Aways been a tool nut so couldn't believe my good fortune when a friend said there was a GM frame jig sunk into the ground in one of his fields. I have a long table with a half inch thick steel top we've used for years but one can't reach to weld inside and under frame rails easily because of the solid top. This is open and even more ridgid with it's massive I-beams plus it rolls on huge casters. The rails are punched and measurements marked to make setting up the arms and brackets a bolt on deal instead of welding on and later grinding off connections to the table top. Some way I'm going to build a frame in the near future.
This is cool, I guess! Evan, I'm so ignorant when it comes to twisted frames that it isn't even funny! I've heard of cars being totaled because the frame is no longer "square", it is "flexed" etc, etc. I've been behind cars that "crab walk" down the road, but I've never understood how something like what you've found can mend that! Tell me in layman's terms how you can use your new toy to take a frame that has been in a side impact wreck and get it to track correctly! Inquiring minds need to know!
Wow ! That's quite a find Evan , you're the right man to put it to work Chassis repair and stretching is a <magic> art IMO .
Tweaking! In laymans terms, basically your bent chassis bolts to the jig using factory bolt holes that are at set distances and positions, so if one rail is bent you bolt down the straight one to the jig and you heat,hammer,pull and push the bent one until the holes line up. obviously some are too far gone to do this but as long as its not too bad a bent/twisted chassis can be brought back to run true, the jig is like a 3 dimensional map of a chassis, it lines up certain points all over the chassis, top, bottom, sides etc. far more accurate than a tape measure!
Ken, Neils explanation is perfect and since you are a Sherlock on the computer you can go to www.wescottsauto.com, click on "tech", and then on "frame specs". You will see how with the given reference points you can have brackets/arms attached to the very ridgid jig and the frame attached to the brackets at exactly the right place. The more ridgid the jig the less deflection you have during welding and the welds can be stress relieved so the measurements stay dead on.
Lurking Thanks grandpa for the concern, im still around but dont get much time to come on here, works been a little thin on the ground with the economy etc, gotta chase all you can, and the little time i have got is spent on the ol truck! I try and keep up with it on here but you only gotta miss 3-4 days and you guys have racked up a large amount of posts lol
