 |
One unexpected surprise came in the discovery of a rusted out frame on the
convertible. The convertible frame is special in that it contains an X-member to
increase it's strength. I realized soon enough that the special frame was created by
dropping the quarter inch angle iron X-member into a regular frame.
After the body and the frame were separated, I rented a Sawz-All and chopped the X-piece
out of the rusty frame. I also removed an extra body mount that is present on these
special frames, as well as the torsion bar mounts, which are for the heavy duty torsion
bars that the convertible requires. Since my welder is a 115 volt / 105 amp welder,
it is not suitable for heavy duty welding. For that, I turned to a professional
welding shop in Fall, 1995. The frame I used was from the parts car, which was solid except for
one minor area. Incidently, if you should try this, the X-piece mounts from the
bottom up. |
| Next stop, Aquablast in Bloomfield, CT for sandblasting. The media blasting
booth at their facility is large enough to accommodate a whole car. In picture at right, the Dodge frame sits in the booth waiting to have its rust removed. |
 |
 |
On the left is the frame after sandblasting. Soon afterward, it was painted with
Corroless to seal out future rust and top-coated with semi-gloss black. |
|
