Sub Frame Connectors to straighten out a bent frame

I just took off the second front fender, and noticed that someone had put it on with thick washers under a couple of the bolts and a flat-stock spacer under another.

When I took the first fender off, I noticed that someone had used a blow torch to cut the antenna hole larger in the hidden piece of reinforcing steel.

SO, I am led to believe that this car has been crushed more than it appears. I am the second owner and have been under the assumption that the dents in the fenders that are visible are all the damage that it has ever recieved, but apparently, these are the second set of fenders.

The frame where the fenders are mounted "appear" straight.

So, my frame is PROBABLY bent. I have mickey-moused the suspension to get it to set level. I want sub frame connectors.

Am I at a good point to take it in for a frame allignment and just have them add the sub frame connectors, or is there a better alternative that I could do?

 

I definately would not put the sub frame connectors on unless you are positive it's straight. I don't really know, but common sense tells me it would be a good idea to make sure it's straight first. Pull out the phone book and start calling around to the collision places in your area... I haven't had much luck finding a place that wants to mess with cars this old.

 

Fenders had shimms on them from the factory

 

OK, shims, possibly from factory. Still, my other fender had that hole blow torched into it.

I know the original owner (wife's great grand mother) ran the car into garage walls a couple of times before she gave up driving and ended up in the nursing home. I always assumed my fenders were stock, but I am thinking otherwise the further into this restoration I get.

I guess I better do a little more research into body allignments before I get too much further into this project and start to paint....

 

Do Some Mesure Ments See How Straight It Is Sorry My Spelling Is $hitty That Wont Lie Find

 

I found generic square-stock subframe connectors in Summitt for like $80. I might just buy a set for that price.

As for measuring...I am not a body man (I am a leg and butt man ) so I will let someone else measure my frame. I know I lean 1" or so when all other variables are taken into account (ie. replaced with new parts).

Correcting my lean has been a 3-year long and expensive endeavor...If I start to mess with the frame, I will let experts do the "messin'".

Meanwhile, back at the farm

 

Check with Chassis Engineering they have custom ones for around $100. I believe Rudy Bidlack (spelling???) is advertising sets he makes in Shorthorns.

 

A frame shop would be your friend right now.

 

I need a friend right now :Handshake

 

i thought i WAS your friend. sorry no frame shop

 

Ed, do you have the setup to straighten out my frame? I have you on my calendar to paint the car, but I didn't know you could allign a frame

 

i cant. thought you just needed a friend.

 

HA! Sorry but that just made me laugh out loud. In all seriousness though, if your un-sure, I'd just spend whatever it costs at a good and reputable frame shop to get it "checked" before you go in and make that chassis ultra stiff as it sits.

 

You guys wouldn't believe how far the front frame rails are bent on mine. When I leveled the car, the right side (pass side) was 5" from the floor at the front, the left was over 7". Nothing I could do about it, so I just lived with it. From a side view, you can literally see where a shop attempted to pull the frame back to shape, you can see near the steering box bolt holes where the bend started. When I bought the car, the whole left side was beat up pretty good..appeared to have gone into a ditch. The right side had some .22 bullet holes in the fender and a nasty dent in the door, but other than that I couldn't see anything else wrong. I found the bent rail when I was doing the backhalf and M2 front suspension. Once I saw it, I thought about a little bit, then just proceeded to weld in the crossmember and not worry with it. It drives great.

 

It drives fine like that? My Grabbers frame is off 7 inches at the worst part. They wouldn't let me drive it home after the wreck because of it and when I did drive it down an old back road it definately did not drive very good. I don't see how you could get the car back together and not have it look all out of whack. I tried sticking another set of fenders on my Grabber and it was all wrong.