Restoration is supposed to be about returning something to new or like new condition. It can be done in varying degrees depending on the level of perfection desired, but with some muscle cars it can seem less like a restoration and more like a rebuild.

Muscle Car Restorations in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, has seen the full spectrum of restorations from little to no rust to needing to rebuild the entire car around the roof and firewall. Fortunately, Auto Metal Direct has the parts needed to save classic Mopar muscle in even the worst condition.

Still, if more of the original car can be saved there's less chance for any of the sheetmetal parts to end up out of place. This is especially true for the framerails, since they're one of the major foundational components and so many other parts reference off of them.

A case can also be made for simply wanting to save as much of the original car as is reasonably possible. And if you are a DIYer without a frame rack, the less invasive you can be during your restoration process, the greater your chance of complete success.

MCR often finds that repair can be more time and cost effective than automatically going the replacement route. Repair means the part stays in its original location and usually a lot of other parts can remain undisturbed as well.

With the front framerail and inner fender on this '72 Demon, MCR decided to repair the rust damage on the frame while they replaced the inner fender with a new AMD panel. The reason for doing these two at the same time will become apparent in a moment, but it comes down to always having a plan to maintain enough reference points to positively locate each part back to its precise original location.

See all 19 photos It's pretty easy to see how dirt, mud, road salt, and who knows what else could collect in areas like this and lead to the damage you see here. Not only is the top of the framerail rusted, but so are parts of the bottom of the shock tower.

See all 19 photos Here you can see the relationship among the frame, shock tower, and the inner fender. The inner fender and all the shock tower brackets will need to be removed to access the frame, but the new AMD inner fender panel will be fitted first to it can be used to relocate the shock tower.

See all 19 photos Since the inner fender locates the top of the core support, measurements are taken from the firewall to guarantee that the core support ends up back where it started.

See all 19 photos The inner fender is removed by simply drilling or grinding out all the spot-welds attaching it to the body.

See all 19 photos Fitting the inner fender is fairly easy since it has locating references all around it. MCR uses Cleco pins to hold it place, as it'll be removed to work on the framerail. Note the three pins around the shock tower area. They're attached to the shock tower and will be used to locate it after it and the frame are repaired.

See all 19 photos Another critical measurement to take is between the two shock mount holes. This will be used to double-check that the shock tower is returned to its exact original location.

See all 19 photos Be as surgical as possible with the cutting wheel when cutting the welds. Try to leave the bracket itself untouched and remove the entire shock tower assembly in one piece.

See all 19 photos With everything out of the way, it's easy to see how the damage was limited to the area under the shock tower bracket and even then just to the top section of the frame. The sides of the frame are fine.

See all 19 photos The first step to repair the frame is to cut out the damaged section so it can be used as a template to form a new part.

See all 19 photos Using the damaged area as a guide, MCR formed a new top frame section out of 14-gauge steel. Careful measurements and a standard metal break are all that are needed.

See all 19 photos Because the frame has a bit of a downward slope on one end, a stretcher is used to form the new part to match that curve.

See all 19 photos The new part will be ground where needed to match the contours of the original.

See all 19 photos MCR always prefers the original look of spot welds where possible. Note there are two plug welds where the new part is welded to reinforcing brackets inside the frame.

See all 19 photos There was also serious damage to the bottom of the shock tower brackets. A straight edge is used across the good parts to determine the exact length needed for these patches.

See all 19 photos With the repaired shock tower set back on the frame, the new inner fender is pinned back in place and then the shock tower is re-pinned to the inner fender positively locating it in its original position. After all the measurements are confirmed correct, it can be tacked in place.

See all 19 photos The inner fender will need to be removed again to access all the weld points. Once the final welding is complete the inner fender will be re-fitted and welded in place to complete the repair. The location of the frame itself and everything else that's attached to it remained undisturbed.