Help a future boler owner?

[Liz in PDX]

Hello -
I am considering purchasing a '75 boler Honey. I have a few concerns.

Unfortunately not the sharpest photos - these are cracks in the frame.



Here's the connection trailer to frame



And a dimple / crack above the driver's side wheel


If more or different pics or videos would be best let me know - Honey is parked right around the corner from me.....so close.

[Ian G.]

You are looking at major repairs to the frame, the trouble with repairing a frame in this condition is first making sure the frame is straight, flat and parallel, any misalignment will cause ongoing problems with the body. Also any repair or patch will transfer the load and stress to the area next to the patch and another crack will probably start soon. Best to build a new frame to extend the life of this Boler another 40+ years

[Liz in PDX]

Thanks Ian!
So likely $1000-$2000 to build a new frame, yes?
Inspecting the underside of The Honey I notice it's not two identical parellel braces on the frames - (as picture in your Buyer's Guide, rather it seems more...uniquely constructed? I've looked around to learn if the boler Honey frame is distinctively ....more costly to build...but haven't learned anything about this so far. Any insights?
Again, thank you SO much for composing and sharing the resources to give this novice a crash course in boler.

This feels like falling in love...I'm infatuated and nervous about The Honey and I want to explore a long term relationship - haha!

[Jeaniet]

My friend had the same problem...if it is straight you can just add the leaf type of steel with some welding. He and I had a long conversation about this at Minnesota s Back to the fifties car show.he put this rounded type of weld ov crack...must be a design issue with the bolers.he actually cut a rounded end and welded it right over the crack. Has towed it hundreds of miles with no problem.