Finally got a chance to take the car to a collision shop with a digital frame table. Should have a report this afternoon...

On first inspection, the guy is pretty sure the driver side frame rail is probably "rolled in" alittle........ with the impact the suspension bottoms out.....bump stops slams into the spring pocket and the whole thing just bends in as a unit. That all makes sense....rag joint closer to header etc etc...... since everything moves as a unit, its hard to visually see where its bent.

If it is bent, its not worth trying to mess with the stock subframe......so as long as I can get the insurance company to agree, its time for an aftermarket subframe :)....so there may be an "+" side to all this....but a huge PITA to take everything apart. Especially since I have the Cuda taking so much of my time.

So....DSE, SpeedTech, AME......hum..... decisions, decisions......

I'd like to do it in a way that I dont have to chnage the BS on my wheels, swap brakes , headers etc etc....as simple of a "pull out the stock, transfer some parts over and put in the new" as possible.

Well the verdict is in....there are 3 hairline cracks and the frame is definitely "rolled in" at the top.

Now that the car has sat awhile, the crack have a small amount of rust in them and you can see them way better. They are hard to see with the suspension hanging, but if you push up the control arm to its max, you can see them open up just a tad. The tech is pretty convinced that the frame is bent inward too.

So....new frame it is.....now I just need to convince the insurance Co to let me step up to a DSE or SpeedTech set-up :)

More work...oh joy....

If it's insurance covered - let them pay for the swap! Start getting bids for the labor etc to swap it out... have them cut you a check for the bid amount - then do as you want to...

Just because it's messed up -- doesn't mean you have to do the work! And or - since they're NOT going to pay for an upgrade - the difference in saving the labor by you doing the work yourself - might get you the upgraded sub - making it "worth your while" to do the labor.

That... or maybe to save "summer" cruising - you could have the cracks ground out - welded and fish plated to get you by 'til winter sets in.

We'll see... I have sent out some PM's to get some idea of the labor charges etc. Anyone with shops in North or South CA that want to submit a bid, that would be awesome... the more stuff I have to show the insurance company the better.

The bare stock AMD frame is $1600 plus shipping..... then add tubular UCA/LCA, spindles ( DSE/Speedtech/ ATS stuff....with enough impact/stress to bend a frame, I dont trust the current pieces I have in there now), adds another $2500-3000.... so in the neighborhood of $4200...then add the labor.

As for the cracks.....not very easy to get to and the bottom line is that I just wouldnt feel comfortable driving it, even with a "repair".... plus, its still bent and the car looks funny......so this summer is over for this car......

ned, check you pm or call me