need advise ...on a car i just got.. My first real post

ok i got a 86 notchback i just got ,,i was looking it over once i got it home, its got ladder bars not sure the lenght but there not 32 maybe 28s ?. I Noticed that the drivers side tire is appx 1/2 more toward the rear of the wheel weld ,i tried to adjust the lower bar..double adjustable.. and it makes the tire kick to the side and make the tire on the right side rubs on the frame rail. now i do know its got extended wheel tubs. they could be off but when i do a quick check off the rear of the door frame its off..? i tubbed my 68 chevelle myself with care alinement and measurements..i hope this car has not be setup wrong ...what should i did before going any farhter.to me it looks as if the frame goes from a 30 inch wide at fuel cell to like almost 31 .inside the the car.
heres 2 pics for u to go by,one is not straight looking at the rear this was b4 i knew of this .
any input would be helpfull thanks ..should i bring it to a chassis shop maybe that backhalfs cars?




if i adjust the front drivers side pivoit ,its going to kick the tire forward making the tire rub the frame, i only got appx quarter inch on the insides,,not sure what to do. ?




heres b4 i played with the rear.
also car came with goodyear slicks 31.5x14x15 that didnt hold air for long , i got some mt's 31x13s that someone gave me....if worst comes to worst i think .i might have to step down another size this car as 12 wide rims btw.






please any help thanks

or should i just cut it out for cross bar out. and move it accordingly i will get better measurement this friday im off.

sorry for the rammbling on there i do that in real life too.

I'm not a chassis guy by any means, but if the frame rails aren't straight( from the difference in measurements it may be difficult to get the adjustment you need. You could baseline everything and start dropping plumb bobs to get a square reference to start making your adjustments. I hope I'm understand you questions correctly.

Barney wrote:I'm not a chassis guy by any means, but if the frame rails aren't straight( from the difference in measurements it may be difficult to get the adjustment you need. You could baseline everything and start dropping plumb bobs to get a square reference to start making your adjustments. I hope I'm understand you questions correctly.

thanks , sorry its hard for me to word things old age plus i think i getting something but dont want to know last 2 years been tuff.i stpped working on MB's now for a living , got new job that has lots of sit down time. i knew i
shouldnt gotting another project car. when 2 of my other cars are down.

im not sure if i can drop plum line off my rack ? i really cant get under cars anymore on the ground. since nothing is org. or since 'I' didnt do this car not sure where the rear axles really sat at. not that it matters but its got to be straight

they might have went off the front splines..which isnt the right i think way cause of the caster .im i correct? if something was bent or a miss.
i need to go off a frame point thats the same on each side.not sure if the jacking point is correct on each side ?

There's a lot of guys on here that will be able to help you. Your gonna have to start from square reference points on the frame and go from there, and no the spindles aren't. Richter was right about he subframe being a good place to start, just be patient you may no like where this road is taking you and you may have to re do more than you would like.

richter69 wrote:Measure from the axle centerline to the front eyelet centerline, that will give you the ladderbar length. Don't worry so much about centering the wheel in the sheetmetal, you need to find a point up on the front subframe to measure by, I think there are some factory holes up there someplace that are good to use for reference points

1/4" between the inner sidewall and frame/tubs is ok for a dragcar, you just need to make sure all the trackbar stuff is good n tight. Hard to tell thos bars almost look homemade??? maybe get a pic from the side? If there is any questionable stuff it needs to be addressed now IMO........



....oh and welcome to the site, we got some issues being hashed out so it may take a bit for things to settle back down lol.

thanks i was wondering about the ladder bars my self. it looks as if the rearend might have been cut off another car .its got a homemade boxed frame not a bent 2x3 or round bar .but a cut and welded 2x3
okay i will measure on friday and let you know my findings
i know my chevelle is right cause i measure 10 times then cut.plus chevelle has full frame for ref. points.
thanks again...its hard to sleep knowing i paid 1800 for this car as is. thinking it was done right .guy said a fab shop in addis la. did it ,but dont remember the name ?

Barney wrote:There's a lot of guys on here that will be able to help you. Your gonna have to start from square reference points on the frame and go from there, and no the spindles aren't. Richter was right about he subframe being a good place to start, just be patient you may no like where this road is taking you and you may have to re do more than you would like.

i dont mind cutting the cross bar off and moving it,and the shock mount, but the frame might not be centered, i can live with that cause i was thinking of going with hoosiers 29x12s slicks... as for as moving the whole rear half no. or would it matter ?

There are holes in the front subframe(went and looked at my wife's). These cars weren't built like a watch new and after 25yrs probably are worse, but it should get you in the ballpark to know where to start.

As has already been mentioned you need to start measuring everything first and find out what is straight/square and what is fuuked up before you ever consider cutting anything out.

Measure ALL the assorted frame structures & how/where they intersect other sections/components. Measure front to back, side to side, and crossing diagonally. Then run a centerline string nose to tail & compare how the components/frame/measurements "work" (straight & square or crooked) with the C/L string.

At this point the problem could be any damn thing. The crossmember could be in there crooked in relation to the car's centerline, one frame rail could be installed a little farther ahead/behind the other. Or the frame/chassis could be dead-nuts perfect, and they just fuuked up when they stretched the wheel openings.

richter69 wrote:I'm in the process of pulling the old lb stuff out of the 69 and putting the "better" lb stuff in, I can get some pics of the stuff as I do it, it looks similar. My frame rails I made from 2 x 3 ms tubing, angle cut the bends and welded it back together. The rails aint as big of a deal as the cross member, shock mounts, the housing and bars themselves. The lb brackets themselves need bracing to the housing rather than just welded on.

so on this car my lb s need more bracing ? thanks for the info. anymore you get later will help also.
i was just thinking....if i got to cut out the back half i got to cut the roll cage and alum paneling too

my 68 ss has comp eng lb s and are 32 long. i will measure like the man above said from the axle centerline to the front lb hole.

Barney wrote:There are holes in the front subframe(went and looked at my wife's). These cars weren't built like a watch new and after 25yrs probably are worse, but it should get you in the ballpark to know where to start.

thanks . also can i do this on my lift ? or do i need a level playing area ? my rack is not level anymore.and i know that my shop floor is cracked and leaning it might be hard to find i good place .i will check them holes out on friday, i got to find my plub bob now

Level would be preferable, I've never used a lift, but you could block and shim it level I suppose.

DILLIGASDAVE wrote:As has already been mentioned you need to start measuring everything first and find out what is straight/square and what is fuuked up before you ever consider cutting anything out.

Measure ALL the assorted frame structures & how/where they intersect other sections/components. Measure front to back, side to side, and crossing diagonally. Then run a centerline string nose to tail & compare how the components/frame/measurements "work" (straight & square or crooked) with the C/L string.

At this point the problem could be any damn thing. The crossmember could be in there crooked in relation to the car's centerline, one frame rail could be installed a little farther ahead/behind the other. Or the frame/chassis could be dead-nuts perfect, and they just fuuked up when they stretched the wheel openings.

thanks i just measured from the rear door jam to the axle center ,,not with a plumb bob i just taped it with 1 eye shut. .cause the tire looked off .hopefully its nothing ..or i might have to bale out of it . which i really dont want, i wanted a 10.0 all motor car. then a 250 shot just to see if 8.99s are possible.? will have to go automatic cause of my knees and reflexes arent lighten fast like they used to be.