My 74 Euro Pantera came with damage to the rear cross member. A previous owner used the bare cross member as a jack point many times and did not use a simple 2x4 wood block to avoid damage. Repeated jacking bent the seam weld flat and deformed much of the bottom of the crossmember.
Each time I used the rear crossmember as jack point, I used a rubber puck to avoid additional damage. I also cringed each time I looked at it. Then I got some new jack stands and the car made them look bow legged when sitting on them because the crossmember was so bent. That was the last straw and I proceeded to fix it.
I got a 1/2" x 2-1/2" steel flat bar and cut it to fit the bottom of the cross member. I used big vice grips to bend the seam welded flange back into place. Then massaged metal here and there to get the flat bar to sit nicely. Welding was then done with the flat bar temporarily screwed into place. After grinding and flap discing everything, I filled the welds with fiberglass bondo followed by regular bondo and paint. The cross member is much better now.
