Hi all. I appreciate not all of you will have experience of 2nd gens, or serious structural repairs, but I'm looking for opinions on how to tackle my latest problem.
The drivers side rear frame rail is toast, from the rear bumper to just beyond the bumper brackets, most of what you see here:
I have been fortunate to find a decent used replacement, which is pretty much the same length as the aftermarket pieces, i.e. bumper to just past the shock mount.
This donor was cut out with the floor still attached to the rail - no spot welds have been cut.
I have spent ages looking at the task, but can't decide on the best way to deal with this, and I'm looking for opinions to help me decide the best way forward.
Firstly, should I remove the floor pan section from the donor and spot weld the rail to my floor, or should I leave it on and butt weld the donor floor to my floor? My existing floor isn't too bad, but there are some areas that have been (badly) patched in the past, which the donor floor section would cover.
My second question is where to cut and join the rail. I only need the first section, so could cut just past the drain hole (red line). The downside of this is the trunk floor is in the way of the inner side, so I would need to cut that out to gain access. Doing this doesn't bother me, it's just more work.
The alternative is to cut further back, beyond the dip in the trunk, where I would have access to all sides of the rail. This though would need to be an angled cut, as the access points on each side aren't in line. (green line). Downside to this option is there is more rail to remove and it gets more complicated as it gets near the wheel house panels.
I guess a third alternative would be to go even further and take out almost the whole rail, past the shock mount. This again is more work to get it out, but is does move the rail joint to a location with better access. I have got a full inner wheel house panel to make use of, but don't plan on removing/replacing the whole panel.
One thing that I am wondering about, is where the main stresses would be, and if I want to put my welds there or not.
Any advice welcomed.