Alignment Problems - Long
 

Where do I start? Well last Feb. I purchased a rough 80SC. I thought it would be fun to restore,auto cross,& DE. So far it has been expensive,frustrating,time consuming,& rewarding. I have replaced or rebuilt allmost everything on the car. My mechanic just finished the rear suspension, & was in the process of aligning & ballancing the car. The right front would not come into specs (caster & camber).Looking under the car on the pan just past the wheel well there was a small wrinkle in the floor pan. We started measuring & discovered that the right front wheel has less distance from the back of the wheel well than the left wheel(about 3/4"). Obviously the car had been hit hard on the right side. When I had the car painted & the body shop checked all the front measurements on the top of the car (shock towers,inside the trunk,ect) When I calld the body shop to explain the problem,the shop owner said that he did not check the undercarrage.I did have a PPI done when I purchased the car(75mi away from where I live) & the guy lied to me about the condition of the car,or he was an Idiot. presently I trying to deside what to do. The body shop says that he can put the car on his frame machine & fix the alignment,but all the present lines of the car will change(fender to door & hood,ect) this upsets me after paying him $5500 to paint the car already. I guess That I am totally Screwed !!! I AM THE POSTER CHILD FOR NOT THOROUGHLY CHECKING OUT A CAR BEFORE I BOUGHT IT !!!I am through venting, so you can flame away!! no one could say anything to make me feel worse than I do at this moment. Craig :(

Craig,

Don't get too down on yourself. It's easy to say that you didn't do a thorough check but then again we've all heard stories about the most thorough PPI failing to find something.

The ingredients for a proper 911 purchase are:

5 parts PPI
2 parts knowing the history
1 part luck
1 part faith in the seller and the PPI doer

I think you should try to negotiate with the bodyman to do the frame for you at a discount. As a bodyman he should have done some basic checks to ensure he wasn't painting a bent car, after all you paid him and relied on him as your expert to do the right thing. If you can't work something out I think suing the bodyshop is not out of the question depending on the exact circumstances.

alignment
 

Before you go to all the trouble and spending time on a frame machine, make sure your front spindle has not been bent. I had the same problem with mine when I bought it...the left front wheel would not align with the rest of the car. Putting the car on the frame machine was recommended by a body shop but my wrench at the time recommended swapping out the front strut assembly. This was the cure.....hope you'rs is not as bad as you think it is.

Guy's,Thanks for the support. I will check out the strut, & the body shop owner & I are going to have a meeting of the minds on fixing the problem. I believe he should share the pain of making the car right. Craig
P.S. The spindle checked out ok

I do not know who the 'body man' is, but if you are not already doing so, I would call Rick at Rick's European in Pinellas Park. You can get the suspension pulled slightly without affecting any lines on the car.
Good luck (deal with Rick),

Thomas, I contacted Rick today,& he is going check it out. I have bought quite a few parts from him in the last year. In the fog that I was in,worrying about the bent suspension,I didn't think about calling him. Thanks, Craig