Hot Rods holy crap.... this could have been really bad! Like dead bad!

Properly welded, there is no way that the trip would have cracked it.

If that frame were built properly, it would have bent into a pretzel, long before there was a weld failure.

Pull the car apart and build another frame.

If you know the name of the builder, for sure, post it here, so we can blacklist.

 

Penetration? What about bevelling at the joint to allow for weld buildup?

 

Without the proper heat, all you get by that is a bigger contact area, of a shallow weld.

Stronger? Maybe, but still unacceptable.

 

the proper way of transport your supposed to anchor to the vehicle chassis and pull it down , otherwise the vehicle body can sway uncontrollably and cause a accident or body damage if your hauling in a closed box or a autorack if not perfectly centered

 

bevel welds are the proper way to butt weld ( its the way they do high pressure pipeline ( and they do not use a backer or sleeve ) and semi trailers ( flatbeds) ) but a fishplate or slug should also been done , it has to have proper heat to get penetration , most people think that just because the weld bead is on it that it has proper penetration

 

My point is whoever tried to weld it did not even attempt the bevel before his welding attempt. Kinda first step.

 

Half of a sound, proper weld is in the preparation. I've seen some sketchy/scary "welding" that looked like it had been done with a buzz box and some old welding rod. Some people think they can just burn through rust, scale, paint, oil, slag, then wonder why their welded joint broke.

 

Wow!

That Springboards multitudes of thoughts. I don't even know where to begin but There should be some minimal standard for putting things on the road.

 

hindsight being 20/20.... I think this happened before I shipped it (BTW.... trucker strapped the axles), I remember sitting in the shop and looking at the coupe and thinking "does it look like its lower on the driver side?" Regardless.... I just moved to Austin, TX. Everyting is packed and stacked in 2 apartment garages while I look for a house to buy. Guess I may need to look into renting some space somewhere if I want to get working on it soon.

 

Welcome to Austin. Hope you are enjoying the 100 degree heat and that you get your car fixed asap!

 

scary scary scary... I think the paint was holding it together. On the bright side, nobody was in it and now we get a build thread?

 

Luck was definitely on your side this time! You're not the only one who has bought someone else's mistakes and problems, I know all too well.

Curious what reason/s made you move from the PNW to Austin?

 

As Don said above, the frame on the TV show was about the same condition. HORRIBLE. It is lucky that you weren't driving when it let go. Anyway, I guess we should all be more cautious when buying someone's car (work).

 

NO, NO NO!!!!

If someone tied my roadster down like that I would kick their ass!!

It may work on a catapillar , and that maybe what they told you to do in truck driving school .....

, but the kinetic energy of the compressed suspension will fuck a frame up or destroy straps, unless of course you are using load binders like a true trucker ... Then you just wreck the frame..

 

Welcome to the ATX, hope you get your frame fixed to enjoy the cool fall weather coming up.

 

"Properly welded" those two words seem so simple on the surface don't they?
It's really meaning countless hours of training, practice and study under someone who knows what "properly welded" actually means and wants to pass that info along correctly.
Mr Billy "blind" Backyard showing Mr Bobby "blind" Backyard how to weld is just the blind leading the blind.

 

Is it just me but from that pic there is a 'front' and a 'rear' half of the framerail, correct? I have never built more than a rough mockup for a frame, but isn't a two piece framerail a no-no?? Why not a one piece length for the frame? or does it have some sort of a wild Z in it??

 

Frames built from multiple pieces are not an issue, provided that they are built properly.

 

Maybe I'm just a fab snob, but I always preferred this approach:

http://www.welderseries.com/blog/online-store/frame-curves/

There's several places you can buy sections from and this isn't a new idea. Fish plates and rosette welds should still be used but where it shows could be ground a bit just for clean looks. I have a local source for mandrel bent tubes of any size/shape and the price was reasonable. A call 1st and what I needed was ready. He's also a Mopar/HEMI guy so you don't get the cold shoulder in favor of big production.

http://erinindustries.com/

The other way could be a pie cut/bend. At least 1 side is continuous and has integrity, although it's only 1 side. Again, fish plates and rosettes. Options are endless...

 

My vote is scrap that frame and build a new one. If you fix the old one you will always be afraid something else will brake. With a new one at least you will know what you have. Some people reach beyond there abilities building cars,in this case it is obvious. At times like this a experienced welder should be called to help.

 

My vote is scrap that frame and build a new one. If you fix the old one you will always be afraid something else will brake. With a new one at least you will know what you have. Some people reach beyond there abilities building cars,in this case it is obvious. At times like this a experienced welder should be called to help.

