i purchased an A sedan with a frame and im slowly working on it and tonite i placed the body onto the frame and had it bolted in. the frame is straight as is the body (not warped or anything at least the bottom) but with the car sitting on the frame it overhangs too much to one side. and im wondering was the car like this from the factory??(not the greatest technology back in the 20's), does the car need straghtening? can i get away with it like that? pictures are here http://groups.msn.com/1929modela/shoebox.msnw?Page=3 the part im talking about is before the floor crossmember. thx
Looks like the rail on the left in the picture is bent in. You say it's straight? Looks like it's been T-boned a bit. But fixable. If ya don't it might "crab" going down the road. Lots of the do. ya see it following cars. Did you check it for "straightness" with stretched plumb lines on the two rails and compare them? The rails aren't "straight" but they should be mirror images of each other. Also stretch some lines diagonally corner to cormer across the top of the bare frame to see if its twisted, they should barely touch in the middle.
I had a similar problem with mine and it turned out that the sub rails and cross channels were out of square. If the frame measures out square and strait, then I'd check the square on the body. Mine was real obvious when I tried to put the rear deck lid on. The trunk opening was badly out of square. Turned out that the body was out of sqare at the sub rails and the whole body was also out of square from the top to the bottom and front to back as if the car was twisted and one side was farther back than the other.
ok so say they're bent and i straighten the rail. then wouldn't the body not be able to bolt in the original hole?
There were wood body blocks when the car was new wherever there was a body bolt. These are available from most A parts suppliers. The subframe and frame holes should line up, if not somethind is out of square.
Is that frame boxed? It looks like it might be. If it is, was it properly squared and held in position during the boxing? If it wasn't, I bet that is the problem. If the frame turns out to be bent, twisted or warped, I'd think it would be better to start over with a different frame or build a new one from tubing. Make your checks as the guys above stated. Also be sure to check that it is flat on the top. There should be no curves up or down on a Model A frame (except the front frame horns). Good Luck.
Hey, I wouldn't be so quick ta blame this problem on the frame. Remember, these bodies were built and fitted in a jig prior to being bolted to the frame. This body was removed from the frame, no? If it does turn out that the frame is bent, these can be straightened fairly easly, Model A frames, unlike later frames contain no torque boxes or real tough areas to work around. A frame shop may get ya 200-300$ ta square this up, but ya could rent, borrow or buy a cheap Porta- Power hydraulic jack and fix this yo self. It ain't rocket sceince!
ok i checked the frame again and looking closer at it, i realized that it is a little bent. oh well. i'll fix it. thanks for all the help and suggestions
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