Patching the Front Frame Horn
Another day back in July, we decided to do some cutting and welding. Because of the fact that the Nova once had a lead-acid battery, a bit of corrosion formed on every part located directly below the battery tray. This included the front frame horn in which the bumper connects to. The corrosion also occurred on the front passenger wheel well and part of the radiator support. These two areas will be addressed at a later date.
The air hose, the grinder, the face shield, a few new cutting wheels, a permanent marker, and a piece of stock sheet metal were all brought out to begin the patching process. Uncle Kurt aligned the piece of metal to the rusted frame and a rough outline was drawn with the marker. He handed me the necessary equipment and told me to cut the piece outside the line drawn and he left to go inside. After about 20 minutes of cutting at a minuscule speed, the rough cut was finally finished.
He came back outside and redrew the line in the sub-frame and had me cut out the deteriorated section of the frame. He then took the metal piece that I cut and used the bench grinder, a few hand grinders, and the bench vise to get the exact shape that was needed. When the shape was achieved, the patch was clamped into place. The recently returned, smaller, flux cored welder was brought out. He put on the welder's mask and tacked a few spots around the edge of the patch. After a few tacks, he ran out of wire. I won't go into details about who is to blame, because that's not my territory.
The flux cored welder was set aside and the MIG welding cart was wheel out to the middle of the barn. He finished the tacking and removed the clamp. We then rotated the sub-frame so that the patch was on top of the frame and we propped it up with car jack stands. He showed me the best technique for welding on a small section of the patch and then he handed the welder to me.
I finished the job and you could definitely tell who did what section. My section had what he called a "booger weld", in which the welding material was splattered all around the area that was welded. This was, after all, a new experience and I will get better over time. After the welding was done, Uncle Kurt took the grinder and made the weld flush with the patch and sub-frame.
After finally getting the photos off of the photographer's camera, Aunt Tina, I have finished this post and included the before , during, and after photos below.