 

My vote is scrap that frame and build a new one. If you fix the old one you will always be afraid something else will brake. With a new one at least you will know what you have. Some people reach beyond there abilities building cars,in this case it is obvious. At times like this a experienced welder should be called to help.

 

My biggest issue right now is lack of space. I'm in an apartment with a couple tiny garages while we look to buy a house. I don't want to farm out the work, but until I buy a house or rent some shop space, she's gonna sit.

 

Saw a t-bucket with a suicide front spring perch built on a front round crossmember made from 2 1/2 or 3 inch exhaust tube. It had cracked across the perch and spread left and right in a rearward spiral. The gap was about an inch. Pointed it out to the owner who hadn't even noticed it! Then, he got in and drove it away! Said he didn't build it. Scarey !!!

 

That car's the poster child for why Washington state put out strict regulations on welded together frames in 2009. They were seeing too many problems with home welded tube frames in the state. That according to the WSP inspector who has inspected my vehicles that needed inspecting for years on end.
Refer to an old thread on that. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/no-more-welding-on-frames-in-washington-state.372933/

Looks like it's time to go look for a garage/shop with a house with it in the Austin area. I'd let the Austin area guys know what part of the general Austin area you are thinking about living in or work in. My sister in law lives out in the cedar breaks about ten miles further out than Ryan and has a 45 minute drive to down town Austin to work. My niece lives somewhere in South Austin close to where her hubby manages one of the Alamo draft house theaters. The guys on here can probably tell you where you don't want to live as well as where to look for a house.

 

take a look at a autorack ( there on the inside of the rails, thats the way we are taught to tow them and is industry standard ( worked for Cassens transport moving New Fords and GM's to the dealer for 2 years , I know what I am talking about , what about you??? have you done it professionally ??? held my truck endorsement since 1986 ) done auto ( in a rack and on flatbed ( straight truck and semi ) , HE ( frame trailer , flatbed ,lowboy ) and Drive away transportation ( multiple semi saddling ) ) they even do it when they transport by rail and you do not use straps, as straps only have a 3000 pound rating ( some say 5400 but are not recognizned as that by DOT or Cal trans ) you must use 5/16 proofed chains minimum they only reccomend straps for short hauls and you have to replace them if they get any fraying , any .... DOt will put you out of service for a damaged strap on the spot , even when I worked at Mayflower we had to chain them to the floor of the bedbugs if we moved a car in the box and it was the chassis we tied too and the trailer had to have special hooks built into the floor that connnected to the frame of unit . there are holes in the towed vehicle frames for the T/J hooks to go into . thats why there often damaged when you buy a new car ( at the ends of the frames often behind the bumpers in front of the wheels there oval or there tiedown loops . and no you do not damage the car or the frame as it doesn't move as its compressed ( your car frame doesn't break when you drive it down the road does it ?? ( beside the trailer is air ride and takes out the road shock ) . I won't get into He or truck transport as its not related to the thread .

 

I will put my 2 cents worth in, but am not trying to start a pissing contest. Ryan Doesn't want drama on the site.
I have almost 3 million accident-free transport miles over the last 30+ years. This equates to literally thousands of cars, including new $325,000 Bentleys for a dealer in the late 90's. I have never used a chain & only a handful of times have I had to attach a hook to a frame. In these cases the cars were coil spring cars minus the rear shocks or a few vehicles that I absolutely could not use straps around the axle/ suspension or wheel. I have always used straps to hold down vehicles & have never had one break or come loose more than 1 or 2 clicks. As soon as they show the smallest signs of fraying they are replaced. I have seen many a vehicle with the frame holes ripped out by chain hooks & many of them were brand new.

 

Just to set the record straight... The transport didn't cause this, it happened prior

 

The only way I know of to tell if a weld is good or bad is to Xray or break test it. It is possible to visually see some bad welds but if there are no holes and it is ground flat, nobody will be able to tell if it's good or bad. In welding class, the instructor had 3 samples of plates welded together for us to examine. They all looked good. Really nice looking beads. Then he put them in the breaker and 2 of them failed miserably. Welds can be filled, ground smooth and painted so you can't tell whats under it.

Welding is all about the right heat. Wire feed [squirt] welders make it really easy to make a good looking weld that doesn't have any penetration. It takes less heat to melt the wire than to melt the base material so it can be laid on like putty. It's great for sheet metal but can be a problem for welding heavier material. You can get strong welds with a squirt welder but you might need to pre-heat the material being welded. Most automated welding includes pre-heating. The next problem is rapid cooling making the metal brittle. Flux core wire leaves a coating that holds the heat in for a few seconds longer so it cools slower.