bent chassis

Seconded.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

John Smith wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com:

You're still driving this thing???? It's not often you get to meet someone actually trying for a Darwin award.

The car is obviously unsafe... how many folks you gonna kill before you realize it???

I'm not still driving it. I only drove it home. I didn't leave idle speed except to see if the car was still straight. Even then it was only to about

20 mph for about 5 seconds. It was less than 2 miles on lightly trafficked 25mph road. I didn't feel like walking or waiting for the AAA guy in single digit temperatures. Had it been a long or high speed drive, I never would have driven it. Even if I didn't kill anyone else, I would have frozen to death myself given the huge gap between the body and door.

Why do you suggest straightening?

It seems like getting it fixed will be costly, and I won't know if it'll come out right until after I pay for it.

The effort and time of swapping stuff over really isn't an issue. I've taken my car apart so many times and customized it so much that pulling the drivetrain isn't a big deal to me. The only reason I don't just go the swap route is because I prefer the looks of the Capri to a 92 Mustang.

Good.... bear inmind that unibody cars can be dificult to get right. Without seeing the car, it's tough to say but it does sound "less than desirable". Truth be told, if it was mine, it would have reached the end of it's road.......

Good frame shops with state of the art equipment can get them close, but they never seem the same....

What you said about how, "they never seem the same," is what I've always heard. It's what concerns me.

I've spent quite a lot of money getting the suspension the way I like it. I'd be very upset if I paid a shop to fix it, only to have the car wiggle and wander with no remedy.

Well, I have to chime in. I absolutely destroyed the front end of my old 88 Mustang. Complete structure rebuild plus frame straightening needed. Merl's frame and wheel in OKC did it for me. Of course, new shocks and struts went in, and I got new rims and tires. After the alignment, I SWEAR it drove better than it did before hand. These guys do tons of Corvettes and Mustangs. I was skeptical, but very impressed. I could find nothing to complain about with the way the car tracked or handled. It actually felt tighter than it did before, which I guess was caused by having a brand new structure in.

So, my experience was good. Would I do it again? No, but then I don't have a Capri. If I had a Capri would I? Yes, they are getting hard to find.

Don Manning

I think a lot of the "they never seem the same." Is all in the head. If a good, proffesional shop can straighten and strengthen the frame (unibody) properly it should be as good as new if not better.

That one word.... "IF".... right now I'm (STILL) waiting for our fabricator to finish a 69 RoadRunner. It's getting back-halfed, tubbed and a 12 point cage. Been waiting a long time and the bill is going to be nothing less than awe-inspiring. Talk to a door-slammer guy in our area and if they're going to have a wreck, they'd rather be in one of our fabricators cars.

Good frame guys don't come cheap..... if Jim S takes this car to his local bondo shop, "never seem the same" will be more than just in his head. Don't forget that this car appears to be an 82..... at this point in time, it is just another old car.... we have no idea of what mother nature has dealt this piece and we have no idea of any other problems it may have. Mustang or not, how much money is appropriate to pump into a car we have not seen.

Depends on the condition of the car, otherwise... if there's little or no rust, shop around for a good straightener.

They CAN get the car lined up better than SOME came off the line.

But if there's a lot of rust or other damage, sell the parts. I wouldnt go to the trouble of swapping a bunch of 82 drivetrain and trim into a 92... It wouldnt be a Capri anymore even IF the rear sheet metal was the same...the real intrinsic value would be lost anyway.

Believe me, I've done a lot of swap-ins and swap-outs ..and that's too much work for the satisfaction later

"Jim S." wrote in news:cq5omq$ snipped-for-privacy@dispatch.concentric.net:

I had my LX straightened and it came out perfect. Drives as true as the day I drove it off the lot.

It's like any other repair - if it's not right you can insist they correct it. These days, they have lasers and whatnot that can line up a frame (or unibody in the Mustang's case) perfectly.

Well Jim, it sounds like you've made up your mind to do the swap anyway. So if looks is an issue, just swap all the Capri stuff into the Mustang. Of course, you're right about the fenders, but you have three choices: Swap without the fenders and drive a Mustang, get the Capri straightened, or find a donor Capri. Good luck with whatever you do.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

FWIW, my LX came out perfect after the shop straightened it. I was driving south, a moron was driving north on the same road and blew through a red left-turn light right in front of me. I t-boned her as she blew by. Bent the whole front end of the LX towards the passenger side by 4 or 5 inches. Frame shop lasered up the unibody and fixed it perfectly. This was six years ago and the car still rides beautifully today.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

"Jim Warman" wrote in news:G3wxd.7515$KO5.735@clgrps13:

True, part the car out and get something a little more modern.

The car is perfect other than the damage I mentioned. I spent 2 years restoring and customizing the car. There is no rust. Aside from the body panels, nothing, not a fuel or brake line in the car is of '82 vintage. I have a built 93 5.0. a well built AOD, rear-end is 95 GT disc, 98 Cobra front brakes and lots more.

The parts that are on it and the Capri look are the valuable things to me.

I guess I just need to decide how much the Capri look is worth to me.

Thanks guys,

I'm going to have the car towed up to a frame place to get an estimate. If the repair is going to be more than $700, I think I'll just do the swap.

Jim S. '82 Mutant

Jim S. opined in news:cq758d$ snipped-for-privacy@dispatch.concentric.net:

Then you just answered your own question... get it straightened

The CHASSIS is a Capri... If you weld the sheet metal onto a Mustang, the chassis is still a Mustang.

And if one is going to cut and weld, wouldn't it be easier just to weld and/or bolt in donor bits under the car to replace what's bent?