as all the slots where the factory kind of welds.
Then I welded the seam as well as all the slots where the factory kind of welds.