My car was in a wreck before I bought it, but there were no
signs of suspension work, only some body work. I am going to be installing
subframe connectors soon, and I would like the chassis to be as straight as
possible before installing them. Would getting the frame straightend cause
any other problems? How much can I expect to pay for this?

 

It shouldn't affect anything provided you go to a good straigtener, but that can get really pricey. Extremely pricey. You should buy the Helm manual for your car. In it it has a large number of things you can measure to see if your sub frame is even slightly off. Just measurements between holes and bolts along the rails.

 

I've curbed my car twice since I've owned it,the mechanics I talked to said it wouldn't even line up if the frame was damaged at all,this is with a 4-wheel alighnment. some places won't do the 4-wheel unless you specifically ask for it.

 

You need to have it straightend on a good machine such as a chassis liner. The reason the mechanic said it would not line up if it wasn't right is the SAI (steering axis inclination angle) will not be right unless the car is straight. However I have found that very few shops will measure this even with a computer alighnment machine and I work in a bodyshop.

 

You can't do a four-wheel alignment on an F-body unless you have adjustable control arms and panhard rod...

 

jza, your right, you can't align the rear. Even an adjustable panhard bar and stuff can adjust the camber and toe in the rear. BUT, the alignment can be checked and can show a problem with the unibody.


------------------
350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, current red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

I do have Adj. Panhard and Control arms. Who would I take my car to that can give me a 4-Wheel alignment? Should any place that aligns wheels be able to do it? Do I have it ask for it, or is that what is usually done? Thanks.

 

Since your rear suspention is adjustable I would take the time to blue print it. In a figure of speaking. You need a racers help with this. Think about what speed you want the car to be its bast at. Then Get someone with a data log to hook up 4 string potentia meters to it and run it at that speed. Then bring it back to the shop and pull the springs out and set the car up on blocks by measuring the shocks when you were at your ideal speed. Most shops do a static alignment but now you can do a dynamic alignment. This may seem a little exccesive but your the one who put the adjustable suspention in. Depends on how good you want it to handle. Cup teams do this and much more.