Front end help

[IraceLegends77]

Got the front off and cut the horns off back to the round bar that holds the steering block. It is bent just aft of that round bar but only a 1/4 in. at most. My question is should I cut those bars and go back to where it is straight? I know when I cut that it is going to be a big pain to get back. I really don't think that it will affect the front end. What do you guys think? Thanks for your input .

Scott # 77

[VMS Motorsports]

Personally, my front clip is bent all to Hell already, and i keep adjusting the car to compensate. Where you are talking should not be an issue that cannot be adjusted for, just my .02

[justfreaky]

Seems logical to cut and graft to a straight part of the frame. Hopefully one of our frame folks will let you know.

Steve

[Vern Houseman]

Scott i would cut and streighten it, if you have to use a c clamp to pull it where you need it. if you have too tac a peice of metal where needed for the clamp to go against or even if you have to put the clamp where you need and put a few tacs on the clamp and pull it back Scott you might wanna put steering box back in to check and make sure the splined end with steering shaft will clear the cross member it will hit if angle is wroung  Vern

[VMS Motorsports]

"1/4 inch at most" does not warrant all the extra work in my opinion, thats 3 threads on a heim joint. I'd run it, but I'm sure my chassis is already worse than his is so far this year, and it just seems to keep getting better!

[JGRacing]

Can you just hit it a few times with a sledge hammer to get it back into place?  While I have the engine out of my car, I re-measured everthing and used the sledge hammer to get things back to reasonably straight.  I was amazed how well a few hits would move things. 

[NJRacer510]

Scott.

I've done front horns a couple times for people in our jig but without a jig it can be a pain. You never know if their perfectly straight or not, the only issue you can run into is if one of the horns is off a bit then the crossmember and steering rack plate will be a bit off. It's not a huge deal because you can adjust for that but thats just more work during setup you need to figure out.

Personally, since we have a jig I don't bother with front horns on our own cars, we do replace the crossmember and plate but 9 of 10 times if  the crossmember is bent then something else is as well. With the time you spend repairing all of that you can easily put a whole new clip on without kickups.

I know we are a couple hours from you but if you want you are welcome to use our jig or we could do it for you. We have two front clips in stock, one with kickups and one without, we also have plates, crossmembers, lollipops, and more including replacement rectangle stock for frame rails and horn replacements.

All of the chassis parts we use are supplied by CMG Motorsports.

Give me a call if you have any questions (908)507-4746.

Todd McCollum