Good point. Hey Rick, what do you define as SAG? When you say the alignment isnt close...in what way?? Toe, chamber, etc... What is the wheel base...??
I can probably get you frame dimensions for your car (I would have to dig through a pile of old books). If the front of the frame does have sag, with the doors and fenders not lining up, the damage on the frame is probably in the kickup area under the firewall. Other then wheel base settings, that will probably not affect your alignment unless both rails are different. Like I said before, I wouldnt have anyone do any pulls on your car unless they setup and measure it first and can point to the issue and show you what is wrong. Roarke From: jimthompso...@gmail.com To: chevelle-list@chevelles.net Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:31:26 -0400 Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] Frame Alignment Pull the whole front clip in one piece. You need to really see what is going on. Unless the car has been wrecked. There should be no reason for sag. You got a problem that will only get worse if you just start pulling on it. You changed upper arms. New bushings in the lower? Stock spinals? Original springs? Ball joints? From: chevelle-list-boun...@chevelles.net [mailto:chevelle-list-boun...@chevelles.net] On Behalf Of Rick Schaefer Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 8:01 PM To: countryroad...@yahoo.com; The Chevelle Mailing List Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] Frame Alignment I should have been more specific about the mounts. They are going to loosen the frame mount, but said the rubber could still tear. How I'm not sure? He was concerned about their age ( 10 years or so). Now my question back at you - If they REMOVED the mounts - what supports the front of the motor? How do I know there is sag? First 2 different shops could not achieve near the recommended alignment #'s after my Global West Upper Control Arm conversion. Even with MOOG Frame-Saver offset cross shafts. Also - yes the door/fender gaps on both sides have never been right & the hood/fender gaps are off too. I'm wanting to go for paint later this spring and want this to be the last paint it needs. On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 6:40 PM, Josh Campbell <countryroad...@yahoo.com> wrote: Dang I'm glad I read this before I replied, you hit the nail on the head, especially the fact of taking the motor mounts off if they are afraid of ripping them. Josh Campbell The Body Shop (606) 265-5301 66 SS 396 (Black on the rotisseree, 1st car never part with it) 66 SS 396 (Red got it on a trade I only wanted the steering wheel) 87 Monte Carlo SS Sadly sold it guy offered me more than I thought it was worth 71 Malibu FOR SALE NEED MORE SPACE IN THE SHOP!!!!! --- On Tue, 3/10/09, ROARKE PONCE <rvaepo...@q.com> wrote: From: ROARKE PONCE <rvaepo...@q.com> Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] Frame Alignment To: "The Chevelle Mailing List" <chevelle-list@chevelles.net> Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 4:46 PM I am a Shop Manager for a Body Shop in Oregon, and I have some questions for you. How do you know it has some Sag? How much Sag is there? Is the sheetmetal aligned with the frame as it is? If they are pulling hard enough to possibly tear the motor mounts, they need to remove the mounts, no need to damage good parts because of being too lazy to do it right. Asking if 6-7 hours is OK is like going to a grocery store and asking the Manager "How much is a bag of groceries?". Beats me, don't know the particulars of whats in the bag. Same thing here, how far off is the frame? How much time is needed to remove and reinstall any trim, sheetmetal or mechanical parts that are in the way? Etc... Hope this helps, Roarke Ponce Shop Manager Excel Auto Body, LLC 541-880-0522 fax 541-850-5231 excelautob...@e-isco.com I-CAR Platinum Individual ASE Master Tech Repair, Refinish and Estimating Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:23:52 -0500 From: ric...@gmail.com To: chevelle-list@chevelles.net Subject: [Chevelle-list] Frame Alignment The frame on my 72 el camino has some sag. I've never been able to get the recommended alignment specs to optimize the installed Global West Upper control arms. I finally found a body shop in this city who still has the PRINTED books with the necessary specs. Shop is a semi-retired father and son. They did collision work on my Jeep 12-15 years ago. And it looked good for the 6-8 years I kept the car so I have a bit of confidence in them. What do I need to question them on/ask them to check - to ensure a thorough job? They said its a 6-7 hour job - sound reasonable? Also said that its possible that the motor mounts will tear- they loosen them but no guarantee that they won't tear - reasonable? Thanx. -- Rick Schaefer 72 TPI El Camino -- Rick Schaefer 72 TPI El Camino
