Ok, first of all, sorry for not having pictures and can certainly add them this weekend, but...

I have a 65 fastback that i am in the process or tearing down. The car is rusty and it had a small crack in the transition pan last year. Now that i am back on it this year, i noticed the crack is about 1 inch longer than it was before. Not sure why this is happening...

The crack is on the opening where the shocks are mounted and it continues down. It is behind the crossmember so i cannot see it from the bottom of the car.

Ever seen anything like this?

 

Cracks in the towers...?

 

I can only imagine the transition pan being the sheetmetal between the rear floor and the trunk. If not, please clarify.

Cracks around the upper shock mounts on the "transition pan" in this area are very common and are usually seen on cars that have/had air shocks installed.

Dave

 

The transition pan is the section of the floor where the rear shocks connect to the unibody. It is the piece between the floor and the trunk.

 

Ok, I was thrown off when you said shocks... Davesanborn is correct. I have seen a few cars that have been reinforced in that area because of air shocks and then they still use air shocks.

 

Well then yes, cracks around the upper shock mount holes in the transition pan are not uncommon. If the crack is not eminating from around the existing mount hole, then this is uncommon.

Most repairs to this area consist of welding up any existing cracks.... and then welding in a large washer/plate to strengthen the area around the mount hole.

Cars that have utilized air shocks are almost guaranteed to have cracks around the mount holes. The area around the mount hole was never designed to be "load bearing".

Good Luck!
Dave

 

Thanks for the tips!!!