Thread: New guy with unfortunate project

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Sounds like good advice. Are these things easy to straighten?

it depends. If this were a regular passenger car, a body or frame shop would put it on a frame alignment machine, chain it down, and start using factory diagrams of what the frame should spec out at, and then pull the frame with big hydraulic pullers and jacks to get it straight.

On a custom frame like this, the procedure will probably be more specialized, and your local body shop wouldn't have a clue how to do it, or even want to do it. So, you can either take it to a rod builder in your area, who can put it on his jig, or, if you feel capable, you can do a pretty good job of checking it yourself.

What this would entail is laying the bare frame on an absolutely flat, level surface, leveling the frame in all directions, then taking measurements in every direction to see if it is not tweaked and square. It would be a two person job, one on each end of the tape measure and string, and triangulating the frame in every direction to see if it is dead on. It isn't a terribly tough job, just takes some common sense and math skills.

Not trying to be an alarmist on this issue, but anytime a car is involved in any kind of wreck, especially one with injuries like your Dad sustained, the frame is automatically suspect.

Then, once you determine it is ok, you can start putting on the new stuff you plan to add.


JMO,

Don