Towed: Or, How Not to Build a Hotrod: HEATIN' & BEATIN'

To the best of my knowledge Chrysler Corporation was the first American manufacturer to introduce "unibody" construction in 1960. The vast majority of today's cars, SUVs, CUVs, vans and a few trucks are are unibody. That means the bodies are stamped pieces of sheet metal welded, spot welded and even glued together. In essence they are one (1) large piece! They gain strength with stamped in lines, channels, and shapes. Some brands even stamp in shapes to help with sound deadening They have a short sub-structure or frame of steel, and recently aluminum, bolted to the pan (body) to support the engine and suspension components.

Being a 1956 build, the DeSoto has body on frame construction. That means the the body was a welded structure with internal and external brackets, braces and channels similar to the unibody but with fenders that bolted to the body and frame. The body was then bolted to a separate frame.

The exposed steel structure or frame underneath the body supported the body and ran nearly the full length of the car. They were usually rectangular in shape with "horns" for the front bumper and upward curved sections in the rear to accommodate the rear axle and wheels.. There could also be one or two cross members for support of the transmission or engine adding additional strength.A few GM models had an X shaped frame. The engine, suspension, steering and rear end all bolted to the frame.

With all the work in the "stern" I couldn't miss seein' the trunk floor near the wheel wells and the body mounts rusted out. They were thicker metal than the body panels, fenders and etc. I had to get really creative to duplicate replacement mounts. What I really needed was a 10 Ton stamping press! Which wasn't going to happen. SO...I created one.

I took a log, used a two inch (2) hole saw and drilled a hole about a half (1/2) deep. I used a couple of wood chisels and a gouge and cleaned out the center. As luck would have it, an eight (8) pound sledge hammer face was exactly the same size as the depression for the body mount. The depression helped keep the stud and nut flush or recessed below the floor. I used a borrowed oxy-acetylene torch to heat the metal to red-hot, laid the piece on the log over the hole using pliers and welders gloves, and centered the sledge hammer over the piece. Then I used a two (2) pound hammer to drive the sledge hammer into the metal overlaying the cavity. After the second blow the piece edges began to wrinkle so I had to heat the metal all over, transferring it to a concrete block and hammer it flat around the forming depression. This process usually took eight to ten cycles of heating and beating to get the desired depression and flat surface. I made 5 pieces this way. I needed 4. As the log burned in, the hammered recess actually became better and more like what had rotted through You've already seen the "stern" where two pieces would be welded in. In the flattening process I also destroyed two (2) concrete blocks.

There are two (2) other types of body mounts which will be described in later sections.