I purchased a very rare frame earlier this evening for cheap considering the minor detail of it being slightly bent. After a careful observation, the front horns do have a very subtle "S" bend in them from where the original vehicle was t-boned in the driver's side fender. I understand that a frame shop can fix it and bring it back to its proper originality, but I would love to see pictures of similar repairs done to other frames and entertain any stories of experience you may happen to tell.
Spend the money and have it done right and be done with it. It will save a lot of grief in the long run.
take it to a heavy truck alignment place they have the tools to straighten old frames just like bending I beam axles most old frames are very basic and can be checked with a tape measure and a level. leave the pro shops to fix the frames with all the car still attached
Hey, From the damage you describe, '' a very subtle ''S'' bend '' this did not come from being ''t-boned'' but from a front hit. A condition known as ''sidesway'' would be what one would find from a side impact. Frame damage conditions known as mash, sag, twist & dimond could all be present, and probably because the frame was never correctly straightened to begin with. A vehicle, especially one with a '' very rare frame '' with a bent or incorrectly straightened frame, will be hard on tires ,suspension pieces, and may be dangerious to drive Sorry, no pictures, only burnt fingers and mashed knuckles from doing these types of repairs over the years. " Life ain't no Disney movie "
When Lynn was still alive we had pots in the floor of the shop. If we got a wreck that the frame was seriously bent we sould tie it down and pull it with porta powers come-a-longs etc to get some of the big whoop de doos out before we went to the frame shop. The local frame shop would rent us a stall by the hour so we wanted to limit the amount of time spent in the frame shop. I drove an OT mini truck when I first came back to the states, I got it cheap from the wrecking yard because it had hit something that didn't move. Frame horn bent up @ about 30 degree angle, humped in the middle and cork screwed. We spent 4 hours in the shop getting a lot of the bad stuff out then 8 hours in the frame machine fine tunning it. It was late model so we had specs and we got everything within factory tolerance. It would not have happened without the frame machine.
Check with circle track racers; a lot of them will have pulling pots in floor; tie it down and start pulling/pushing it straight. As long as you have reference dimensions, and willing to work at it, you'll get it. But, it is work.
Those guys with good frame racks can do magic. The way they tie down the vehicle and swing those towers around, and pull just where needed. If you can find any specs for your "very rare frame" give them to a shop like that and the only way you will know where it was bent will be by the torch marks where it was heated to bend at the right place.
Did a truck frame that took a glancing blow when it rolled thru an intersection. Bent both frame horns about 60* to the left in front of the suspension cradle. Two guys about 6 hours on my buddy's frame machine. About 8 hrs getting it ready to pull, stripped of bent junk, set up chained down. We had to make some special stuff to do it but it came out perfect specs and very hard to detect any damage on a bare frame. Perfect panel alignment too. He said he would never do a job like that in his normal routine. Not rare, just perfect and rust free example other than the folded over horns.
Ahh, I fucken love you porknbeaner, you speak my language, "Give me the fucken tools! I'll fucken do it!!!
I have two 'pots' in the floor of my new shop. Each one has a VW rear torsion bar attached to a length of chain, the bars imbedded in a 1/2 yard of concrete below the main 6" floor pouring. They are 6 feet apart. I've straightened more frames that I like to remember, each one different. Freeman Auto Body in Merced does a bang up job straightening bent frames, reasonably priced. But I'm able to do some of the necessary stuff right here.
I trust in the power of a professional. The right tools fix the problem every time. Once I find a good shop in my area, I'll take my frame to them.
If it's just the front horns, I'd just use some big-ole C-clamps, angle iron and a rose-bud torch to get her back into shape. That's what I did with my horns on my '33 frame. The horns are only supporting a spreader bar after all, maybe a bumper?
I would either look for a frame shop or an alignment shop for over the road trucks. Look at what comes out the door and make sure that they understand that this is an important irreplaceable piece.
I cross measured it, and its off all the way back. It's off by at least a quarter to a half of an inch.
A genuine shortwide C10 frame from the model year of 1972. I had one that was perfect all the way back and sold it believing at the time that I didn't need it. I didn't listen to the voice in my head that was screaming at me to keep it. The only smart thing that I did was strip the straight one of all of its suspension, so the good news is that I have straight suspension pieces for this frame once it is straightened. I'm not entirely retarded only the part that counts.
Ha, the one I did was for 73-87 c10. Also squirrel just posted a frame spec sheet for those in another thread.
Oh nice. You shouldn't have much trouble finding a shop to straighten that out. I thought it was for a Deusenberg, or something odd/rare like that.
Damn, Those were always a B*TCH they always diamond and twist. Good luck. As I said earlier, todays frame racks can do wonders. They usually twisted up more than a I wanted to fix in my shop. I could see where it was bent, but never had enough places to hold it down.
You will definitely need a frame machine for that one. You will more than likely also encounter a collapsed engine crossmember, , a twisted sector shaft in the steering gearbox . These conditions were well known even in slight side sways.
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