Frame straightening

Hi Pat,

I just re-read your response. I am not at all sure that both sides are off kilter by the same or similar amounts. I'll know more when I get the alignment taken are of.There's a large-truck body shop near here, and I'll talk with them after I get the information from the alignment effort.

Thank you again for your assistance.

--Tom

Hi,

Thank you Tom, Henry, and Pat!

Looks like a Budweiser Alignment Party is in order for the weekend!!

I'll post the results on this thread.

Thanks again, Tom, Henry, and Pat!!

--Tom

Goal: to have this Cord running under its own power, and stopping upon request, by Auburn.

Tom, most likely the replies so far will work. I assume both sides are similarly off dimensionally. I have stripped down a number of Cords and reassembling them, and I am always amazed at how they change stance as all items are replaced. The stub frame and its connection to the unibody is extremely robust and usually does not get damaged easily.
On my S/C Custom that was in a severe wreck in 2002, I took my car to a heavy truck body shop with a large frame machine. They checked my car on table and is was twisted 2-1/2" front-back/side to side. The problem was evident because even though the passenger side was severely damage, the driver side floor board was buckled up. After devising a method to anchor my Cord down, large hydraulic arms gradually pulled everything back in shape. I am sure yours will not be this extensive. I also rebuilt Bill Hummel's old Custom Beverly for Scott Ferguson which was hit hard in the front and side/roof, but had no frame or unibody damage. Good luck...

Tom, Please pay attention to what Tom has told you. You must also load the front end with sand bags or make temporary longer suspension bolts so that the center of the mounting holes for the front bumper are about 11.5" to 12" above the level floor. Also have some of your friends get in the back seat so that the distance from the bottom of the frame to the floor just forward of the rear wheel well is about 1" more than the distance from bottom of frame to floor at a point about where the u/j would come through the frame. This should get you into the ballpark to make other measurements. Have fun! Henry

Hi Tom,

Your comments spell out an excellent way to proceed. Next weekend I will "string" the wheels and make a camber-measuring device. Lord knows what it may tell me!!!!

--Tom

Hi Tom,

I had a look through the Cord Service Instructions & Specifications Handbook and found details of front alignment. They specified 1 degree +ve camber. What do you measure?

The suspension when unloaded by removal of front end sheet metal, radiators and so on will naturally raise the frame up. This will mess with the camber even in a trailing arm setup. In this case it is also important that toe is set or the error can be large. The steering also needs to be set dead straight. I suggest a trammel bar and scribe the tire to set toe up. I would "string" the car to ensure the wheels are completely straight.

If there is a bend in the frame I believe it would likely be on the front stub frame bar where the trailing arms are mounted. Could it be that the trailing arm bearings have just moved in their mounting holes?

I think you are right to investigate this now because this could place undue pressure on the CV joint if there is a bend somewhere.

Hope this is of some help.

Hi,

My dear old Cord project car (started Aug 31, 1950, still under way) has finally brought me face to face with a frame or unibody problem. Before 1950 the car was in a collision that by my reconstruction of events caused the right front wheel of the car to be pushed forcibly against a curb, resulting in the top of the right front wheel being tilted outward out of vertical. The camber is not adjustable, so I have concluded that the tilt to the wheel must have resulted from this collision.

I was hopeful that only the right trailing arm was bent, and that replacement would solve the problem. Bought one, tried that, resulting in no change in the galliwump of the wheel. Since replacing the trailing arm didn't help, I have now concluded that either the frame or the unibody is warped, or both.

I don't plan on this car to be a long-distance driver like Josh's legendary Moonshadow, but I would like it NOT to look like it is duck walking.



Whacked-out right front wheel camber.

Does anyone have experience in straightening a Cord frame and unibody? What can ya'll advise me about this problem?

Thanks,

--Tom