I am reasonably sure that the Frame is Diamoned or Racked on the Model 40 Coupe that I am restoring, I probably should have checked the alignment before now, however I have just finished replacing the wood and am now checking the fit of the body metal to the new wood framing as well as rechecking the cowl / hood radiator alignment before removing the metal and sandblasting, priming and permanitly installing the cowl and rear clip...All indications are that the left frame rail needs to be pulled back, my first thought was that I had gotten the left sill located too far forward but dont think that is the case...I did check with a two foot carpenters square from crossmember to frame rail and found about a quarter inch difference in 18", the frame rails do not run parellel so the measurement taken was the airgap difference at the end of the square, I also got a difference by cross measuring between frame rails and two members....I checked the M-4 Coupe that I have and it seams to measure about the same difference, like that left frame rail is also back...Is there a better method to checking a frame alignment than what I am doing? Years ago I helped "string" a truck frame to check the alignment but I have forgotten how we did it.

Thanks Bill

Where Are You From? Yuma, AZ / Leavenworth, WA

Do You own a car built by Durant? '23 A-22 Touring / '29 Model 40 Coupe

when i check a frame for square...i run a diagnal measurement from front left to right rear....then right front to left rear going to same points on each sides front and back.....by pulling points to same diagonal length you take out difference and frame should be square.....also keeping frame rails parallell to floor at same height to 4 diagonal measurement points.....

Where Are You From? penna

Thanks Gary,

Guess that is what I needed to hear... I'll pull the wood framing back off with the sills attached where I can better see and cross (X) measure the rails, I didn't want to pull the engine so will find a measuring point as far ahead and back as possiable...I should be wise to the fact that the frames can easily rack on these old cars as the last restoration I did on an '18 overland touring had the same problem, with that one I just pulled the rear motor mount bolts and put a controled pull on the right rail until the hood / radiator came in alignment then rebolted a diagonal brace.
Thanks much, Bill

Where Are You From? Yuma, AZ / Leavenworth, WA

Do You own a car built by Durant? '23 A-22 Touring / '29 Model 40 Coupe

Hi Bill.....

If you level the frame on jack stands, just drop some plumb bobs from the measure points. That way you can work around any obstructions. That way it does not matter if the body is on or off, or motor is in the frame etc. Works like a trammel gauge used in frame shops.....

Frank ---

Where Are You From? Hookstown, Pennsylvania

Do You own a car built by Durant? 16 Durant & Star cars & a Durant Dort buggy (one horse power)

Thanks Frank,
That sounds like a pretty clever method, you can acuratly transfer points to your shop floor then measure your X from that, I would think that you may first want to verify the length of your transfer points on each side to be certain that they are equil in length or your Diaginal would never work out...The X measurement on my frame is 5/16" out, so I am thinkin I will need to shift the rail somewhere around 3/16" to align it, however I am certain my hood alignment problem is much greater than that, Anyway, I now think I know what needs to be done.

Thanks, Bill

Where Are You From? Yuma, AZ / Leavenworth, WA

Do You own a car built by Durant? '23 A-22 Touring / '29 Model 40 Coupe

Hi Bill....

While you are measuring, be sure to look for sags and upward & downward bends in the frame. These play havoc with alignment of panels.

Depending on how a car was hit you can have a diamond frame and also an upward or downward bend.

How is your hood fitting top to bottom? Also look at door gaps.

If you look at Jim's pictures in "Following a Star" you can see the chains, come-a-longs and port-a- powers he used to twist the body back into alignment during refitting of the wood.

His temporary x bracing also bolts to known points on the body (windshield frame mounts,top prop socket irons).

Everything seems to sag with age, our cars are no different!

Frank ---

Where Are You From? Hookstown, Pennsylvania

Do You own a car built by Durant? 16 Durant & Star cars & a Durant Dort buggy (one horse power)

The hood lines up fine from top to bottom but is tight against the cowl bead, however at a glance you will see that the hood pulls are not verticle on the left side but are tilted forward when latched to the hood, also the rear hood hinge pin is kicked to the left of center, moving the radiator sideways is not sufficiant enough to correct the problem...My accumalated length from front of cowl to door hinge post, from door hinge post to door latch post, and from door latch post to end of sill at the sill wood cross member seem to measure the same on both sides, now where the kicker comes in is that the problem doesn't show in the back at the spare tire mounting bracket (approx 1/4" clearance on both sides) This is why I thought the frame was diamoned (worse than it was) rather than my left sill needing shifted to the rear...It may be that I will need to shift one sill forward half the distance and the other sill back the other half.

Here are a couple of pics.
Bill

Where Are You From? Yuma, AZ / Leavenworth, WA

Do You own a car built by Durant? '23 A-22 Touring / '29 Model 40 Coupe