Hey guys I may be checking out this car in the near future and its owned by a younger guy. I know that he has had it out on the dragstrip and from what I gather he has driven it pretty hard. He also said hes selling the car for insurance reasons from speeding tickets. So now the only thing that worries me is whether or not the frame may be twisted. So as the topic implies, what are some ways I could check the car to find out whether or not its twisted, without having it in at a shop for inspection??? Thanks in advance.

 

Well the first thing I would do is check the door alignment. If the hinges aren't loose but don't line up or open and close correctly (on flat, even ground), I'd be careful.

 

check the area above the doors, at the corner of the roof & the sail panels ... if it's spiderwebbed at all then run away

another good way to tell is whether or not he's done any engine work or NOS ... even the built-up L98 that i had would have trouble flexing the frame on a hardtop. if its a t-tops car that's been out dragging i'd be wary no matter what. still, why would you buy a car you know has been beaten up on ? unless you're planning on doing an eng. & tranny swap then it's prob better to find a more pampered car =/

 

I dont know if I would say that it has been abused that badly. It's got just over 80k miles on it and for all I know the previous owners could have been real easy on it. Its a fairly stock hardtop L98 anyways, just has K&Ns, hypertech stage 2 chip and a flowmaster muffler. Any other places I can check on the car for damage??

 

If it's a t-top car, check the interior moldings along the rear pillar running up the door. If the car is twisted badly, those moldings don't like up properly, they may have drilled extra holes to put them in place.

Mathius

 

Just be sure to swing the door open and closed several times first. The bottom hinge could be bad. My door would make a clunking sound when opened because the hinge was worn in one spot. Just don't jump to any conclusions about the frame because of the doors. It could be as simple as the hinges.
I have heard that the cracks above the windows on a hardtop/T top can be from cornering as well. I guess that would appy to being driven hard somewhat, but I would guess that a 15mph turn a few times could also cause that.
Don't take my word for all this, I am just trying to give possibilties to other solutions. But, odds are that if he has to sell the car due to speeding tickets, the corners were taken faster than 15 and the frame could just be bent.

Who knows...