Alignment Problems - Long

[Craig Stevens]

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

[orbmedia]

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.

[avi8torny]

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.

[Craig Stevens]

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

[Thomas Owen]

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),

[Craig Stevens]

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