Thanks for the info, Tommy.
Ive been searching for a decent answer to this problem for a while so your help is much appreciated. The frame retails at £500 (overpriced for a robot built aluminum frame) so it would be nice to have it repaired. However, 2nd hand frames of the same standard can be picked up for around £150-£200 and I have already got a new frame to replace the damaged one. I wanted to see if it is possible to repair an alloy frame and I would still like to go down this path - im not looking for the frame to be brought back to its former glory just repaired so it is safe and ridable (the frame still rides with considerable strength, surprisingly!)
The tubes are hydro formed so the simplest method (i think?) would be to find a replacement tube, remove the old tube and weld the new tube in, trouble is finding an exact replacement tube - almost impossible i fear. The top tube has been crushed which resulted in kinking and a nice crack/split in the metal so I doubt it can be re-worked? So the next best solution I think would be to have a new piece of alloy tube welded in. This would involve taking the old welded cable guide mounts removed and welded onto the new tube and creating similar diameters as the old tube for the new tube. I also assume the frame will need to have the powder coat removed before any work can take place (sand blasted?)
I agree this needs to be done by a professional frame builder, it would be great if you could put me in touch with the Ti frame builder - even if he does say it can't be done that will at least be closure for me :)
Thanks again!
Andy.