Is my frame bent?
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 672
Likes: 16
From: Michigan
Car: 1988 IROC-Z/G92
Engine: 5.0
Transmission: T-5
Axle/Gears: BW 3.45 Eaton Truetrac
Is my frame bent?
I am in the process of healing my car after a small "incident" I got myself into.
Essentially I slammed the drive side of my car into a curb at around 35mph.
Body damage is minor, there is one dent near the gas door due to the jack I had in the back slamming against the quarter.
I screwed up my wheels, but I got new ones of those.
The panhard bar was bent bad, but visually that was the only piece I could tell was bent. The messed up part is, this happened right before I was getting sub frame connectors installed, which probably would have saved me a bit.
Anyways, I got a panhard bar and new control arms for the rear. I had to get a new axle for the 9 bolt rear I have, and I needed a new rotor/caliper as well.
Now I got the passenger control arm on with minor fuss, however I just tried getting the driver side in, and I am having major problems. When I get one end bolted in, the other end is about a quarter of an inch off from perfect alignment.
I can bend it to get into the slot for the bar, however I can't align the holes for the bolt.
Now am I crazy, not trying hard enough, or is this an indication I have more issues than I was hoping?
Sorry for the weird writing style, I am a bit scatterbrained right now, but if the frame is bent, how much would it cost to straighten, and would it be worth it?
The car is a 5speed G90 packaged car, all new interior and rust free bottom, hard top. I really love this stupid car and have been struggling to get her back on the road.
Essentially I slammed the drive side of my car into a curb at around 35mph.
Body damage is minor, there is one dent near the gas door due to the jack I had in the back slamming against the quarter.
I screwed up my wheels, but I got new ones of those.
The panhard bar was bent bad, but visually that was the only piece I could tell was bent. The messed up part is, this happened right before I was getting sub frame connectors installed, which probably would have saved me a bit.
Anyways, I got a panhard bar and new control arms for the rear. I had to get a new axle for the 9 bolt rear I have, and I needed a new rotor/caliper as well.
Now I got the passenger control arm on with minor fuss, however I just tried getting the driver side in, and I am having major problems. When I get one end bolted in, the other end is about a quarter of an inch off from perfect alignment.
I can bend it to get into the slot for the bar, however I can't align the holes for the bolt.
Now am I crazy, not trying hard enough, or is this an indication I have more issues than I was hoping?
Sorry for the weird writing style, I am a bit scatterbrained right now, but if the frame is bent, how much would it cost to straighten, and would it be worth it?
The car is a 5speed G90 packaged car, all new interior and rust free bottom, hard top. I really love this stupid car and have been struggling to get her back on the road.
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,804
Likes: 103
From: Central NJ
Car: 86 Trans Am
Engine: 408 stroker sbc
Transmission: TKO600
Axle/Gears: Moser full floater m9, 3:70 trutrac
Re: Is my frame bent?
The mount may have been tweaked a bit, nothing a 3lb hammer and some fiddling can't fix. You can't use the arm as a lever and push/pull it one way or another to get the holes to align?
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 329
Likes: 14
From: Grand Rapids MI
Car: 88 IROC-Z
Engine: 6.9L TPI(FIRST) 421ci
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: Ford 9" Eaton truetrac 3.50
Re: Is my frame bent?
Which way are you bolting it together? Body first then axle? This the way I would do it by the way then you can move the rearend around to help line up the bolts.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 672
Likes: 16
From: Michigan
Car: 1988 IROC-Z/G92
Engine: 5.0
Transmission: T-5
Axle/Gears: BW 3.45 Eaton Truetrac
Re: Is my frame bent?
That's a good idea, so that's a fairly common issue?
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 5,261
Likes: 461
From: RI
Car: 1984 Camaro Berlinetta
Engine: LT1
Transmission: T56 6-speed
Axle/Gears: 4.11 LS1 Rear End
Re: Is my frame bent?
but visually that was the only piece I could tell was bent.
Last edited by John in RI; Aug 16, 2018 at 09:36 PM. Reason: edit:
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 672
Likes: 16
From: Michigan
Car: 1988 IROC-Z/G92
Engine: 5.0
Transmission: T-5
Axle/Gears: BW 3.45 Eaton Truetrac
Re: Is my frame bent?
35 MPH,.... There's more bent parts under there - stuff that you will never see. You might be "lucky" in that it sounds like you took impact on the front and the back,... if it were just one-or-the-other the damage would have been much more "significant". Under-carriage damage is worse than body damage IMO....... IMO it's harder to see/know when your looking directly at a problem; Post pics if you want to get the best feedback possible.


Supreme Member




Joined: May 2015
Posts: 1,765
Likes: 286
From: Florida
Car: 1991 Z28
Engine: 305 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3:42 Auburn
Re: Is my frame bent?
I had the same issue with my trailing arm install, the first one went in relatively easy and I fought the other for a couple hrs before I figured it out. Mine was the same. about a 1/4 to far to the front, on the axle side. From my knowledge my car was never crashed. After a few hrs and a sore hip later I figured out a trick. Attach the body side 1st. Get a 3/8 or so x 8" long bolt, or whatever size you can get into the smaller opening and from the opposite side you will be sliding the proper bolt in, insert the smaller bolt about 1/2 way into the trailing arm bushing. Now use this bolt as a lever and push it forward, This should move the trailing arm back and from the open side the hole should now line up and insert the proper bolt in. It does help if you have a second person to help but I was able to do this method on my own. Hope this helps.
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Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 672
Likes: 16
From: Michigan
Car: 1988 IROC-Z/G92
Engine: 5.0
Transmission: T-5
Axle/Gears: BW 3.45 Eaton Truetrac
Re: Is my frame bent?
I did manage to get it on, but I still fear a bent frame. I've invested a lot to get her ready for the road, if the frame is badly damaged I'll be heartbroken.
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