Bent Frame fix? and Body work price advice

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dudeman

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hope mills, nc
Ok, so I've got my 67 notch almost completely torn apart. I'm sitting there today smoking and notice that the drivers frender is sitting higher than the passenger. What the hell? I say. I get out the tape and level and sure enough the rail is about 2 inches higher at the front drivers corner. Can this be fixed? Or do I need to scrap it and start with a different car, which I really don't want to do. I don't like to think about good american cars getting crushed. One other question I'll roll up in here. About how much do you think is fair to have my car taken down to bare metal, quarter skins welded in, spare tire well, welded, tubbed w/spring relocation, floorpans, front inner fender, and now fixin the frame, with a kick-*** paint job? A guy told me that he could get a good start for 5k, which if it is fair OK, but that will take a loooooong time for me to save up.
 
FIX IT! sure the torsion bars are not off side to side,or level floor or anything like a flat tire(i gotta say it cause some would look past it) Im sure your right on the sides being different though, take it to a local frame shop and have them tell you what they could do and get a quote/fix it. I would say if your getting all that work done for 5k(in labor, including supplies) you are getting a hell of a deal, i think it would/should be more then that, since you want it tubbed and all IMO. But depends on the job being done, do you want it laser straight and car show winning, cause you'll spend that easy.

too bad you dont live closer, my dad does frame repair very resonable, and i work a body shop that is also very good in pricing and quality.
 
Yes, floor is level. checked that as well as the levelness of the frame just in front of the firewall. I've got the wheels, brakes, etc. off the front end and on jackstands. The torsion bars are still in but not under load, I didn't think that would affect it. I do have a flat tire on the rear passenger, which kind of makes sense that it would torque the opposite side up in front, but I thought that would be odd. Maybe if I'm lucky that is all it is. Next weekend (maybe sooner) I'll jack the rear up and put it on stands to see if it levels up. Thanks for the info, that is why I love this site. I don't know jack, but there are plenty of folks that do and always get back quickly. THanks fellas.
 
68383GTS said:
To have it done right 15K or better unless you know someone..
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15k just for body work?! Holy crap! I plan on doing all the reassembly myself. I just need a pro to do all the fab work and give me a solid/rust free body to put stuff back in. Still think 15? I better go butter up my Beautiful wife, she supports the project, but I don't know about this much money.
 
the torsion bars will sit not level if they are stock. more weight on the drivers side and with torque twist it will wear out one side a lil more. i would take it to the frame shop and see if it is bent if you are worried about it but i bet with full tires and t-bars out it will be level
 
dudeman said:
I better go butter up my Beautiful wife, she supports the project, but I don't know about this much money.
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If my wife had any idea what I have spent on parts alone she would kill me and I haven't started working on it yet. When I do the parts are here and ready.
 
tyler_s18 said:
the torsion bars will sit not level if they are stock. more weight on the drivers side and with torque twist it will wear out one side a lil more. i would take it to the frame shop and see if it is bent if you are worried about it but i bet with full tires and t-bars out it will be level
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I hope you are right brother. Hookin it up no later than next weekend.
 
dudeman said:
15k just for body work?! Holy crap! I plan on doing all the reassembly myself. I just need a pro to do all the fab work and give me a solid/rust free body to put stuff back in. Still think 15? I better go butter up my Beautiful wife, she supports the project, but I don't know about this much money.
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I think he was referring to the frame needing work, panel replacement, and the "kick *** paint job" you want. You could get it done for less probably, but it really depends on the level of work you expect, who you know, materials used, etc. etc etc
 
dudeman said:
I hope you are right brother. Hookin it up no later than next weekend.
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ya me to lol. and if not getting the frame straightened is not bad. it will still be safe and all and cant be to expensive if its just a lil off. on new cars the spec is it can be off like 1 to 3mm i believe for a general spec. one inch is 2.54 mms so maby even if it is off they will say its no big deal. i am not for sure on those numbers but i am pretty positive

i was way off dont listen to most of this post i got mm and cm confused lol
 
o ya ya y alol i thgought that sounded wrong lol its 2.54 cm lol lol well i bet its still within specs. my bad
 
I had the same exact problem on a car i bought.Didnt know it when i bought it. I fixed it myself and it came out perfect. I made my own gadjet and puled it with a cumalong. so it can be done with good rezalts.If you want i can post some pitchers of the job if you want to try it yourself.
 
look on top of the inner fender where it meets the cow. it would also be pushed in their. if it is thats more proof of frame damadge.
 
a lot of the work restoring a car is unskiled hard labor such as removeing paint and cleaning the under side. you can save a lot of money doing that stuff yourself.
 
cudaman51 said:
I had the same exact problem on a car i bought.Didnt know it when i bought it. I fixed it myself and it came out perfect. I made my own gadjet and puled it with a cumalong. so it can be done with good rezalts.If you want i can post some pitchers of the job if you want to try it yourself.
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That would be really cool. And thanks for the word about unskilled labor. When I get the rear up, I'm going to put it on a rolling frame so I can get under and start scraping undercoating with my heatgun. I also think I'm going to take a stab at doing the tubs and pans myself. My buddy lent me his welder. Last time I welded was with an Arc welder, so I'll have to get some practice in.
 
You said car taken down to bare metal,rear quarters put on,wheel tire well welded in,floor pans put in,springs relocated,front inner fender replaced,possible frame work and a kick *** paint job right?? To have it done right 15k or better.Just watch it there are alot of crooked body shops.Investigate the body shop first and do not give them to much money up front.Check on the progress of the car weekly. Jim
 
think about roticary check my posts their are lots of pitchers. they are worth their weight in gold.
 
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