totalled truck.....

[Chvytruck95]

About a month ago my 1995 chevy truck was rear-ended by a semi. i was sitting at a stop light and the truck hit me going about 30mph. Well the insurance company totalled it, and i bought it back from them. well the frame is bent. I have heard that somewhere or someone can bend the frame back for me. I was wondering if anybody knows where i can do this?and how much it costs? If its worth it to do this or to buy a whole other truck and exchange the engines.
The truck still drives, so i have fun doing donuts in the pasture with it

i would show a picture of it but i dont know how?

[TexasF355F1]

I'm still trying to figure out why you bought the truck back in the first place, unless you were gonna hack it all up and turn it into a show stopper. Just buy another truck, you'll save time and it will be better off in the long run.

[amac209]

just about every bodyshop has frame reallignment equipment. call a few places. you'd probably be better off to part it out and get another truck

[J-Ri]

Bending metal back weakens it. If you'll be using it to tow/haul, definately buy a new truck.

[Chvytruck95]

Well i bought the truck back because i would have been losing money. I had put all the stuff you see in my post on my truck plus more parts on my 95 at the bottom of my post where it says what vehicles i have. And they would not give me a fair price for my parts or let me take them off because it needed an engine in it. So i bought the truck back so i didnt lose money . If the frame bending turns out to be more than 500$ im going to just find me another truck to put my engine into.

[cordovaass]

sometimes fames can't be bent back into place...

[Tall]

I know ur feeling...insurances are a joke.

[wafrederick]

Bending it back will not weaken it.My father has bent back frames with no problem.Sometimes the frame has to be heated up with a torch and strengthens it.If myfather has a problem,my neighbor comes over and helps out.My neighbor does auto body and frame work for a living.Lot of times Totaled out Chevrolet trucks are fixed after being bought from auto salvage auctions unless it has a scrap title.Ones with a scrap title cannot be fixed,for parts only

[TexasF355F1]

Originally Posted by wafrederick

Bending it back will not weaken it.My father has bent back frames with no problem.Sometimes the frame has to be heated up with a torch and strengthens it.If myfather has a problem,my neighbor comes over and helps out.My neighbor does auto body and frame work for a living.Lot of times Totaled out Chevrolet trucks are fixed after being bought from auto salvage auctions unless it has a scrap title.Ones with a scrap title cannot be fixed,for parts only

From all of the metalworkers I've ever talked to in my life have any of them, from my recollection, heating up the frame weakens it, as j-ri said.

[Chvytruck95]

Im sure by bending it back you lose most of your hauling and towing capacity unless they do something else to re-enforce the frame. Even if i do, do this, i wont be doing any hauling and towing. Ill be sure to ask them when i have time to call them. If the price is over 500$ im not doing and getting another truck, its not worth it.

[lonelywolf8588]

You could probably buy another truck from the salvage yard and use the frame off of it. If you have the frame bent your looking at thousands to rebuild it depending on the damage.

[wafrederick]

The truck is probally worth $6,000 to $7,000 on an used car and truck lot depending on the miles it has.It is worth bending back.Only frames that cannot be bent are the hydroformed frames

[acewelderman]

Frames are repaired everyday across the nation!Bend backs are permisssibale but if its ripped or torched off its a junk frame as far as rebuilders go.A frame can be cut & repaired if done right!!!!If there are no dot inspections or such in your area I wouldnt hesitate a minute to fix it.The down side is if you cant do the work yourself Im sure you will go over 500 bones getting it done.I did a repair on a dump truck frame once & it cost around 1000.But keep in mind this truck makes MONEY for the owner all day every day!!!NO WEAK FRAMES HERE!!!!Its a tandem axle w a 14 yard box & pulls a 10 yard pup.Make your own decision, is keeping your old truck worth 500 or not .But hell Im just a steel worker I might be wrong!

[Chevyman1984]

Buy you a truck like yours that is wrecked in the front. cut your truck in half (between the bed and cab) and cut the other truck in half. Measure very carefully before cutting and weld your front half with the other trucks back half. Reinforce the side rails with 1 inch plate steel.....reinforce the hell out of it. You can never take reinforcing to far. Or if your frame is not that bad you could rent a oxyacetylene torch take your bed and bumper off, get you a 10/20 pound sledge hammer. Heat the frame up....don’t hold the oxyacetylene torch in one place to long because it burns very hot and will burn a hole straight thru your frame. Once it gets red hot, hit it with the sledge, hit it til it looks straight. buy a bed that is not all smashed up....I imagine yours is... lift it up on the frame, see how far you are off from the blots lining up. take the bed off heat it up again and hit it. Keep doing this til you get everything lined up again. Its not hard it is just time consuming.