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Warp or twisted?

858 views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  CDJr 
#1 ·
No not talking about my relatives...

1968 Firebird Convertible. It's been sitting for about 15 years. A flat right front from time to time I'd pump up but it'd leak down again. So it sat cockeyed sometimes for weeks or months.

Anyway I got her back on the road this past weekend. New tires, same size all around, but now it sits uneven in the rear. Leans to the right with to much tire clearence on the drivers side.
I put jack stands under the front frame and two more on the rear frame at the rear spring perches to let the suspension hang free to see if maybe it was just the shocks.
Well the left frame rail never touched the jack stand, about an inch off. It was sitting on three points.

Any suggestions?
Thought about bags of concrete on the left side of the trunk for awhile.
 

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#2 ·
428ho said:
1968 Firebird Convertible. It's been sitting for about 15 years. A flat right front from time to time I'd pump up but it'd leak down again. So it sat cockeyed sometimes for weeks or months.

Anyway I got her back on the road this past weekend. New tires, same size all around, but now it sits uneven in the rear. Leans to the right with to much tire clearence on the drivers side.

I put jack stands under the front frame and two more on the rear frame at the rear spring perches to let the suspension hang free to see if maybe it was just the shocks.

Well the left frame rail never touched the jack stand, about an inch off. It was sitting on three points.
Were the stands on a level surface/slab?

If so, she is going to have to be inspected really close (unibody-collision damage/rust) and most likely be chained down on a frame machine and pulled.
 
#3 ·
Jack stands were on a level floor.
The weird part is I've owned this car since 1985, it didn't sit that way when I parked it in 1992.
I don't see any structural damage, just a few body dings, all body bushings are there, no structural rust, and the car actually rides very tight. Doors close better than on my new car.

It's almost like the right front spring has collapsed or lost it's ride height, causing the left rear to rise. It looks like it did when the right front tire was flat. But that doesn't explain the frame not touching the jack stands.

Thought maybe since it's a convertible that might help diagnose it. It has the extra ribbing in the floor, although the X-brace is missing.
 
#5 ·
If ya wanna narrow it down some, leave the jackstands under the rear rails and move the front ones to the flat underside of the rockers. This will show you if its the actual body thats twisted or if its the subframe and/or bushings. Like johnsongrass said, 1" aint bad and springs do change over time.
 
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