Front end clunks over bumps

[billfrank85]

Now with pictures!

[gadget73]

Thats been fixed before, and poorly.

If the frame is that bad there, I'd be highly concerned about what it looks like in the places that it usually does rot out. Have a good look under the A pillars. If thats gone and into the area where the lower control arm mounts, you've got problems.

[pantera77]

That square tubing is someones previous repair. I use the term repair lightly.

And that frame rail is completely shot, I wouldn't waste a dime trying to repair it. Shame since the rockers and floor pans look decent.

[Tiggie]

Yikes scarrrrrrry frame mang. You can fix it but as the others have said, it's probably hiding many sins you can't see. Or this is someone's hokey repair to an otherwise good frame - still warrants replacement imho.

Time for a frame swap.

[Mainemantom]

That is a real shame to see. It does not look promising however where there is a will, there is a way. It will take a talented welder to save it especially if there are other areas needing attention. If the rest of the car is really nice, it might be worth fixing.

[sly]

[His Royal Ghostliness]

If that had been caught quite a few years ago it could have been repaired easily - a 5ft long piece of channel spanning the entire length of the rail and stitch-welded onto every piece of good metal left would have been the way to go. Then whenever she goes under the knife for body mounts more plating and welding could and probably should have been done. Unfortunately this is not the way they chose to fix things, looking at the pics there's nothing left of the frame rail side walls to attach channel and plating to, they look paper thin. The way to fix this mess now would be to lift the body off the frame at least on that side, and essentially fabricate a whole new frame rail. Not impossible, but not a quick and easy one-day fix. Not cheap either...

[Hearsesrock427]

'98-'02 frame swap (not sure if the whale Grand Marqs got the 2 inch extension like the boxes did or if the frames for CV/TC/GMQ were all the same for that genration) is your most cost-effective solution. There are likely more '98-'02 panthers in local wrecking yards than box panthers. Which means you've got better odds of getting a nice donor for the swap.

But there are other benefits. It's an opportunity to replace the likely already shot to hell body mounts with aftermarket polyurethane mounts. There's no better time than during a frame swap. Also a '98-'02 frame is a better base to build off than box or aero frame. Because unlike the earlier frames, the '98-'02s let you use later control arms and other early whale suspension upgrades. Probably other benefits too others please chime in if I'm missing something here.

Most importantly, it'll have a lot more structural integrity than what you have on there. That is positively fucked. Like, worse than stuff I see in wrecking yards.

[nfldfordltd]

Another nice panther lost to frame rot. RIP.