Chris talks about Sarah's bent frame and asks whether it's
possible to salvage this sort of damage. There are several
options that might interest the list at large (which is why
I'm replying to the list rather than just walking upstairs and
saying "There, there.")
After fighting the impulse to say "I'll make a sacrifice -- you
take my Falcon and I'll part out your worthless Triumph," it's
not such a big deal to straighten tweaked frames as it used
to be. The top frame shops nowadays use hydraulic presses
and frame jigs that use -- no kidding -- lasers to determine
the precision of the frame alignment. (These are absolutely
essential, BTW, in aligning a unibody car that has been
tweaked hard, which is why the technology developed.)
The best news is that you know Sarah has been drivable while
you've been restoring her. This means the damage isn't too
extreme, and can probably be pushed and shoved back into place
by a good shop. In the absolute worst case, TRF (as I'm sure
you know) sells new frames, and they almost certainly sell
frame segments if you have to have a new piece welded into
place. From what I've seen of Sarah, though, you should be able
to get by with aligning the frame on one of these nifty new
machines.
--Scott "If you want to get rid of her cheap, though..." Fisher
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