Should I keep my car? Chassis questions..

[USAstang]

Hello all,

I have a few questions concerning SURE signs of car abuse. I'm worried about putting good money into my stang and finding out that the chassis is garbage.

Are there any signs that a NOOB could look for that will tell me that the car isn't even worth while to invest alot of money into it?

Please your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Modular2v]

get under a look at the frame, inspect the torque boxes for tears(can be fixed) doe the car shake of is it out of alignment very bad when being driven?

 

[fiveohGT]

If you look into the wheel wells you can see too open holes near the doors. The holes should be untouched and have no damage to them. If there is any sign of anything it probably means that fram was straightened.

You can also look at the GT body molding all the way around the car and see if it lines up right. That another way you could detect foul play.

Again, you can try taking measurements with your wheel straight from the edge of the tire to point on the fender parallel to the ground. Do this on both sides of the wheel/tire and do it to all four. This will help check if anything is screwy with the chassis or if a fender was replaced.

Also try looking under the hood between the radiator and headlights and look for any obvious welding that could have been done due to repairs.

Also just look at the frame and see if it looks bendy.

good luck!

 

[USAstang]

Whoa.... I'm embarrassed to even post on this forum I know J@ck **** about cars.. Started a few months back learning little by little.

Noob question #1) Where are the torque boxes?

Noob question #2) Bent in frame railings (where you place a typical jack stand up means nothing .. right?)

As for being out of alignment... the car drives fairly straight, well I did install a new Rack/Pinion assembly (which I'm very proud off LMAO) and took it to a shop to get an alignment done.

It drives straight.. but turns a bit to the right (letting the car coast) after a while with no hands on the wheel. But I think that's normal

As for any shaking the only shaking it does is when I start off the car without enough gas (in first gear at low revs'). I'm thinking I'm not giving enough gas to get the heavy a$$ car starting so it just vibrates a bit.


Thanks again for the help guys/gals. This stuff fascinates me, but there's a lot to learn.

 

[BooWFO]

Since you asked I'll explain like I would to someone who knows nothing. No offense meant.
1. Torque boxes are where the Control arms attach to the car. The control arms are the funny looking things that connect the rear end to the car.
2. Frame rails there are frame rails in the front of the car and the back. they look like box tubing. They should be inline with each other and the body bolts to them. Have you ever seen a picture of SubFrameConnectors installed they connect the 2 SF together, making the chassis stiffer.
On an Fox I usually check the rad. support area lots of people have frontend collisions and don't repair properly. You may want to remove the bumper cover and rad to make sure that is in good shape.

 

[USAstang]

No offense taken at all,

Once I do find the torque boxes, what exactly should I look for? Modular2V stated tears... what exactly are tears on a torque box, and no I haven't seen subframes installed on a car.

By any chance could you provide pics to both of these or links that show a good pic?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[dbdragracing]

I took a look at my car after I saw this post...Both doors are evenly dropped down about 1/8" or less. Is this fixed by replacing the hinges? The car drives great, carfax is clean, and seems straight. Thanks.