Register now to get rid of these ads!

How exactly do you straighten a frame with a come-along?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Deuce Rails, Oct 20, 2004.

  1. Deuce Rails
    Joined: Feb 1, 2002
    Posts: 2,016

    Deuce Rails
    Member

    I was looking at the Building a Frame without a Table thread.

    I've always heard that you could straighten or tweak a frame with a come-along, but I've never seen it done. What do you anchor the come-along to, and how do you secure the frame?

    I'm probably missing something simple, right?

    --Matt
     
  2. jalopy43
    Joined: Jan 12, 2002
    Posts: 3,085

    jalopy43
    Member Emeritus

    Use it to square up diamond shaped frame frame rails. Left rear to righr front etc. used with a block in the middle (like a bow) it can pull up or down a warp. Maybe someone with drawing skills ,can show what I mean. Sparky
     
  3. Bruce Lancaster
    Joined: Oct 9, 2001
    Posts: 21,681

    Bruce Lancaster
    Member Emeritus

    Some outside forces can be exerted too, if you can find a close enough approach to an Immovable Object.
    Por ejemplo, attach puller to ring set in concrete floor, block up frame so bend points UP, and pullit down. Same thing it jack and frame chained to floor to go other way.
    other tech: Get a length of reallydamnstout I beam at junk yard. Chain rail to I beam, jack between beam and rail.
    Body work tech--C-section frame rail bends--one surface of the three bends with force, other two surfaces buckle or bulge. Hammer bulges/wrinkles down while exerting force with jack or hoist on rail--beating down the deformities causes straightening on all fronts.
    Get smaller but stout piece of beam at junkyard--bolt it to bent section and use leverage. A 5 or 10 foot piece of channel exerts absolutely amazing leverage force.
    There is available a relatively cheap (~&120) jack of the friction washer type (like stock '40 Ford jack) with long mast and various hooks to push/pull in just this sort of thing. Poor man's Portapower.
     
  4. Bruce Lancaster
    Joined: Oct 9, 2001
    Posts: 21,681

    Bruce Lancaster
    Member Emeritus

    A real bodyshop straightening rig is basically a set of stout floor anchorages, a couple big I beams, and a large collection of hooks,pincers/chains and hydraulic pusher/puller devices. Bondage for your car.
    You can buy a cheap substitute rig that is a large I-beam on casters to allow many kinds of creative reactive violence.
    A creative, violent, and stubborn person can find a way to bend almost anything with far less.
    Don't forget that cheap imported portapower clones are cheap enough to pat for themselves in one major repair.
     
    lewk likes this.

  5. Bruce Lancaster
    Joined: Oct 9, 2001
    Posts: 21,681

    Bruce Lancaster
    Member Emeritus

    And go read the classics: Archimedes..."GIVE ME A PLACE TO STAND AND I WILL MOVE THE EARTH".
    Make a misstep, however, and you'll be explaining to the wife how the house got tipped ovr...


     
  6. Broman
    Joined: Jan 31, 2002
    Posts: 1,487

    Broman
    Member
    from an Island

    I have to mirror what Bruce has already said. A real frame staightening rack has a bunch of different do-dads to torture a frame with. From pulling outward to pushing inward. From bending down to torquing and everyting in between.

    You might be able to do some minor adjustments at home, and hopefully that's all you need to do. I guess that I can assume that you aren't rebuilding a car that has been hit so you are probably going to be able to do what you need to.

    Which brings up the question, what do you need to do?
     
  7. also paying the frame shop to clamp it and do the straightening isnt such a bad deal as they can not only do more with their better equiptment but are less likely to do any [more] damage than a novice[might].
    also the speed enabled by their experience may result in a reasonable dollar figure even at 70 bucks an hour/probably with a minimum charge to fixture it up first..........
     
  8. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,627

    The37Kid
    Member

    One thing that stood out in a MG-TC restoration book was using the garage door opening as a fixture to correct bent frames. Jacks and blocks were used to push frame rails into alignment, using the floor and base of the opening. This would work with a poured foundation a lot better than cement block.
     
  9. Blownolds
    Joined: Mar 31, 2001
    Posts: 2,335

    Blownolds
    Member
    from So Cal

    I'm thinking it might be easier to use either a Port-a-power, or a "monkey-on-a-stick" frame straightening jack from the inside, rather than pulling from the outside. Especially if you do not have anchors in the concrete floor. Don't use your garage walls, or you may break the 2x4's!
     
  10. Dirty Dug
    Joined: Jan 11, 2003
    Posts: 3,712

    Dirty Dug
    Member

    How about a fire hydrant and a really long cable? Hell, it worked in American Graffitte. Straightened that cop car right out.
     
  11. Deuce Rails
    Joined: Feb 1, 2002
    Posts: 2,016

    Deuce Rails
    Member

    [ QUOTE ]
    And go read the classics: Archimedes..."GIVE ME A PLACE TO STAND AND I WILL MOVE THE EARTH".
    Make a misstep, however, and you'll be explaining to the wife how the house got tipped over...

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Bruce knows how I work!

    Thanks for all the posts, guys. At some point in the past, my 32 hit something on the driver's side, which put a slight outward bulge on the driver's side frame rail, between the radiator and the firewall.

    I used a plumb and checked on how square the whole thing was. I can't remember the figures, but I wasn't too worried by the results. The post on come-alongs piqued my interested again.

    I'll probably do one of three things:
    1 Nothing
    2 Take it to a professional frame straightening shop
    3 Try to rig up my own hydraulic press out of a jack or two and a sandwich of angle iron, and press in on the center, similar to what Blownolds is suggesting.

    So far, I'm doing nothing, at least while I have other stuff to tackle. To paraphrase choprods and Hippocrates, at the least I'll do no harm. To the car or to my house. The less I have to explain to the wife, the better!

    --Matt
     
  12. Bruce Lancaster
    Joined: Oct 9, 2001
    Posts: 21,681

    Bruce Lancaster
    Member Emeritus

    My first real straightening job involved a friend's bent GTO, a Saginaw ball-screw bumper jack, a piece of chain, and a sewer grate supporting the jack/anchoring chain that held car's bumper bracket to the earth. Use municipal bending fixtures whenever possible, as repair and replacement are free.
    Also remember you are dealing with huge forces here--a failed chain or bolt will exit the premises at high velocity, not bothering to slow down if your skull is in the way.
    DR, can you scan that deuce frame straightening article? It was real home tech by either Pete or Jake, and would interest a lot of people. I don't scan, as I'm only one level up from Amish tech.
     
  13. Deuce Rails
    Joined: Feb 1, 2002
    Posts: 2,016

    Deuce Rails
    Member

    [ QUOTE ]
    Use municipal bending fixtures whenever possible, as repair and replacement are free.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    That's good! [​IMG]

    I'll scan the article when I get a chance, which will be sometime next week. That's a great suggestion.
     

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.