I would think you could find a body shop that does frame repair that could fix that without a custom piece.

 

i e-mailed one shop but they didn't reply after seeing the pics. My hunch is that since the right side crack extends up half-way into the rail no one will want to take on the liability. Most shops now won't even touch old cars, they make their money on new cars with a quick panel replacement and paint match. No one wants an old junker clogging up their bays for weeks or months.

I'm still waffling between fix or dump. one big issue is just the size and location of the break out. It's not even just in a flat section of the rail but extends into the portion that curves inwards. Ideally i would weld-up all the cracks , then fab. a U-shaped patch , slip it over the hole, and weld it 360 degree's, but the damage extending into the gear box mounting area and back into the curved portion of frame makes that patch a complex piece.

I've got a couple of e-mails out to corvette specialists to see if anyone sells a prefabbed patch for this area but no replies there either.

Thanks goodness the engine runs, i should at least get the money back I've sunk into it so far

 

Does the power steering ram extend and retract when you turn the steering wheel with the engine running?

 

haven't tried that, but with engine off i was able to push and pull on the ram with slight resistance, so it's not frozen or jammed.

it's freezing cold and dark outside all week, I'm going to wait for a bright sunny day and take another look at it. Maybe it won't seem so bleak

 

My latest thought on this issue is maybe the previous owner hit a curb hard and that drove the tie rod, drag link, and the attached cylinder hard enough to force the bracket to crack the frame. Just a thought.

Our high here in the Kansas City area this weekend is going to be 0°F. ☃️ 🥶

 

I've been thinking about this possibility as well. I will look closer at the steering assembly and see if anything suggests a hit hard enough to do that.

I do have a friend who had to weld stainless tubing inside a large tank laying down, he got a TIG torch with trigger control , might have to borrow that or beg him to lend his expertise in prone welding

You gut us beat, Sunday will be a toasty 4 degrees in Denver