Repairin' the 308

While investigating a rattling sound that had been driving me crazy, I removed a splash plate in the right front fenderwell of my ’78 308GTS. Much to my surprise, I found that the subframe structure supporting the right front corner was a real mess. It consists of several box section tubes, all of which were bent out of alignment and very poorly welded. Evidently, it had been repaired at some time in the past, and very poorly done. If you look at the pictures, you can see what I mean. Really shoddy work.

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage1.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage3.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage4.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage7.jpg

So…I decided to fix it. Remove the damaged subframe members and replace them with new tubing. Luckily, these old 308s are pretty simple, so you can actually replace frame members with readily available tubing. Attached pictures show the removed support structure for the right front corner body panels. We had to pull the side of the frame where the support structure attached. Couple of pictures of the ****ty weld job done on the tubes. They also covered everything with Bondo. Welds. Tubing. Frame members. Everything. Splash shields covered with roofing cement! Note the Bondo on the fan support bracket! Can't believe that someone would take so much time to do a ****ty job.

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage8.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage9.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage10.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage11.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Damage12.JPG

A little background: I have owned this 308GTS for ten years, and set it up as a daily driver. About four years ago, I was sideswiped by a Jeep Cherokee. The Jeep suddenly decided to make a left turn at the next light, crossed three lanes and tried to push me into oncoming traffic. The Jeep hit me pretty hard in the right front corner, and I had to steer into it to avoid being a head-on fatality. The lady driver admitted it was her fault, the insurance company didn’t quibble, telling me to take it anywhere to get fixed. Being in the San Diego area, I took it to Symbolic Motors, as they had a restoration facility that I assumed would do a good job. They ended up fixing it and, although the paint didn’t really match, it appeared to be a good job. After uncovering this shoddy work, I’m not so sure. They claim that the shoddy work was existing at the time of the repair, and they simply repaired the sheet metal damage. Perhaps so. I find it hard to believe they would not see the damaged subframe members and at least recommend they be repaired. Not so.

Anyway, I’m a bit irritated at Symbolic. I took my car there expecting a quality job, and basically got an Earl Schieb/Maaco quality job.

Be that as it may, with the help of a body repair guy that I know, I decided to fix it by fabricating and installing a new subframe section. We replaced the entire structure with new tubing (3/4 and 5/8 box section - 1/16 wall) and a new support plate (made from half an 8" length of 1.25 box section - 1/16 wall) for the body panels. The support structure was welded to the existing box section frame and small box section tubes that remain.


http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Repair1.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Repair2.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Repair3.JPG

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http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Repair7.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Repair8.JPG

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http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Repair10.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Repair11.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Repair12.JPG

Pictures shows new subframe tubing installed and headlight assembly installed. Getting the headlight assembly installed in the correct orientation was a major pain. Ended up using vice-grips to hold the thing in place and then moving it into position before bolting it permanently. Thought we had the brackets welded in the correct position, but not quite.

Finally got it all back together and cleaned up. Very satisfied with the result. The car had a slight bulge in that corner along the black line. The edge of the wheel well
didn't look quite right. Essentially, the support structure pushed the sheet metal out too far, making the leading edge of the wheel well stick out. In replacing the support structure, we made it a half inch or so closer to the frame, which pulled the sheet metal in giving the edge of the wheel well a clean line and make it match the other side.

So now it looks like this:

http://www.geocities.com/bowserrh/Done.JPG

Good to get the Mistress back on the road. Beautiful day here in SoCal and she loved running through the gears, howling with delight.

(Turns out the rattling sound was from the right headlight bracket....now fixed).

Bob
'78 308GTS
'01 Corvette Z06

 

Welcome to the 308 section, and great first post!

 

Great job and thanks for sharing.

 

Looks like very nice work.