need some frame advice

[64customcab]

Haven't been on here in a while - In May I totalled my '64 stepside longbed and its just been sitting waiting - got it apart now and the frame is twisted pretty good. I'm going to have a frame shop look at it and see if it can be straightened...I'm wndering what are some other options for clipping it? Someone suggested a '77 Impala.... I'll post some pics of the wreckage when I can.

[frankslagoon]

So what your saying is your thinking about cutting the frt off your 64 and putting something else up there?

[jimmyjammoto]

I'd clip it with a similar year truck if you have to splice in a new front frame
section.

[DPowers]

Can't find another LWB frame?

[PGSigns]

Pics will help with ways to fix what you have. A good frame guy can do wonders with one and you dont have to worry about vin number issues if you go that route. I would think you can find any pieces of a frame you need here.
Jimmy

[64customcab]

Tough from a phone

[4mulaSvaliant]

There are a few ways you can go from where you are at the moment.

First the current frame: Believe it or not, frames especially these, arent hard to straighten really. A little beating and banging, a frame straightening machine and some torque and it can be "straightened". HOWEVER......... Never... will it be dead on correct again. You may end up with issues down the road if you use this frame and at that point you will have put the whole truck back together so you can drive it, just to find out something still isnt quite right.
Those slight tweaks that may still be in the frame may very well be able to be compensated for. Its the whole reason there is adjustment built into the suspension and steering systems.

So... While the frame guys may be able to straighten the frame, they may very well either tell you "Yeah i can straighten it...but it still may not be right" or... they may very well say "No we cant do much with that". Which is likely that they dont want the liability of that frame being "not quite straight" in the end.


Your second option being a "clipped front end" may not be a viable solution either really. The biggest thing when grafting a front clip is to make sure everything is dead even. Now even though you have what appears to be just front end frame damage, I assure you that some of that shock translated to the cross members through out the rest of the frame. It looks like you hit primarily on the drivers side. That being the case, it couldnt have been an even "blow" to the rest of the chassis.
Chances are very high that if you weld a new front clip to this frame, youll still have some potential tracking issues.

If this were mine..........
These frames seem to pop up on my local Craigslist fairly often. I think Id go grab another truck and strip it down to use the frame, or any number of combination of parts swapping as you see fit.


Again... that frame can be straightened, but it will never be what it was pre-accident, and youll likely not spot any issues until after the truck is all back together.

Hopefully this helps!

[patrickk1]

I would think that clipping it or swapping to a different frame would entail the same issues because when you clip it, you's be removing the section of frame where the vin is located. Having said that, swapping frames in many states is not an issue. Some state DMV's make you do some paperwork. I'd just swap the frame to another one and install a newer front crossmember while you're at it. Much cheaper than having the frame straightened. Frames are swapped out on vehicles all the time, even by car dealers. Check your state laws.

[64customcab]

Hit the pass side- hard

[64customcab]

This

[4mulaSvaliant]

I think I just shed a tear! LOL

[4mulaSvaliant]

Swap the entire frame and roll on!

[64customcab]

Yeah it was a bad wreck, but nobody got hurt....except the 2 vehicles involved.

[Clyde65]

short bed frame-Dallas CL, not mine
https://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/pts/5386896471.html

67-72 LWB frame, not mine, Dallas CL ad
https://easttexas.craigslist.org/pts/5358797103.html

[hugger6933]

That frame isn't bad it can be fixed really easily a guy could get it on the frame machine and line it up pretty quickly.
Second my pitch for a clip is 99-07 Chevy truck. It has rack and pinion steering, disc brakes 6 lugs and LS mounts. I have put a tape to it and it is as close to perfect as any clips I have measured before. I have put a lot of thought into putting one under my 68 longbed. [I'm a 67-72 guy]and I have several of those clips around from trucks I have junked out and or reframed.[I rebuild later model wrecks for a living] And on top of that it would be really easy to find one that could be had semi cheaply. Jim

[NevEno]

Left side of the frame bent?

[Novalicious]

I have a 64, 2wd sb frame on Long island, had a small rust repair, $200. Have a sb stepper box, front fenders and a rad support too. If it helps?
Call me if interested
631-404-6107

['65 chevy lover]

Bummer about your truck, but glad to hear you're OK.

[jtrichard]

just seen this deja vu check out the last pic in post #800 http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...540610&page=32

[Brad54]

Swap the frame.
It SOUNDS daunting, but it's really not... Get a new frame out of a junkyard or Craigslist.
Strip it, blast it, paint it.
In one weekend, you can easily unbolt the bed, engine, cab, and rear suspension from the old bed.
In one weekend, you can easily bolt easily bolt the suspension together and have a rolling chassis.
The next weekend you can bolt the bed and cab back in place, and then you are right where you are now.

If you're worried about the vin, I'd just generously remove it from the original frame, and weld in a huge repair area on the replacement frame, and not think twice about it.

You are allowed to move vins during repairs. Replacing structure and panels is considered a repair. That's why you can replace every piece of sheet metal on a '69 Camaro and swap the vin to the new replacement dash, but you can't cut the vin off an old body and put it on a new Dynacorn body.

It's a silly hair-splitting legal thing, but that's what lawyers do.


-Brad