Hi everyone.
I could really use some input from people who know more than me. Please bear with me while I try to share all the details of my problem.
I have a 65 fastback C-code automatic that I have owned for the past 22 years. As a teenager I was stupid and jumped a hill and slightly dented the front right frame rail. My dad welded a plate over the dent as reinforcement and the car continued to drive fine for years after that. I put it in a storage container for 4 years while I was overseas. When I got it out 2 1/2 years ago the brakes were locked up on one side so it had to be dragged out with a tractor. I decided it was time to make a series of improvements, including:
frame rail connectors
shelby export brace
monte carlo bar
power front disc brakes
replaced upper control arms (no shelby drop)
After my mechanic replaced the upper control arms, he noted that it took a lot of shims on one side to make everything line up right. I didn't think much about it at the time, but when I took it to the alignment shop afterward, it took 3 times for them to get the alignment to stick. I thought it was finally fixed until I took it get appraised and the guy doing the appraisal pointed out how much the front end was toed out. I hadn't noticed because it was driving fine.
I had planned on getting the front disc brake conversion, so I went ahead and had that done before getting a fresh alignment. This time I took my car to a guy at the ford place that knows all about how to properly align classic mustangs and he did it according to the original specs. The same thing happened where it would not stay aligned. Even the expert guy at the ford place couldn't figure out why it wouldn't hold an alignment. They just gave up and said there was nothing else they could do. Fortunately the last attempt left it in drivable shape, but it is again clearly toed out a lot.
My mech said that it could be that the shock towers are warped or cracked and need reinforcing so I bought a reinforcement kit to be welded on. However, this requires removing the engine, which I assume will cost lots of $$$ and still will not guarantee that it will fix the problem. I want to get some other opinions about this before I invest money in a solution that might not work.
I forgot to mention that after inspecting the shock towers there were no obvious cracks or flaws and that when my mech measured the engine compartment and compared it to the specs in the manual everything measured out correctly.
Anybody have any ideas what could be causing this problem? Should I go ahead with reinforcing the shock towers? Could there be a problem with the control arms or with the way they were installed?
I appreciate any help that you can give. I miss driving my car and now that Spring is coming soon I am desperate to get this resolved.
Mike
I could really use some input from people who know more than me. Please bear with me while I try to share all the details of my problem.
I have a 65 fastback C-code automatic that I have owned for the past 22 years. As a teenager I was stupid and jumped a hill and slightly dented the front right frame rail. My dad welded a plate over the dent as reinforcement and the car continued to drive fine for years after that. I put it in a storage container for 4 years while I was overseas. When I got it out 2 1/2 years ago the brakes were locked up on one side so it had to be dragged out with a tractor. I decided it was time to make a series of improvements, including:
frame rail connectors
shelby export brace
monte carlo bar
power front disc brakes
replaced upper control arms (no shelby drop)
After my mechanic replaced the upper control arms, he noted that it took a lot of shims on one side to make everything line up right. I didn't think much about it at the time, but when I took it to the alignment shop afterward, it took 3 times for them to get the alignment to stick. I thought it was finally fixed until I took it get appraised and the guy doing the appraisal pointed out how much the front end was toed out. I hadn't noticed because it was driving fine.
I had planned on getting the front disc brake conversion, so I went ahead and had that done before getting a fresh alignment. This time I took my car to a guy at the ford place that knows all about how to properly align classic mustangs and he did it according to the original specs. The same thing happened where it would not stay aligned. Even the expert guy at the ford place couldn't figure out why it wouldn't hold an alignment. They just gave up and said there was nothing else they could do. Fortunately the last attempt left it in drivable shape, but it is again clearly toed out a lot.
My mech said that it could be that the shock towers are warped or cracked and need reinforcing so I bought a reinforcement kit to be welded on. However, this requires removing the engine, which I assume will cost lots of $$$ and still will not guarantee that it will fix the problem. I want to get some other opinions about this before I invest money in a solution that might not work.
I forgot to mention that after inspecting the shock towers there were no obvious cracks or flaws and that when my mech measured the engine compartment and compared it to the specs in the manual everything measured out correctly.
Anybody have any ideas what could be causing this problem? Should I go ahead with reinforcing the shock towers? Could there be a problem with the control arms or with the way they were installed?
I appreciate any help that you can give. I miss driving my car and now that Spring is coming soon I am desperate to get this resolved.
Mike
You're worried about devaluing your car ? If you sell it as it is now, and the next owner finds the same problems you're having, who's going look bad then ? Send it to a frame shop and get it right. Seems kinda hypocritical to be worried about devaluing a car when it's possibly got frame issues from previous wreck damage that you caused. 
