Handling worse after Hotchkis install with 1.03" bars

[Strawdawg]

so I cut some angle iron patches off the frame rails to see what was under them and this was what I found-

I guess I know how badly they were patched...

[MEK-Dangerfield]

     

[Strawdawg]

Passenger side was not quite so bad altho one of the K frame nuts was broken loose...had several holes in it behind the control arm as well.  Pic with cap in place.

[dutch]

oops....

[brads70]

Oh my..... I'd puke!    Wow was this a surprise for you?

[Strawdawg]

Not really, it had obviously been rigged, but, that one side was worse than I expected....inner fender turned out to be mostly bondo on the opposite side....I won't be surprised to find the whole car has been bondo'd

[shadango]

 

[purple1]

That looks bad. Hope you can get it fixed.

[Cuda Cody]

OUCH!  That's pretty bad.

[challengermaniac]

The seller of that ride is guilty.

[Strawdawg]

well, that seller sold it to the person I bought it from...she thought she was buying a restored car and paid a bunch of money for it...I paid 5k for it and that was twice too much....

[HP2]

she thought she was buying a restored car and paid a bunch of money for it

Unfortuantly, "restored" means a different thing to a great many people.

I bought a GM once from somone who said they were "restoring" it. In their mind, "restoration" was simply smoothing body panels with mud and applying new paint. Fortuantly for me, I got it dirt cheap and it was used as a foundation for a race chassis. As such, I found a long list of sins that would have had to be undone if the car was going to be restored as a nice street car. In my case, I just threw away all the offending pieces.

[Strawdawg]

yes, it is hard to buy a car even when you think you know what to check.  In this case, the lady thought it looked good and she wanted to get a muscle car for her nephew because she had one when she was young....she had about 20k in the car when he put it thru a barbed wire fence and the body shop started showing her rust...

here are a couple of pics showing the frame cap in place and tacked on the side with the bad rust problems shown above.

[SBDave]

You're not alone.  Mine isn't that bad but the frame needs work in the exact spot as yours on both driver and passenger sides.  I asked the seller if it had any frame damage, he said no.  I specifically looked for it when I was checking out the car  but the car was so low and there was dirt/paint/grease covering the damage up that I didn't see how bad it was.  I've been documenting the work I do on the car and can't wait to show the guy I bought it from.  Fortunately for me I care more about how the car functions than looks, so some frame patches don't bother me as long as it performs well.

Good luck with your build!
David

[Strawdawg]

I am the same.   with the frame caps welded in place, the inner fender installed, etc., the car feels totally different even without the engine in it...before, you could jiggle a fender and everything flexed and moved.  Have welded up and gusseted the k frame as well.

Other than painting everything, it is about ready to go back together...then on to the floor plan

It is not a collectors' car having once been a plain jane 318, but, it should be a fun driver so I can deal with the frame repair, etc.  Just irks me that someone would smear bondo over serious rust and rip someone off.   Least the engine had not fallen out, but, I suspect one more good thud and it would have....