Thread: Frame Question

Tweet

I just accquired a 1978 Buick Regal with factory floor shifter,bucket seat,turbo hood ect,ect.. My only problem is the the frame is shot. I have a 1979 El Camino that was in a wreck but the frame is still PERFECT. Are they interchangable or is the EL Camino Wheelbase diffrent from the 1978 Regal? Any help is appreciated!!!!!!!!!:

The El Camino frame is longer.........Don

I've had the cars next to each other and the front and rear bumpers matched up perfetly. The El Camino frame is longer behind the rear wheels because of the bed. Would it be worth modifying the El camino frame to fit the regal?

If I had both cars in my backyard and wanted to bring the Regal back to life, I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to try to adapt the El Camino frame to it.

The regal is beautiful shape except for the frame and it has a lot of rare options. I just don't want to get in over my head. I've never done a frame swap before.

I am not sure of the differences between the two cars but you should do a lot of measuring and checking before jumping into this. The easiest route would be to get another CAR frame from the same family. All of the G bodies use the same chassis so I think that would be a better option if the El Camino turns into a major hack job...
Mark

I have a 86 El Camino frame under my 66 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. When measuring frame I picked the El Camino because it had the longest wheelbase of the G bodies. As I recall it was at least 2"longer ,maybe 3".
Don