Twisted chassis help.

[cavemanno1]

Hi guys!

A friend of mine has bought a smashed up ,rusted out basket case '70 Cuda and I'm trying to find the measurement for the front end.Found the chassis drawing but that doesn't show the front end.His car was hit very hard from the passanger side and it's rusted out to bits anyway.He has all new inner fenders,shock towers but needs to know the measurement.
If someone has these reference numbers that shows the frame rails,radiator core support's  position and whatever else he could use to make it straight could you post it here please?

Thank you

[Cuda Cody]

Best to find a collision shop that can put it on a frame rack to check and straighten it.

[anlauto]

Looks like a good project. Can't you take the measurements off of your car ?

[Dmod1974]

Best to find a collision shop that can put it on a frame rack to check and straighten it.

Totally agree, if at all possible.  I chased tails trying to level out and measure my car and it ended up being caused by a horribly poured floor.  To give you an idea of how bad it is, my garage has a drain in the center of it and the floor slopes AWAY from it, instead of TOWARD it!  It's as useful as a s#&$ flavored lollipop.

After I moved the chassis to a flat(ter) area, I found out that it was much more square than I initially thought.  Also, using a tape measure is difficult to get reliable height measurements from some of the points.

[JS29]

Send it to a shop with a bench type frame straightening system. if they don't have specs use your car. make sure they have a laser measuring setup. It's always best to pull before the old parts are removed.   

[cavemanno1]

Hi,
My car is 100 miles away from the shop where this Cuda is going to be built.
I could take measurements but a detailed drawing would be much better.
They are going to put it on a frame but they need to know the exact numbers.

Thanks

[JS29]

another option, find a local frame shop close to you, they should be able to make a print out of your car. though they will more than likely charge you to do that. I am not sure if the modern laser systems have de-mentions that go back that far. 

[7E-Bodies]

If you're set up for it, consider building a jig to the specs on the diagram (I did, so it's not too tough). Then have some brawn over to help transfer the car onto it. As you said, never trust your concrete to be level.

[jimynick]

The cars are symmetrical, so use the dimensions in the chart and make the dimensions the same for both sides and all in the same plane. It's pretty straight forward and a good frame man shouldn't have too many problems accomplishing it. As for using a tape being a problem, back in the day I had a pair of hardware store plumb bobs that I used a bent piece of wire and and some string to "shoot" the measuring points down where you could accurately measure them with a tape. Today most shops have tram gauges with adjustable pointers that will do the same thing. Measure, measure and then, measure again and you'll be fine. 

[rhamson]

I found my frame on my '72 Chally had a bent frame and tried to find someone in my area to bend it back. They all said that it was a unibody and that they were not able to work on it. HELLO virtually all new cars are unibodies. So I made my own level table and measured it to find out what I needed to do to get it back to specs. I found it was 3/4" high on the passenger frame at the bumper. I set up three 2 x 12's the length of the car and bolted them up to the rear shackle mounts with a fabricated bracket and made a cradle for the front to use a bottle jack to pull it back down. It worked well. I don't know if you can do the same as your car will probably need a pull sideways but depending if you can secure the frame from the side and pull it the other way you may be able to rig something up.

[JS29]

One problem with our E-bodies is with out torque box's, the pinch weld area isn't strong enough for a hard pull. perimeter clamps are what is needed on a bench system. When using a floor system, you also must secure the rear at the side to prevent the car from trying to rotate or spin around. For every action there is a reaction.    

[rhamson]

One problem with our E-bodies is with out torque box's, the pinch weld area isn't strong enough for a hard pull. perimeter clamps are what is needed on a bench system. When using a floor system, you also must secure the rear at the side to prevent the car from trying to rotate or spin around. For every action there is a reaction.

Yeah that is my concern that the side pull will be difficult for him also. But I had already installed torque boxes and subframe connectors before I discovered my frame was bent. I had to cut them loose and then reweld them once the pull was done. I also gusseted the frame where it used to be bent on both sides. With the US Cartool frame system and the gusseting she is one stout frame.