Jackplate area, what to do? Options

[urbanskater]

The red plague got to the jack plate area. It completly rusted through the plate, through a metal sheet support, and finally the metal that holds the rectangle jack peg. My question is, how, how ever do i fix this, or would it be easier to go with out the jack plate/peg? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[ChrisFoley]

First you have to clean off the old jackplate from the inner rocker panel. Then you should refabricate the section of panel that had the square hole, at a minimum, before welding on a new tube and pyramid. Unless you are going without the jackplate entirely, in which case you can weld a smooth piece of sheetmetal onto the rocker.
The Brad Mayeur chassis kit reinforces this area without you having to repair all the little pieces. Just cut off all the excess metal and weld on the frame reinforcements (this is not an endorsement, and the job is much more difficult than it sounds). I am in the middle of doing this on a car right now.
The biggest trouble so far is getting the 3 suspension bolts out on both sides, since the kit extends back to this area. The car arrived with one bolt already broken, and I broke another one. One bolt is still in the car soaking overnight in PB Blaster. It already spent 2 nights soaking in an inferior brand penetrant and won't budge. At least I haven't twisted the head off yet. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)