I bought a car recently ('87 Camaro 2.8) and the frame is damaged. I'm kinda new to GM cars (old mopars, mostly), so I'm asking: what parts of the front frame are bolt-on, and what is weld-only? obviously fenders, etc are bolted, but I'm wondering about actual frame pieces...I've marked the portion of the car that's effected...
thanks a ton...
(BTW, not my car, just as an example)
~Erik~

 

on a unibody?

 

got to go take that car to an body shop with a frame machine. so that the can straighten the "frame" in the Fbodies theres no true frame. The body of the car itself is infact the frame.

 

right, I know the car is a unibody (not a body-on-frame), but I'm saying that the whole front subframe that extends out from the unibody is welded onto the body portion (hence "subframe connectors"...connecting the front and rear frame ). The front portion of the frame is what the K-member bolts to and what the fenders, etc bolt to.

what I'm asking I suppose is more than most people get into. I'm going to be cutting the factory welds at a few points, and welding in new portions of the frame so instead of having bent and then re-bent frame parts, they'll be new, never-bent parts. anybody have any experience with total disassembly of the front end of one of these cars?
~Erik~

 

sell the car and get another with a v8.

 

Just get the hole car straightend up at a tranny shop.. you would need a body shop to get the front clip allinged properly anyways.. jsut get them to pull it back into alignment.

 

If it can't be straightened on an alignment rack, it's not worth doing. You might as well start with another car that isn't wrecked. Where would you get a new front subframe from anyway?

 

you can cut the subframe out. but it would be verry dificult. you are realy better off getting another car and swapping whats on yours into it. you gotta yank the engine and tranny to drop the subframe, might as well swap the whole car.

however if you are set on doing it, yes it can be done. i actualy looked into it myself when i bent my frame. frame shop ended up pulling it right for $400. not bad at all.

i know the K-member is a bolt on (duh). i know that the front frame rails (what the k-member bolts too) are weld on.

EDITED= now all the data is correct. sorry i was thinking of somthing else. i ment k-member.

 

No, you can't unbolt the subframe. Both the front and rear subframes in a thirdgen are fully welded. There are no bolts, unlike say a firstgen which had a bolt-in front subframe.

 

currently my car is in the frame shop and the guy who has my car he is cutting off my front clip and welding the new clip on off a straight black camaro that has never been hit. the car is going to welded perfectly back into place because i know the guys work and i know him. it will look completely stock like it has never been hit. here is what is cut off right now i dont have pics of it cut off yet. the only reason i am doing this because it was my first car and it is also a 1990 iroc convertible. i really wouldnt waste my time with a 2.8

 

I think what Tony is referring to is unbolting the k-member and struts.

 

Don't know if this will help at all, but heres pictures of the front end completely stripped. Everything that you see is welded together.

 

Whoa! Having never actually seen a picture of the 'frame' of a unibody, that's just kinda creepy! It's weird having no actual frame, pretty cool.

 

I know this is a little off subject but,

These kinda of pictures give thridgens a bad name!!

 

Before u cut anything The car should be taken to a bodyshop and pulled Back into spec... Unless u are going to put the hole front clip on.. ( that sucks and its a ton of work) It would probally cost u less taken it to a shop. U tear it down and take it to them. they pull it into spec's u take it back home put back together.Can not see it costing anymore than 500 bucks. If u have never done anything like this I would not recommend doing a front clip. But just my 2cents.

 

This was done to do some work on the underside until we came up with a better way.

The car currently is sitting in the garage on a rotisserie undergoing a ground up resto.

 

yes it is the whole front clip that is cut off on my car and i am having someone do it. so he is going off every spec. so i am good.

 

it would be much less expensive if you just take it to the body shop and have them straighten the unibody at least in the orginal posters case.. not the iroc converable

 

My 91 RS
My frame is bent did anyone else unclip the front end and smack a new on?

 

These cars are unibody construction, probably need to be more descripted as to what exactly is bent? The front k member can be replaced but without putting it on a frame rack to check the frame specs there's no telling how far back the frame is out of spec. Is this car just a project car? If so you may want to cut your loses and find another car. Does this car have senimental value?