Hot Rod Forum banner

69 camaro converible what usually happens to frame from drag racing

805 views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  kso 
#1 ·
I've owned my camaro for almost 25 years, I started drag racing it 10 years ago, ran hi 10's, had subframe connectors and a 4 point roll bar. Recently, it's been running 9's and had has a 10 point cage. It also runs caltracs, usually with no preload. I recently started having traction issues (1.4 60 foot) and noticed that the passenger side caltrac was loaded, and it took a couple of turns to it to get rid of the preload, but that didn't help. Where do these cars bend (or twist) and how do I verify it without a frame machine? Car also runs 5 year old Hotchkiss 5 leaf springs. Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I am certainly no drag car expert, but I heard you say 69 Camaro and I have one going at work.

If you know how to play horseshoes and hand grenades, and can find a reasonably level slab to park on... and have a level and tape measure...

you can approximate height like this, with a tape measure from the floor or bar. Jack stands are fine, you can "shim" them to get the rockers level. This happens to be a very level dolly and floor spot-



And take X measurements underneath in the torque box areas plus, for example: subframe or control arm bolt, or ball joint or body mount bolt to leaf spring hanger, or slot in body for factory jig, tie-down hook hole or whatever you find. Compare tape measure readings side to side. Write those numbers down and review then to get an idea where the problem lies. Happy 3-D hunting!
 
#3 ·
Yes, get the front of the body level using a tape measure from floor to body on each side, then take measurements at rear on both sides...

Twist is prolly in the door openings... My '87 Trans AM GTA is ripping the roof metal at the top rear of door openings... T-top cars flex even easier...
 
#6 ·
My feeling (I'd have to call it that) is, the area across the floor at the back of the door opening/front of the rr subframe (I really don't think that even subframe connectors would help that much there on a convert), and at the firewall where the stampings that have the subframe mount connect into the rest of the sheetmetal. Like other guys are saying, I'd find vital points such as those subframe mounting surfaces and things like the rr spring eyes and do comparative checks for level (checking for twist) which may take some creativity to accomplish. Then if there were any way to get a good factory dimension for the subframe mounts under the firewall and seat areas in relation to some baseline (such as the bottom of the rockers) and then (again) the rr spring eyes or maybe the rr bumper mount holes, to see if the whole floor is bent up or down that would be great but I don't know where you'd get that dimension to compare to other than a good (maybe hardtop, less susceptible to damage) body. There must be some source that body shops use, or once used, to find out where a bent area was. I know none of this is directly answering your question, it's just methods of how we'd go about finding that answer.

As far as avoiding frame machines...well, that's what frame machines are for. This is kinda like avoiding using an engine hoist to pull an engine....

...but I'm not giving ya crap here, just offering food for thought. In any event, they are just a tool for the hands of a guy who knows what he's doing and you'd have to find that guy first.

I once had a big-block '68 hardtop that had been raced quite a bit and the area at the front leaf spring mounts was trashed. Stock metal was just not stout enough there to support the HP, especially w/ traction bars. I wonder how yours is there.

A couple years ago I did a rr subframe repair on a friend's car and was somewhat surprised to find the re-pop subframe rail he bought was not only a very good fit but made from substantially thicker material as well. I wouldn't have any qualms about pulling out a ratted-out set of original rr rails and putting in a pair of those new ones.

One more thought about early Camaros in general, that deep straight transmission tunnel is absolutely critical to body strength, giving something for the seat/subframe mount structure to bridge across to and giving the body strength in the rear seat area, especially for the convertible which has no roof structure bridging between the firewall and rr quarters. If that is wrinkled up at all (becoming symptomatic of general bending/collapse) or has ever been cut into for something like a v-gate shifter, it has to be fixed.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top