77 frame rails

Did a 77 maverick have some sort of beefed up rear frame rail from just behind the rear arch to the bumper? I was cutting on a 77 this weekend to replace the rotted section and it is 2 layers in the rear section. I will call the "spliced" piece is on the inside, so not a quicky cap the old piece. kind of strange. also where the splice ends on the outside of the rail a piece of angled steel (not angle iron) is spot weld around the joint. I can post some pictures tomorrow. If anyone has a 77 could you look for this extra piece of steel, one both sides and at the back end of the wheel well. Curious if this normal. also wondering if a single rail will be strong enough or is some extra metal needed. Thanks

 

It might explain why 76-77s tend to be more rotted in the rear rails than other years...nothing scientific but in my searches of older Mavs it always seems the rails held up better on the older ones, and the 6's and 7's always seem to have worse rear rails. Maybe they felt the newer rails needed some beef for the heavier rear bumpers or for perceived crash rating improvement(?) My '76 was so rotted the shackle was through the trunk but my '71 has comparatively mint rear rails...and my '76 was a lower milage car...an extra layer might trap more salt and road junk and speed up corrosion...

 

I've got a 77, but the rear frame rails are fine.(but the car's only got 70K miles on it) The trunk floor above the right side is rotted thru in spots though. If I get a chance tomorrow I'll look for the part you're asking about.

 

I have a '77 but the car is sitting in snow...I know I dont have any rot in the rear at all except on body...not sure about extra framerails or stuff like that

 

Seems like all the '75+ cars rot out faster to me.

 

If you compare the rear, right where the bumper mounts, 77 are different than say a 73, and even a 74.
I once looked at buying a 77, and I noticed that they had some differences, but it's been so long, I forget. I never bought the car, it was a rot box.

 

I'd suspect the differences are due to the 5 mph bumper mounting.

 

the 5mph bumper "upgrade" makes sense. thanks for the input.

 

But 74's were the first year for the big bumpers, there is definitely a difference between a 74, and a 77 where the bumper mounts.