Looking for experienced input. This is an 87 1 ton dually (137" wb cab & chasis). It was hit in the right front wheel. Bent the control arms, crushed the shock. Frame appears straight but the control arm mount is bent. The control arm bumper mount seems to be rolled slightly into the box frame. Is the mount itself something that can be cut away and a replacement welded back? I have a parts truck that was originally a Dolphin (or Sunrader, I can't remember which). Frame is basically the same with some minor differences at the rear axle (leaf springs and bags on the RV vs just springs on the cab/chassis). Could use the Dolphin frame - it's solid but not nearly as good a condition as the cab/chassis truck. First two pictures are from the damage to cab/chassis suspension, third is a general picture of the nice condition of the frame and the last one is the Dolphin just to show a little of it's frame condition.

 

Frame sure looks bend from here and I'm only looking at a small portion of it in the second picture. On the upside it's metal and there's not much that can't be fixed with time and skills, the downside is if you can't spot that huge divot in the frame you're alignment guy isn't going to like you when you ask him to set the alignment after cutting and welding on the frame probably.

Find a body shop with frame jig, ask for a quote to fix it.

 

Yeah, sorry if the explanation wasn't clear. What you're seeing is what I tried to explain when I mentioned the control arm bumper mount being rolling into the frame. By "straight" I was trying to say that the frame didn't appear to be bent out of position.

 

I know frame swaps are a lot of work, but personally, I would rather deal with the straight frame that has light surface rust, than use the current frame that has definite damage, may not be straight, and could have been compromised in areas that you can't see at the moment

 

Swapping frames makes sense. I've found a local restoration shop that's gonna take on the challenge of getting the dually back on the road. We both agreed that keeping the original frame would be best if possible since it's in such good shape (minus the wrecked bit), but the frame swap is a good back up plan. We'll know more about saving the original frame once all the suspensions parts are pulled off and he can get a better look.

 

well, wishing you good luck with getting it fixed..