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What have you guys done or what is the best way to restore a 70 A-body frame? I have someone who will media blast the frame for around $300 if I do the whole body for around $1700 for total of 2k.
Ive seen their work on bodies and I am comfortable with the quality and results of other vehicles. They blast the frame also but what concerns me is not being able to get into the boxed areas on certain parts of frame. I would consider dipping but dont know of anyone in the New England area or if its a good idea? I have also seen Eastwood sells a product like POR15 with a wand to insert inside the frame and treat any rust. Any do's or don'ts from your experiences? Thanks
Have it checked for straightness before you do anything. Id go the powder coat route after getting it dipped and stripped. The only way to efficiently get inside the frame is a dip. Or Krown it after its powder coated.
Have it checked for straightness before you do anything. Id go the powder coat route after getting it dipped and stripped. The only way to efficiently get inside the frame is a dip. Or Krown it after its powder coated.
X2 have it checked for straightness before doing anything!!! The body should also be checked as well, do all pulls/ corrections before media blasting.
You can save money by removing oil ,grease,under coat and welding slag before media blasting.
If the frame is sound no deep rust pits, I would have them media blast, prime with epoxy and top coat with GM chassis black.
The rad support battery side should be treated with baking soda to remove any acid, I would also hit the frame horn on the drivers side.
Thanks for the advice and recommendations, Ive never heard of krown but looking the website it looks like an annual treatment? Ive heard of an oil like treatment for trucks and const. equip in NH, Im wondering if this is it or something similar?
As far as straightness goes: Could the frame be checked without the rear or front suspension or would those components have to be on? Does this have to be put on a frame machine to check or require special measuring equipment?
I have the frame measurements.
You can check a lot of them with a tape measure.
V&S in Taunton MA does large object galvanizing.
You may want to call them.
Ya the Krown is an annual application for a daily driver not a part-timer like our vintage cars. It will do its job with one application. Need something creeps and retards rust. A dip in a vat of zinc-rich primer/paint would be nice if it exists.
Last edited by droldsmorland; October 18th, 2018 at 04:56 PM.
Have the frame blasted. If it is pitted, likely being in New England ,Epoxy it then coat it with body filler/primer sand etc as if you were doing the body. Paint it to your choice With high grade Urethane . Forget about that POR 15 crap it won't last . If you are so concerned about the inside - get creative.
Don't over think it. If you are doing a body off resto it is unlikely you are to be driving in snow. Maybe get caught in a rare rain?? I can almost guarantee that at this stage in your cars life whatever surface rust that is inside that frame is going no ware. Lastly if you frame is bad enough to be worried about the inside, maybe a new frame is the better approach.
I am close to you in mass. If you would like to see a few frames done you are welcome to stop by. and i can in more detail explain the process. Send me a pm if interested
After media blasting the frame it should go straight into epoxy primer.
Use a shop that can do both in house media blast and paint . The other option is that it is close to the paint shop. Automotive grade paint from industry leader like PPG is money well spent. Stay away from over hyped products.
The cleaner the frame goes in the better, I know the good shops will not media blast a oil and grease soaked frame. The reason for this is that it will contaminate the media. The media blasting has to be set up with the paint shop if not in house, weather will be a factor if you do not have a enclosed trailer. To be honest this job should be done during the warm dry months JMO.
The media blaster can blast inside the frame and reach a good part of most areas.
What I like to see in a shop is a clean modern air supply and a concern to keep the media clean
Good luck
Last edited by Bernhard; October 18th, 2018 at 07:02 PM.
Thanks all, for the input. The frame looks straight to me and I have no reason to think it is bent but I didn't even think about that but like it was said, I would hate to put all the time and $ into it to find it tweaked during panel alignment or something. I have an old school auto body friend gonna take a look at it tomorrow and he has told me he can measure it with a tape and see anything after 50 yrs in the business work on many oldsmobiles and cars of the like. The surface rust just bothers me even if I can't see it, I know its there and looking forward to a clean slate and the next stage of metal work instead of rust removal. I know it has to get worse before it gets better and this seems to be the worst part and will only get better.
Thanks all, for the input. The frame looks straight to me and I have no reason to think it is bent but I didn't even think about that but like it was said, I would hate to put all the time and $ into it to find it tweaked during panel alignment or something. I have an old school auto body friend gonna take a look at it tomorrow and he has told me he can measure it with a tape and see anything after 50 yrs in the business work on many oldsmobiles and cars of the like. The surface rust just bothers me even if I can't see it, I know its there and looking forward to a clean slate and the next stage of metal work instead of rust removal. I know it has to get worse before it gets better and this seems to be the worst part and will only get better.
Smart move to have it measured the frame is like a houses foundation every thing is built off of it.
Even if it has not been in a accident you still can have frame sag .
I decided against galvanizing my frame after reading some accounts of warpage during the galvanizing process. Hot-dip galvanizing used molten zinc heated to approximately 900˚F. I guess the high temp can distort the frame. I degreased my frame with a power-washer and had it media blasted and then powder coated. I'm very please with the end results. Definitely check for straightness before doing anything. You should also inspect the body mount holes and repair them if necessary. I've attached a pic of my frame and a spec sheet with the critical frame dimensions. Hope this is helpful!
That looks great. I see you have a conv frame. Even more of a boxed frame. I take it no issues with rust inside?
Thanks for the spec sheet that helps a lot.
My convertible is a Texas car so rust was pretty minimal compared to a northern car where the roads are salted in the winter. There was some rust inside the frame rails, but nothing substantial. I had to repair the front body mounts as the holes had rusted through from sitting in the weeds for years. I welded in some large flat washers for this repair. Here's a link to my build thread, the frame stuff starts at post #35.
The powder-coater media blasted into the ends of the frame rails and sprayed power inside as well, but I'm sure he didn't get too far back. It did make the ends of the frame look nicer. I may buy some frame treatment from Eastwood (which comes in a spray can with a 24" uni-directional nozzle) to spray further inside the frame rails, but I'm not too worried about any rust that may be lurking inside. I used the dimension sheet I sent earlier to verify my frame measurements. You can also measure in a criss-cross (X) manner across the the frame to see if the measurements are the same. This will show you if the frame has been hit in the side and bent left-right. It cost $700 to blast and powdercoat my frame along with a bunch of brackets and other parts. Galvanizing was much more expensive when I priced it and I also had a difficult time finding a company with a zinc bath large enough to fit a 17' long frame. I really wanted to galvanize the frame as this would recondition the frame inside & out and provide the best rust protection, but the cost and risk of warping changed my mind.
Last edited by cdrod; October 19th, 2018 at 03:04 PM.
That is a good thread. I remember you doing that and watching. What did you use to cut the circle which you marked at the base of the metal tabs where you made the slots for the washer patch? I may have to do one.
To cut the circle, I marked the frame with a sharpie, then carefully made multiple cuts across the hole up to the sharpie line. I used a cordless drill with a 1" rasp bit to clean up the hole while checking for a tight fit with the washer. It was time consuming and required a steady hand with the grinder but it turned out well. There is a picture of the cross cuts in my build thread, the link is in a previous post.
October 17th, 2018, 01:58 PM
