Rusted Framerails?

[Rodney]

Someone here is selling a 240sx that im interested in but there is a problem. Im quoting here what the owner said... "On the downside has rusted framerails that have collapsed a little bit from me jacking the car up. It has not affected the ride quality of the vehicle though." Now to me it seems this would be a little unsafe, because they could completely collapse say if hit on that side, now maybe im thinking too hard about the "worst-case scenario" but it does sound bad. What i am asking is if this is fixable (i.e. cut and weld in better frame tubing/section), and is it worth it in the long run (car is selling for $500) or if something like this is taken to the junkyard and i need to look for another 240sx (in that case can someone answer my post in the car sale section, im looking for 240sx 89-94 thats running, has 5 spd, and is $500-$1500, and i live in Elizabeth, NJ so i need it to be near me).

[gumby]

check the base of the driverside strut tower. thats the weak spot. theres something like a dozen spot welds there. if it separates from the frame rail it wont hold an alignment. offhand i would say dont even bother. or at least get it onto an over head lift check every inch with a jack handle. its always worse than it looks. its really not worth the effort to restore if its too far gone.

[s13sr20chris]

do you have a weldor? do you have something else to drive while the car is down? are you squeemish about stripping everything off and putting it all back?

the answers should be yes, yes, and no. if not, stay clear.