Charger Torsion Bar Crossmember rot and repair

[bakerhillpins]

Ok, old news, I am Charger shopping. I asked about issues with this car in a previous Ziebart post which also has some pics of it: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,72402.0.html

I have been been able to get someone to stop out and give this car the once over for me. They provided a bunch of pictures that show of course that it has its share of issues. (Thanks  ) One that is particularly concerning is rust through of the Torsion Bar Crossmember on the passenger side between the rocker and the front frame rail. (see pics below). You can see in the 2 rot pics the front frame rail where it connects to the crossmember on the right of the photo and the distinctive upward bend in the member as it hits the rocker.

This car is covered in tons of undercoating. Gobs. It was applied so thick it's dripping off the parts. The other major under body components seem to be solid after a bit of poking. Ill add a bunch pics after I post this so you can get the general idea.

I'm looking for opinions with regard to safety and use of the car as is and if a short term weld in repair is a reasonable thing to do. If I buy the car I plan on doing a good old frame off body overhaul but that would likely be a few years down the pike. In the mean time I would like to enjoy the car as is.

AMD makes a replacement part for $400.

Thanks all. 

The following pic is one from another thread showing the undercarriage of a 69 for reference. You can see the roughly 8 inch space on the passenger side of the car where it would be located.

[bakerhillpins]

Pics of the rest of the underbody...

[bakerhillpins]

 

[bakerhillpins]

 

[bakerhillpins]

 

[hemi-hampton]

The worse Pic I seen is the bottom of that 1/4 panel, That is one big mess & a joke. Total garbage 1/4. All that undercoating is hiding a big rust bucket. I can tell this is one of those cars that may not look to bad on the outside but once you take it to the Stripper & get it media blasted your clean bare metal shell will be swiss cheese & much worse then you original thought. This is OK if you can buy it dirt cheap & have big money to restore. LEON.

[NHCharger]

Wow. I don't remember the Ziebart coating being so thick. Also I don't believe they would apply it to suspension parts as shown in your pics.
That's a lot of undercoating, probably holding the car together. Both my Chargers had undercoating being New England cars, but nothing like that. I'd be worried after seeing something like that.

[tan top]

The worse Pic I seen is the bottom of that 1/4 panel, That is one big mess & a joke. Total garbage 1/4. All that undercoating is hiding a big rust bucket. I can tell this is one of those cars that may not look to bad on the outside but once you take it to the Stripper & get it media blasted your clean bare metal shell will be swiss cheese & much worse then you original thought. This is OK if you can buy it dirt cheap & have big money to restore. LEON.

[nh_mopar_fan]

I'll second Brian. That shit is hiding lots of issues, imho. It would make me really nervous.

[TUFCAT]

This was the "most devious" of the entire group.   We'd all love to know what's doin' under there. 

[TeeWJay426]

I agree with all the above... that undercoating isn't protecting ANYTHING, it's there to hide it. Unless that car is priced very low, I'd keep looking.  

[DC_1]

That thing reminds me of one of those "Great Father & Son Project" cars if you know what (and who) I mean!

You need 3 things to do this car

1. Get it dirt cheap
2. A big bag of money
3. Lots of time

Those 3 things and a little bit of skill will go a long way to tearing it apart and repairing it properly.

[bakerhillpins]

Cool, the responses are rolling in... discussion is GOOD! 

I realize that there is risk in this vehicle but right now I am just interested in answering the question about repairing the rot in this area. The car has some other qualities that have kept it on my list for now. Yea, buying it all done sounds great, trust me I completely understand. But it has become clear that when all the competing priorities have been added together that its beyond my price range (at this time) to get THE perfect car. Frankly, I don't want to push it off to far in the future when I may have those funds because it will all be tied up in sending kids to college for 8yrs. Something has to give.

With this car it would be don't pay to much and deal with the problems over time. Pipe dream, maybe, but its worked for me in the past with other large scale investments where a combination of existing funds and good old fashioned personal labor have provided me with spectacular results.

