I knew our '60 had a bent frame when I bought it. I had it pulled while the car was still assembled but the front end fiberglass, rad support and engine out. Now that I have it down to the bare frame I can without a doubt say it is still very bent. Before freaking out it is very straight and square up to the motor mount on the passenger side. The drivers side is perfect. It starts at the motor mount / notch for the fuel pump then goes up hill ending about an inch above where it should be. I checked it to the very handy diagram in the service manual.

The frame is solid, low mileage, etc but needs a restoration. Anyone have any experience with this I can leverage? The body shops I have used in the past got a little funny when I told them I would be bringing the naked frame in to be pulled. If I could chain it down I would give it a shot. Dang fuel pump notch is the weak point - oh and the E350 van the front end met at 30mph.

Thanks

 

Pulling on a bare frame shouldn't be an issue for an experienced shop.

Does anyone have a reputable shop in his area?

 

Mark,

Fill out the profile, so we know where you are located, etc.

Plasticman

 

Fixed it up. Sorry about that - Perkasie, PA

 

If it was me, it would be time to put on a new after market frame....with C4 or C5 pieces on it.....unless you are trying to restore the car and don't have the money to do a SRIII type of frame...other wise, forget the old frame and go with a new one....just my opinion...when you go to sell the car it will still carry the dark cloud over its head of having had the frame majorly bent and "straightened".

If I was looking at your car and knew it had been whacked hard enough to mess up the frame, I would pass on it, even if you told me it was fine now and I even drove it and it seemed ok.....history like that is hard to over come....again, IMHO

good luck, Herb

photos of my '60 undergoing re-incarnation are located at http://public.fotki.com/htmiata/1960_corvette/

 

Unless your frame has the "diamond" issue, it will be ok. I wouldn't worry about a dark cloud. These things get workwed out all the time and are safe and correct.

The resto of the 60 in the last post (Firstgear) looked good, by the way! Fun project

 

thanks!!! It has been at a shop for the past several months (they were trying to help me crash to get the car ready for Carlisle last year and we came up about a week short). With missing the deadline for Carlisle it has been at their shop till today when I went and got it.

I still have to put the final brake lines from the MC on it and finish a few things in the interior....and hopefully it will show well at the Cleveland Autorama in March.....

regards, Herb

 

Thanks for the feedback. I know it is not "diamonded" it bent upward at the weak point by the fuel pump boss impacting only the last two feet. I have used the SRIII products and they are fantastic and I recommend them to anyone who desires that type of end product. A car I built using an SRIII frame is going to be in Corvette Enthusiast later this year. This car is too unique being a 283 / 250 HP FI car owned by Roger Smith the last twenty years (who also racked it!)

 

You are probably right , but it's easy to check with a string and a helper. Just make some cross measurements. I am about 5 hr's away (near Pittsburgh) but I have a local fellow that does good work and has a good machine.
Happy New Year ! Pops

 

Mark-

I just had the exact same problem you are describing on my '64, except that it was the drivers side. All was good up to the spring tower and from there forward, it was 'up' 1 5/8 inches. This was from a previous accident where it had been hit in the drivers front side.

Before you think of going the (expensive) aftermarket replacement route, which I didn't want to do with my original frame, try having it straightened. You can search my thread from about a month ago for some great advice. I ended up taking it to Tony's Corvette Shop in Gaithersburg, MD. He has a frame jig and after a great deal of effort, was able to get my frame back in factory spec. PM me if you want the price I paid, but I can tell you that it was much less than a replacement. And in the end, the frame is nearly perfect. Tony is a great guy and has a great shop - definitely gets my recommendation.

FYI - I called numerous places to get the frame straightened and had little luck finding anyone interested in taking it on. Most didn't even have the factory spec sheets to work from and wanted the frame mounted with the body, which mine wasn't. Don't know how far he is from you, but at least you'll know that if it can be done, Tony can do it.

Also, I wouldn't try this yourself. Without the frame bolted solidly to a frame jig, pulling at one end will do funny things to the other end. The bend you are describing, because it is confined to a relatively small area of the frame, will require an enormous force to straighten. Tony broke his 3-ton hydraulic ***-a-long and his jig. He ended up using his 6-ton to get it right. He said he had never had to use that much force to straighten a frame. Before he was done, several of the factory welds were pulled apart, so they had to be rewelded.

Good luck and let me know if you need any other info. Jon

 

I have a straight 1960 complete rolling chasis if you are interested. I am new to this forum and located in wyoming i can help with delivery. I am a gm master tech and put an art morrison chasis under my 1960 vette and i am willing to get rid of the 1960 chasis. Email me if you are interested. Sledder22@hotmail.com

 

take it to barry hackerts auto and vette shop in warminster pa the have been fixing vettes for 40 years the best around believe me

 

oh i forgot ask for jack or barry or brian tell em tom from fl said to call