How can I tell if my car is bent?

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olddog12

olddog12

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The car is a '73 Scamp. I bought is off a guy who had it on a rotisserie for several years while working on it. It was just the body and a crap load of parts I took home. Everything on the suspension went in fine, K frame, torsion bars, trans mount etc. Im at the point of putting the body panels back on and all went fine until the fenders. The hood was hitting on the passenger side by about 1/4 inch and there was a gap on the drivers side of almost an inch. The hood to cowl is perfect. I messed around with the lip on the top of the fender to get the fenders kinda close to the hood and it looked ok but the holes in the header panel on the passenger side are about 3/4 of an inch away. When I put the bumper on I have about an inch on the passenger side and about 2 1/2 on the drivers side and the center of the hood is off by about 2 inches from the center of the hood.
Is there anyway I can measure off of some points to check the front end?
 
You could pull a string along the rockers out past the radiator support then measure from the string in to the frame rail.
Do this for both sides the measurements won't be exact but should be around a 1/4" or so.
 
I had both of my cars hanging on a rotisserie for years also without any issues. I suppose if it were hung by the inner fenders rather than frame rail it *might* do damage.
In what order did you assemble the sheet metal?
Have you hung the front components and grill yet?
How do the fender to door gaps look?
C
 
I hung the doors first, have about 3/16 or so there, then the hood and fenders last. The car was hung from the frame rails on the rotisserie. Here are a few pictures to better show my predicament. You will see the butchery I had to do to the fenders to get them where they are.

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How do the bottom edges of the door align with the rocker panels, especially at the front of the door?
It looks like the drivers door may need to come *out* away from the body at the front pillar. This would allow you to shift the left fender out also.
Another measurement to take is a cross - from the right fender at the rear where it would touch the cowl to the left fender at the front edge; then the same measurement from the left rear to the right front. The numbers should be the same, but will not be even close right now.
Any idea what body work was done to the car while on the rotisserie? Were the inner fenders changed out or operated on?
C
 
The bottom edges of the doors have about 1/2" gap all along them. The only thing that was worked on around the inner fenders was the top lip the fenders bolt on was replaced.
 
Once you get everything straightened out and your car is finished and driveable but before you put the carpets in, I suggest you WELD IN some sub frame connectors (make sure you get these welded to each end and about every 4-6 inches to the floor too). This will help keep everything straight and as it should be. Side effects of the frame connectors are: better handling as the rear wheels follow the front wheels like they should, doors that close like they should and no more body twisting.
 
Printed it off and went to the shop with it last night but with all the suspension, exhaust, engine etc it was difficult to get any exact measurements. And not to mention I was alone lol. I'm gonna track down the wife tonite and throw her under there for a bit with me lol. I'm not feeling too optimistic of the findings though.
 
olddog12 said:
The car is a '73 Scamp. I bought is off a guy who had it on a rotisserie for several years while working on it. It was just the body and a crap load of parts I took home. Everything on the suspension went in fine, K frame, torsion bars, trans mount etc. Im at the point of putting the body panels back on and all went fine until the fenders. The hood was hitting on the passenger side by about 1/4 inch and there was a gap on the drivers side of almost an inch. The hood to cowl is perfect. I messed around with the lip on the top of the fender to get the fenders kinda close to the hood and it looked ok but the holes in the header panel on the passenger side are about 3/4 of an inch away. When I put the bumper on I have about an inch on the passenger side and about 2 1/2 on the drivers side and the center of the hood is off by about 2 inches from the center of the hood.
Is there anyway I can measure off of some points to check the front end?
Click to expand...
not sure if it has been mentioned or not - - one of my favorite "tricks" is to check the roof line(s) - - any ripples, buckles or evidence of repairs anywhere on the roof or any of the pillars is a good indication that there may be a frame issue. Also, at the bottom edge of the rear roof pillars where they meet the forward trunk panel - - ripples there are bad too
 
There are no ripples or bends anywhere you mention. I even call the PO and discussed with him exactly what he did to the front portion of the car but none of that would account for the issues. He has a thread on here in the restoration section and he did beautiful work on the car. BIGDOG I beleive was his name.
 
Measure as stated. Simple x measurements will also work. Ie: left rear fender bolt to right front bolt then reverse. The measurements should be pretty close side to side. The same can be done underneath with symetrical frame holes or bolts or a combination, but with suspension in the way might be difficult without a tram gauge. With the drivers fender pushed in toward the hood and the passenger fender pushed out looks the structure is swayed over to the driver side. The bumper should have some side to side adjustment where the bumper meets the brackets. Also, these cars were not built that tight to begin with and it looks like your trying to achieve pretty tight gaps. I think your going to find the measurements from the passenger side rearward measurements to the drivers side front measurements are the long measurements.
 
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I measured from bolt hole to hole in an X like suggested and got about an inch difference. Pulled the fenders off and...well here are the pictures.
Is the icon for me sobbing in the corner.
I have a guy who has restored several mopars over the years coming to look at it who thinks it may be possible to use a porta power to push it back and I also talked to the only guy in town who has a frame straightener to get an idea what it will cost to fix.
Im very depressed by the whole situation to say the least and depending on what these guys tell me Im not sure what I will do.
**EDIT my pictures are upside down for some reason.

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Do not despair yet! Let us know what the guy with the porta power says. If he is experienced with it he should be able to give you some good advise.
C
 
Did you ever measure out the factory chassis measurements?

Throwing a plumb bob from the front valance to the bumper center-line makes me 'lol'. The only thing that is? Off from conclusion.

These old cars are FAR from precise with body and frame measurements, and are notorious for having the worst body gaps of the big three....
 
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I would vote for the frame machine. You can only do so much with a port-a-power. Wedging a port-a-power in there caddy corner is not going to do much. Maybe collapse or damage the rails further, or twist something that isn't. Really need to fixture the body on a frame machine and pull the nose over. On the machine you can do a controlled 2 tower pull and pull the rails and upper structure together. Get it straight. If not you might not get alignment numbers, dog tracking etc. Normally you need to over-pull it a bit and do some stress relieving so when it relaxes it stays straight. Do the doors line up ok? As in the cowl section/a-pillar is not twisted.
 
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