Chain, come-along and a tree? Never pulled on a body but wouldn't this be the way to fix it? Car had been tapped in rear and I didn't notice this untill I hung a door. (to check for things like this) You can see the problem at the top of the door.
You need to hang the other door, the trunk lid and glass to see exactly where the body is tweaked and what it will take to get it back in the right spot. Also, examine the B pillars and you might be able to see exactly where the damage is. Have a close look at the rocker panels and floorboard to see if they are going to factor into your equasion. Remember, the glass is the only thing you can't change.... If you have the $$ a body shop could straighten it for you or...as ghetto as it sounds...a big tree and a few come alongs could do it too. Good luck, -Abone.
I have or had a book that was a service book for the body. It had all the measurements that were needed for the glass and doors.
a big tree and a comealong is nature's frame rack. Get yourself a tram guage and some drawings with the factory body dimensions on them too
The other door and the trunk hang correctly. The floors are mostly gone. The trunk hole is closed in at the bottom about 1/4 inch but its really rotten back there, was about to order tailpan,brace and 10 inches of trunk floor.
The door may be twisted. If the top were that far off it would usually be the same on the other side, unless there were a large bulge or crease in the middle of the top.
I agree with henry29 I think the issue is the door. If that roof were that far off I gotta believe you'd see it in the windshield area.
If you stand behind the car you can see the difference between the two sides, there is a small crease in the door post that I wondered about. I think this explains it. The quarter panel is rusted and weak.
A come along and the tree trick may only raise the car off the ground. Think about renting a Port a Power and using a 4X4 on the frame to jack against the top of the B pillar.
IF the floors are completely gone, the entire rear end is rusted out as you say, I wouldn't even waste my time with all that. I would just get a different body and start with something better rather than all of the time and effort fixing rust on a car that will probably never be right in the end.
I see this over & over. Smokin' bargain up front, mega bucks over several years. Or more bucks up front, & less money, & a lot less time later. Problem is, most guys can't afford the high initial, so they rescue a rusty one.
I've got nothing invested in it so next week a visit to a tree and we'll see what develops. I figure less than $1000.00 gets me a rust free complete body so I need to give it a try.
Before you start pulling or pushing on the body, take some measurements. First I would start with a cross measurement from the rocker on the other side to the top of the "B" pillar. And then do the other side. This will tell you if the body is tweeked. Hey, it's possible the door you are putting on there is pushed out at the top.
Thats what I am thinking. To be that far out of whack there should be a major crease somewhere in the roof or quarters. I would think at least.
The crease is in the jamb near the belt line, now that i started looking it's obvious, when standing behind the car you can see the bow half way up the side. The driver side looks good. Did I mention the goats that danced on the roof?
Figure out what caused the bow, before you do anything. I'd still do some measuring before attempting a fix. It's easy to do the wrong thing.
post up more pic's of the rusted areas. Rotted structural ares will make a body flop around in all kinds of wierd ways. take a BUTTFULL of measurments of a known straight car and go from there. Door dancing goats huh?
I'd start with a template made off a good '55 Chevy if you know somebody who has one. If not, then make one from the other side and reverse it for that side, but consider the other side might be slightly off also. Once you've got a cardbord template made, then transfer it to 1/4" or 3/8" plywood, and use it to hold on the side of the car and make adjustments. Since it's a free car you can spend a lot of time and some money to try and get it right. Might end up having to cut the roof off if it gets too unruly, and then put a new roof on once it's all back in place.
Actually I did not catch the body being bowed out at the beltline from your pic........I stand corrected..... worse than I thought. You WILL have to do a pull rearwards on the pass quarter somehow........
i'm all about fixing my own stuff, even if i don't know how,but, i think if you had a body shop pull that with the frame rack you'd be way better off. who knows, you may get it, but, you may make it worse also.
Definitely worth fixing,these are no longer easily found or bought these days. When we were kids they were 1-2-3hundred dollar cars and everywhere,now Im 62 and these are much much more valuable......
Kind of looks like the quarter/door pillar may be pulled out sideways judging from the kink in the post at the beltline, and the bend at the top of the post. Im no bodyman but I would hook the very top of that post to the tree just to hold it in place and then hook a come along to the beltline area of that post and pull it inward while tapping the kink with a hammer ,(just judging from the pics) again Im no pro body man but I think I could do it or you might consider the naysayers advice and look for another more solid one that just needs a motor and trans stuck in it ........ and just leave this one to die? I would rather save this one
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