We are now in the process of purchasing a one owner 1975 Ninety-Eight Regency which looks brand new except the frame is a little messed up. I am hoping someone here has the shop manual and can scan me in large scale the proper pages that show the frame and dimensions if possible? That would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

The frame is "a little messed up?" What does that mean? It's been using drugs?

Is it rusty? Was the car in an accident? Since you're apparently looking for the correct dimensions of the frame, I'm guessing the latter.

If you're buying this car to keep, you should invest in the service manuals yourself. These are on ebay all the time, and both the chassis service manual, which is specific to Oldsmobile, and the Fisher Body Manual, which is a single volume that covers all GM makes for 1975, are needed and well worth getting.

Here's a chassis service manual:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1975...item41705fe386

and here's a body manual:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1975-Fisher-...0187d5&vxp=mtr


But I'm not sure you're actually going to find specific dimensions of length and width and that sort of thing for the frame in these manuals. You don't really need this, do you, if the car was in an accident and the frame is bent? All you really need to do is make sure the frame is actually a rectangle again when it's straightened, and you can verify that by measuring diagonals and that sort of thing.

 

I have a hard time understanding how the car can "look brand new," but have a frame that is bent so badly that he needs the original specs to reconstruct it.

I've never seen a 1975 manual myself, but I don't recall detailed frame dimensions in any earlier manuals. Those are usually in specialized aftermarket body shop manuals.

- Eric

 

OK, we definitely need more info. What does "messed up" actually mean? If the car looks great but the frame is out of whack, I say pass on the car because it will never be right and you'll be finding structural things wrong with the car as time goes on.

I own 2 '76 Ninety Eight Regency Coupe's and have the '76 manual. Since the cars are largely the same, I can try to help with scans of the manual if necessary. But as Jaunty said, the factory manual is a must have when buying an older car like this. Are you able to post pics of the car? Where is this car located?

 

I looked at the '73 Olds service manual, which is available at Wild About Cars (the '74, '75, and '76 manuals are not), and section 2-1 deals with the frame and checking it for alignment. It doesn't give any numbers. It just shows what to measure and says what dimensions need to be within 1/4-inch of each other in order to verify a straight frame.

You could scan and send him this page out of your '76 manual, but I'm guessing the alignment-checking procedure is pretty much identical for all of the '71 to '76 full-size models. I checked, and the '72 manual, for example, is identical to the '73 in this regard.

 

Hey Jaunty,

I don't have my manual with me but I know there is a section about checking the frame in there. I think you're right that the '76 also just shows which points to check for equal dimensions but I'd have to look to know for sure.

We need more info from the original poster to know what's really going on with this car.

 

I know it sounds a bit strage but the car was stolen and went on a chase. It had went over some curbs and bottomed out so it is a little twisted in places and want to make sure all dimensions square up. I know these diagrams and charts exists... see the ones for the 1975 Buick out of their service manual (low quality scan - needing better for Olds). Seeking same for the 1975 Oldsmobile. Thanks.

John, beautiful black coupe. Reminds me of a black 1969 Electra 225 coupe I once owned.

 

Those are neat diagrams and data charts! I don't see anything like these in the Olds chassis manuals. Just a diagram showing what dimensions need to be within 1/4" of each other to make sure the frame is square.

 

Oldsmobile was notorious for not adding dimensions to their charts but possibly the 1976 manual will have them? Thanks!

 

I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the frame dimensions are the same between Olds and Buick.

- Eric

 

Thanks Huff! The black one is my baby and I'm extremely proud of her.

I scanned a couple of pages from the '76 manual but I'm having computer problems. I'm going to try emailing them to myself and I'll try again from work tomorrow.

John

 

Thanks John. I haven't seen them come through yet though

You can send me a PM and I'll give you an address you can email to me if that will work better?

 

Just sent you a PM. Something must be wrong with the file type not being compatible with the site because I got the same error message from my work computer.
John

 

Sent you a PM as well as a personal email with my email address to attach and send to.

 

hey huff, i work for a collision shop and have worked on various vehicles, some seemingly beyond repair and almost all can be brought back.. but you always have to leverage what the finished product may cost versus what you could get a clean one for. if you can get it for short money, i strongly suggest you have an experienced body/frame guy check the car over with you and take some base measurements under the car with a tape measure at the very least to make sure it is not a mess underneath. if it went over curbs/ bottomed out, cross measure the suspension(bottom of lower ball joints) with the car jacked up and front wheels off and level. measure from a fixed point in the rear that you know to be even on both sides in an x pattern from each rear point to the bottom of ball joints. if the measurement is the same or very close( within a few millimeters) at least you know the control arms were not knocked back and that is a good sign. a slightly tweaked frame is not a problem for a shop equipped with a strong frame machine and a knowledgeble operator. a friend of mine bought a 2007 gmc yukon that hit a pole for $3000 and the frame was diamonded one inch off square from the impact - the shop we sent it to(my frame machine was old and not up to the task as full frames are way stronger and tougher to pull than a unibody car/truck) . set it square for about$700.00 with the nose already off the truck and we finished the truck at my shop. hung the new nose, and paint. needless to say, it took an alignment just fine and does not squeak or rattle. if the car really is mint otherwise, and you can score it cheap, then there's a little food for thought. dave

 

Hey Huff....not sure if you already found what you need but I just found this on eBay and I think it's exactly what you need.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-OLDSMOB...dc3a05&vxp=mtr

Any updates on the 98?

John

 

Huff, what's the latest on the Ninety Eight?