This is the driver's side rear shackle connected to a very rusty part of my car that has been horribly patch welded:




I was just by a guy's shop today and he says that somewhere under all that mess is a part that was welded to the car itself that has a cross section like this:



He can't remember what the part is called, but he says I probably need it. He's willing to help me patch where the shackle meets the body, but does anyone know what the name of the part is he's talking about, where (or if) I could find one and do I really need one? Is it something easy to fabricate, or are we better off hunting down a replacement. I really don't care about how the underside looks. I just need it to be solid.

And yes, I know the shackles are hideous, and most likely doing more harm than good. I had nothing to do with them. I'm thinking I may need to order four more when I order new springs from ESPO.

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Chuck and the Flying Valiant

The shackles look fine,,,,,you should see how wimpy new ones look.

The patch itself does not look bad (or good).....why are you messing with this? Is there something else wrong?

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

The flat picture you have is a portion of the top assembly--hinge. It was attached to the frame box by 2 bolts- then your shackle would mount to that top tube for the top assy. - it looks like a previous repair welded it to the frame box mounting area.
As was said earlier -it looks ok--- leave that alone (check the welds & mounting area for strength)

Lawrence

Okay, thanks for the tips. I may see if we can shore that area up a little more. I really don't care how it looks as long as it works. I've got to stop hanging out with all these "strip-it-to-nothing-and-rebuild-to-factory-specs" guys.

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Chuck and the Flying Valiant

Drive that sucker. Could use maybe a bit more patching around the outside of the perch, but probably not worth bothering with.

Sandy hasn't seen anything that rust free in decades. FL folks are spoiled!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

There's a repair kit if you have too much money in your budget:

http://www.autorust.com/k_15.html

Whew! That's okay. I think I'll see about patching.

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Chuck and the Flying Valiant