Frustrated, need help.

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

Thanks for the quick reply, rbohm. I thought about checking the frame alignment, but I have heard that if I do that the equipment they use will leave some telltale marks that might hurt the value of my car. Is that true? If the chassis isn't straight, what would my options be?

When the export brace and monte carlo bar were installed, they went on perfectly, without even having the jack the shock towers apart. That is part of why I have my doubts about the shock towers needing reinforcement.

If it turns out that the chassis is straight and the shock towers are straight, what else might be causing this problem?

The main reason I haven't taken it to the frame shop already wasn't primarily the marks it might leave, but because neither I nor my mechanic think that is the issue. The car was fine for 15 years after the accident and we recently measured everything we could find specs on and nothing was out of place while on the lift.

I told my mechanic that I was thinking of taking it to the frame shop just to cover all my bases and it was his advice not to because of the marks. I have been thinking that I will save that as a last resort, hoping that replacing more of the suspension parts will fix it.

How much will a frame shop charge to check the alignment?

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Sorry for not replying for a while. I have been pursuing some options suggested on my allfordmustangs thread. Once you have read over it, let me know more of your thoughts.

I will try to post some pics of the dented frame rail once I get it up on the rack.