Re: 51Packard's....51 Packard
Posted by Charles On 2013/7/7 16:05:16
7-7-13
Had a bit of luck today on the next stage, removing the old front bracket from the frame. I thought for sure I would have to cut the body bolt to get it off. On a whim, I put a socket wrench on it and a bar for more leverage. Hope was that the top of the bolt would break off and save some time. To my amazement, the bolt started to turn instead. OK, let's put a wrench on the nut underneath, let it lock against the other part of the frame and see what happens. Used the bar on the ratchet again expecting something to break and instead, the bolt turned again! Kept going and I actually got it off intact. That saved some time!
Next I cut out the floor section to expose the bracket and floor brace. Once that was removed, I cut the floor brace about an inch from my floor cut so I could weld it back (at least the usable section) easier.
Removed the rubber donut from the top of the frame bracket. The top and bottom of the bracket were no longer attached together at the end, having rusted away.
Then another piece of luck. I was going to start cutting the bottom of the bracket from the frame when I decided to see how well it was attached. A little body weight on the lower part and the bracket broke free. Saved even more time!
Top part of the bracket was a bear as I expected. Rivets were removed with the previous technique. Since I was not trying to save the bracket, I was able to be more aggressive with my grinding of the welds, taking care not to mess up the frame. Eventually with the help of the cold chisel, the last of the bracket came off. Ground down what was left of the welds.
Did a trial fit of the new bracket and all looks OK. Maybe 1/8" longer than the previous one, but that could be from rust cutting into the old bracket.
Now that I have a lot of room where the brackets used to be, I can take my replacement floor section and raise it against the car, trimming under the door hinge until I get a reasonable fit. Hopefully I will not get too aggressive with my cutting.
Attach file:
(143.04 KB)
(108.98 KB)
(107.12 KB)
(96.15 KB)
(129.24 KB)
(91.60 KB)
(105.14 KB)
Had a bit of luck today on the next stage, removing the old front bracket from the frame. I thought for sure I would have to cut the body bolt to get it off. On a whim, I put a socket wrench on it and a bar for more leverage. Hope was that the top of the bolt would break off and save some time. To my amazement, the bolt started to turn instead. OK, let's put a wrench on the nut underneath, let it lock against the other part of the frame and see what happens. Used the bar on the ratchet again expecting something to break and instead, the bolt turned again! Kept going and I actually got it off intact. That saved some time!
Next I cut out the floor section to expose the bracket and floor brace. Once that was removed, I cut the floor brace about an inch from my floor cut so I could weld it back (at least the usable section) easier.
Removed the rubber donut from the top of the frame bracket. The top and bottom of the bracket were no longer attached together at the end, having rusted away.
Then another piece of luck. I was going to start cutting the bottom of the bracket from the frame when I decided to see how well it was attached. A little body weight on the lower part and the bracket broke free. Saved even more time!
Top part of the bracket was a bear as I expected. Rivets were removed with the previous technique. Since I was not trying to save the bracket, I was able to be more aggressive with my grinding of the welds, taking care not to mess up the frame. Eventually with the help of the cold chisel, the last of the bracket came off. Ground down what was left of the welds.
Did a trial fit of the new bracket and all looks OK. Maybe 1/8" longer than the previous one, but that could be from rust cutting into the old bracket.
Now that I have a lot of room where the brackets used to be, I can take my replacement floor section and raise it against the car, trimming under the door hinge until I get a reasonable fit. Hopefully I will not get too aggressive with my cutting.
Attach file:
(143.04 KB)
(108.98 KB)
(107.12 KB)
(96.15 KB)
(129.24 KB)
(91.60 KB)
(105.14 KB)
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