56 Chevy Frame w/ Trans Am Clip/Rear - Please Help!

[Shanehenrymusic]

Hey Guys -

I'm buildiing a 55/56 chevy Big Window.. I'm at the point in the restoration where i need to update my frame. I found a guy on Craigslist who is selling a 56 frame with a 78 Trans Am Front and Disc Brake Rear.. The workmanship looks good but Is there anyway to know if this is properly set up and will ride well? The Front clip has also been rebuilt... at 500$ it seems too good to be true! Here's the Pics:

[Shanehenrymusic]

More Pics

[Rude Dude]

Measure diaganol pattern (X pattern) from stock frame to clip 1/8 off is okay. Also measure stock wheel base inches (some people weld clip in forward one to one and a half inches forward to center wheels in wheel well.

[Shanehenrymusic]

I did measure the wheelbase and Its an 1.5 inches forward from the stock wheelbase. Is there a certain point on the stock frame to the clip that you would use as measurement points?

[Rude Dude]

As long as the points are same on both sides I.E. ribbits on chassis cab mounts.

[Shanehenrymusic]

Okay Great - Thanks so much for the tip.. Hows it look to you in the pics?

[Dan in Pasadena]

Too good to be true, generally IS!

But that doesn't mean this isn't potentially a great deal. If you have real misgivings, go to the yellow pages under "Testing Laboratories" call one and ask their minimum charge for a Certified Weld Inspector (CWI). one of them can put your mind at ease that the welding is good-provided the owner didn't grind the welds nor Bondo them for appearence sake. Good luck!
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[Rude Dude]

Picture looks good but like Dan said make sure no body filler is hiding welds.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Shanehenrymusic

Okay Great - Thanks so much for the tip.. Hows it look to you in the pics?

Overall appearence is good, BUT you didn't show us pictures of the actual weld joints themselves-the most important thing. Preferably all four views of each side.
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[55metalmonkey]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Too good to be true, generally IS!

But that doesn't mean this isn't potentially a great deal. If you have real misgivings, go to the yellow pages under "Testing Laboratories" call one and ask their minimum charge for a Certified Weld Inspector (CWI). one of them can put your mind at ease that the welding is good-provided the owner didn't grind the welds nor Bondo them for appearence sake. Good luck!
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Good advice from Dan, one other bit of advice would be to take it to a frame shop and have them set it up on their alignment machine. It will tell you if the wheelbase and track width are square to the 1000th/inch. it wouldn't be the same as a final alignment but will give you a very good idea if the work was done accurately, the weight of the body/drivetrain could be simulated if you knew the curb weight and distribution front to rear (60/40???). also the guys at any decent frame shop would be able to tell you if the work was done right, if their a knowledgeable shop they would have seen many frame jobs and know what to look for. IMO making it a condition of sale would be a good idea as well.
From the pics it doesn't look like a hack job or anything but pics can be deceiving