Frame is twistin in my 85 c10.. its right at the tranny crossmember on the drivers side. I used a laser level to give me a nice straight line to measure from. And this is what i have.

At the front of the bed where it mounts to the frame: the frame is 1/8th inch higher on the passenger side

At the rear of the bed where the bed mounts to frame. the frame is 3/16th inch lower on the passenger side.

At the bottom of the rear cab mounts there is only 1/16 inch diffence, but from the bottom of the cab, the drivers side is 3/8ths inch lower than the passenger side. and the cab mount is more compressed on the passenger side compaired to the drivers side......

SO, does anyone have any advice on what to do and how to fix it.. I want to get it straight cheap as possible; then I will box it.
I am in the St. Louis, Mo area if anyone knows of a decent frame shop.


Here are some pictures:

Behind the crossmember


Infront of the crossmember


Behind again






The passenger side... what it is supposed to look like

 

if i were you, i'd have a good shop cut the section out and put some thicker steel in there. that's just my .02: i've never heard of any good way to fix a warped frame.

 

or would it be better to find a straight frame and box it and switch all my stuff over?

 

I wouldn't trust a laser level unless it was a big dollar builders level. A string line works great. Any decent collision shop should be able to help you out.

 

Take the truck to a good body shop with a full table frame machine. They'll straighten it good as new. Shop rates vary but it shouldn't be much more then a couple hours labor. After that you can weld and box it without any problems.

...BUT before that why did the frame bend? Accident, run over curb, or hp/torque. Frames are extremely strong and won't bend for no reason. Judging from the driveshaft loop I'll assume hp. Check over your whole truck. Boxing your frame will cause something else to break ie tranny tailshaft, tranny mount/cross members, etc. Make sure everything is beefed up or you will be chasing the demon throughout.

 

If you're not gettin frame straightened, then it's another frame. I really can't see any other way round that. Call some competent frame shops, ask labor rate. Tell em what ya got to do. That should cover that. Then call on some used? frames. Then choose. My .02.

 

Yep, Uncle Monkey nailed it, take it to a body shop and have them put it on the frame machine and pull it straight. I've seen it done and it's pretty cool actually. My 85 MonteSS was twisted after I got rear ended and was hit so hard that he pushed me into the car in front of me (I had just come to a complete stop and got hit by a guy going about 45 mph). Just about tore the driver's seat out of the floor...it was pushed back so far that I couldn't reach the pedals without sitting on the front edge of the seat. 4 cars piled up behind me...there was 6 cars squashed together in the end. Anyway, a body shop with a full table frame machine can fix it up in a jiffy

 

I was rear ended while at a complete stop by some uninsured lady going 70 mph. Truck was put on a frame machine and fixed it right up. The Hitch was more than an inch lower than it should be due to the wreck.

 

Well I work at a body shop in southern IN and you should be able to get that straightened. It will be more that a couple hours labor, our shop charges 4 hours labor at between 40 and 50 dollars an hour to set up and measure the frame before any pulling. You're not going to find any reputable shop that will FIX your frame for a hundred bucks. After you get a few estimates you should weigh out the cost of getting it straightened vs. changing the frame. If you are going to box that whole frame you will probably need do do some major disassembly anyways, its really not that hard to change the frame. The only real hurdle will be getting the cab off the frame, they are heavy and awkward. Will take some planning to remove the cab, but once you get the cab, bed, and doghouse out of the way you can very easily swap out the rest of the components in a day, but with the year of the truck it may be a little difficult to find a nice frame.

 

i vote for a full tube chassis