HEY!! CUT IT OUT!

I have been staring at this rear kick up area for a while.  I have been walking past the frame for a few months.  It seems that life  gets in the way and so I have been on a sabbatical.  Now, it's time to put this one to rest.

This is pretty common on the 35-40 frames.  Dirt and water get trapped and unfortunately start the corrosion process. It's worse than it looks.  I will cut this out and replace it after the corrosion is removed on the inside of the frame.

It took about an hour and 2 cutoff wheels, but it is opened up.
75 years of dirt and rust collected in this area, if I can make it last another 50 years, it will probably be yard art by then anyway, everyone will be riding around like George Jetson.

Here's the aftermath just after this one side is opened up.

A little cleanup and it's ready for primer.  I'm not going to worry about repairing the inner gusset , since I will box this area anyway.  I'm not a huge believer in boxing frames, but in this area it makes sense.  

I will use the piece removed to use as a template for my replacement piece.

I'm calling it a day, but I will get back on it tomorrow.

Let the thrashing begin.....

I have had this frame for years.  I picked it up from my Grandpa's stash.  It's seen better days, but it is salvageable.  It has seen it's share of dirt roads and potholes.  These old trucks were built to work, not to cruise around town.

I ground off the rivets that secure the front crossmember and then drilled out the center.  Smack it with a center punch and they pop out.  Time consuming, but it works.  I won't bore you with all of the rivet removals, so we'll fast forward.

I had a beefy piece of square tubing that I clamped up to ensure that every thing stayed square.  Probably not doing much, but it makes me feel better.

I grabbed a couple of taper punches and got everything lined up.  The lower pickup brackets are a little different from the 1940 crossmember that I am using as a donor.  I'll have to modify it slightly.

I picked up some grade 8 bolts to replace the rivets.  I had originally planned on using carriage style heads, but I read that the tension capability is severely reduced using a rounded head.  I figure I would rather be safe, so I opted for the hex heads.  It didn't take that long to repair and it will look better than a repaired crossmember.