So:
Is it un-drivable in this condition?
Is it repairable leaving the rest of the car as is - Can it be patched? or would it require the whole crossmember be replaced?

[bakerhillpins]

I agree with all the above... that undercoating isn't protecting ANYTHING, it's there to hide it. Unless that car is priced very low, I'd keep looking.  

Priced low is the $64000 question. I'm trying to figure out where that is..   

[DC_1]

Priced low is the $64000 question. I'm trying to figure out where that is..   

$64,000!!!! I thnk  you can do a little better for that kind of money!

just kidding, I know it was a typo!

[Paladin]

Bakerhillpins,

    I am seeing some very, very bad ju-ju in those photographs.  You can just about guarantee that the rust you have found so far in that car is actually some ten times worse once it is all said and done with.  Drive it?  I don't think so.  At least, unless I was only going around the block and feeling lucky.  Anything can be repaired, but in this case you are looking at a money pit of monumental proportions.

    Hold on to whatever nest egg you have and keep looking.  The way the economy is going the prices of most old Mopars are going down, and it gives you a chance to put more money aside to bargain with. 

    Best of luck to you, Sir.

May God bless America,

Paladin

[472 R/T SE]

Sounds like your emotions are taking over.  You had someone look at it, the seller's telling you he has other buyers so you're wanting to act quick. 

I've been there & ended up with a car in the garage for 7 years of no driving.  I agree with every thing others have already said.  I'd be scared to death to take that undercoating off let alone put my family in it for a cruise.

[challenger70]

My Charger looked cleaner than that and is costing me a fortune to fix, RUN AWAY!  That torsion bar x-member is one of many things that eventually got/getting replaced.  Pretty paint/undercoating hides a lot of trouble.

[bakerhillpins]

My Charger looked cleaner than that and is costing me a fortune to fix, RUN AWAY!  That torsion bar x-member is one of many things that eventually got/getting replaced.  Pretty paint/undercoating hides a lot of trouble.

Are you talking about the 68 in your sig? Does it have a white interior and did you buy it from "Al" in Detroit?

[challenger70]

My Charger looked cleaner than that and is costing me a fortune to fix, RUN AWAY!  That torsion bar x-member is one of many things that eventually got/getting replaced.  Pretty paint/undercoating hides a lot of trouble.

Are you talking about the 68 in your sig? Does it have a white interior and did you buy it from "Al" in Detroit?

Nope I got it local, black interior, ended up needing alot of work, hard to tell when they have nice shiny paint jobs.

[ionracer24]

run away!!! run far away!!!!!!   its not even worth answering the torsion bar question cause it looks to me like a totally frame replacement job,  like everyone said, unless ur gonna get it SUPER cheap and ur doin all the work urself prepare for a very sore butt......

[hemi-hampton]

The car would of just been better off if he never undercoated anything. That way you can see how bad the rust really is. I'd rather see it as a original rust bucket then try to hide it. Worse of all is the owner seems to be implying he's not hiding anything, Just trying to preserve this Gem & it's original Beauty . Thats the biggest Red flag something up. I'd keep looking, If money tight buy a complete running driving rust bucket & restore that over time.  Or just buy my car & all your problems solved LEON.

[Brock Lee]

The Ziebart cars rotted out faster than the factory undercoated cars. This one probably already had rust that started and got worse underneath the undercoating.

[bakerhillpins]

Would factory undercoating be listed on a build sheet?

[DC_1]

Would factory undercoating be listed on a build sheet?

That's no factory undercoating job!

[hemi-hampton]

Would factory undercoating be listed on a build sheet?

Factory undercoating would be listed as J55. I'm very familar with this option. LEON.

[lexxman]

I agree with all of the above,I've done that type of thing in high school to hide stuff I didn't want seen in an inspection.I'm just about to change my torque crossmember I got a good used one for 250 if you can't get a good used amd is the way to go.