the frame in my 78 delta 88 is almost done. its pritty bad in the rear-end. my question is what other cars can i get a frame from, i was told a mid 90s caprice will work but i need to extend the bumper mounts, but what about the motor mounts, iam a mechanic and have a pritty good fell for the job, but at the same time iam only 21 so i need a frame that dosn't need a lot of cutting and welding to make it work, i will do some but i don't wanna get into cutting the front off one car and the rear from another to make it work, and yes i was told to do this...... i can get a ex cop car frame for a good price, but will it work?

 

First, what is your wheelbase? Olds (GM) from your era come in several different wheelbases. At a guess I would say your at 116, but could be 112, or even longer. You have a first year car, so I can't be certain on frames. I assume your frame will be slightly different than 77 and down Cutlass. So, your looking for 78 and up. Which could lead you all the way towards the 96 SS Impala frame, but doubtfull. Your best bet is to spend some time at your local salvage yard and take a look, and bring a tape and possibly a camera. Stick with the same body style's as yours, to include the other GM brands.

 

any '78-96 B body

77 and older no

and not wagons either

you have a bonneville(earlier before the downsize in 85 or so), caprice, impala, delta88, and so on

this is the (full size) B body chassis

do a wikipedia search on GM B body

in 91 the bodies changed to the bubble style but the same chassies carried over from 77-90

 

Actually, 77-96 B-bodies used the same frames. The previous generation ran 71-76. The frame crossmember is pre-drilled for all the possible motor mounts, so simply unbolt the frame mount from your old one and install them in the same holes in your new one.

Note that the C-body and D-body cars use the same architecture but a different wheelbase, so those won't work. Also, as noted, the wagons are wider in the back to allow a sheet of plywood to sit flat between the wheelhouses, so those won't work either.