I have a chance to buy a bare 1937 Ford chassis for 250 bucks thats located in Arizona. Has all the parts ie. brackets and suspension to it. I have only seen pictures of the frame and yes, it does have rust. What my question is what do I need to look out for when buying a rusty frame or is it worth repairing a rusted frame long as the cancer has not eaten through it.
wow....how much is it going to cost to get it to you? I have one of those someplace....don't remember if its 36 or 37 though. Was under a coupe.
Maybe, it depends on where the damage is and your abilitys. Damage means not just rust but also twist and bent and torch damage. If it's close enough, go look at it and take a steel tape with you. you can evaluate it in 15 min.
check the frame where the X member connects with the outer frame rails , especially the rear. around here with snow/salt/mud etc it builds up there and rots them out you should be able to find a nice frame closer to home
if it is rusted, it will be where the x member meets the frame at the rear, that is a bad spot on those for sure. Also check to see if it has been rodded by someone who was handy with a torch, very common...make sure you check for square as well like the poster above said.
If it's always been an Arizona frame, how bad can it be? ... but the ones I've seen that were rotted rot in the side rails ahead of the rear axle, as was said above. If the rest is nice and it's straight, then it's worth spending some time to patch up a few spots.
I'll be in Arizona this weekend dropping off a customers truck to him. Figured since I already have a flatbed I might as well see what Arizona has. I found a place there called Desert valley auto or www.dvap.com from the pictures I got sent, it looks good and original with no bends or kinks still sitting under the body well whats left of it body. It's just covered in rust which might be surface rust and a good sandblasting might cure that. Front axle is in decent for it sitting there for a long time. Anywho, thanks for the info, I will deff look at the crossmember and so fourth.
I was just thinking if it's a tube axle car the front axle would be worth it alone, if it's not bent or too rusty.