Hello!
I'm new to this site, so forgive me if I preface my request with too long of a backstory. I'm a 240 owner from New England, and while I love the weather here, 20-odd years of Northeastern winters have not been kind to the car. The other day I took it in to the mechanic for some routine brake work, and when he put it up on the lift, the undercarriage was more reminiscent of a termite nest than a chassis. He told me it was already unsafe and would not pass inspection in its' present condition. I immediately went online to look for replacements (As a 240 owner, failure is not an option), but to my horror found simple rails and cross members selling for hundreds each, and a brand new undercarriage totaling in the thousands before labor (Note: I DO have a friend with equipment who will do the installation for beer). As much as I love my car, I couldn't find anything that wasn't prohibitively expensive. The shame in this is that the rest of the car has been well maintained since my dad drove it off the lot, 37 years ago. So on to the question: Does anybody have experience rebuilding a 240 undercarriage? Even if not, is there somewhere I can get these parts cheaply, say under $500 total?

(PS - I will even consider making these from metal plates if I have to. Can someone tell me the gauge/thickness and type of metal used?)

Thanks,
Zoidberg