Oct 2004 ------- //////////The Upper Control arm litterally ripped itself from the frame. It took with it, the bolts and the two holed cross piece that adjusts the toe in or camber or what have you//// ========= Yes, that area is a weak spot on earlier frames. When rebushing my '56 Power Hawk, I place large reinforcing washers underneath to spread stress. Later frames have a doubler to do the same thing. I believe that is similar to the problem that Nate had with his '56J. He might have pictures on how exactly his repair was made. Fortunately for me, my frame was undamaged and I intend to keep it that way, thus the use of large washers... ----------------- Possibly too big of a tire and/or just plain old metal fatigue. I had the exact same failure on my car and I had the welder put a "doubler" underneath where it doesn't show to reinforce the area. Seems Stude did just that on the later models. ----- I too experienced the exact same problem some years ago on my 56 Parkview. Later frames had a re-inforcement plate under that section of the cross member. The 56's seem to be prone to that breakage. Not really a big deal...if you can weld. Fred ----------- If the metal is still there you probably don't need the lower plate. The tech will have to heat the area and hammer it back in place anyway to know exactly where the holes should be. Then have him weld the cracks shut and grind them flat again. Take a piece of 3/16 steel about 2 1/2 inches wide and long enough to extend past the tears that were repaired. Drill two holes the exact same size and spacing as the holes in the cross shaft. Drill a few other small holes in the plate where they wont interfere with the cross shaft sitting flat. Bolt that plate exactly centered on the existing holes and weld it all around and spot weld the random holes. Remove the bolts and your ready to bolt the arm back in place. Don't use the bolts for welding that you use for final assembly because of the heat. ------- Bill, This really isn't a "huge" repair. What most likely happened- is that during a previous (front end) rebuild- The nuts were not lock-tighted on the bolts. There is a lockwasher supposed to be used, but that may not have been enough to hold the bolts tight. They loosened up- and pulled through the shock-tower. I hope your service center is reputable. This is NOT a difficult (or $$$) repair at all- and the only thing that needs removed is the shock absorber, upper outer pin and bushings, and the upper control arm itself. There's plenty of room in there to work on that upper tower..