Question for the group:

The bounce test is when you open all the doors, take off the roof, and jump up and down on the passenger side. Then you try to close the doors and see if they close easily.

Suppose your car fails the bounce test. It's clear that the car would need major surgery in the form of rust repair and reinforcing. But if you do the bounce test and fail, did you just bend the car? Is straightening it as simple as putting a jack under it? Or would you need to do something more elaborate?

Has anyone been down that road?

Thanks,

Mclovin

Slow down gunn. Only dorks jump up and down

If you want to get serious: Roof off, doors closed (because duh you need that for the gap). Feel the door gap as you change your weight on the passenger rail. Put your thumb over the gap and feel for change.

Several choices to repair questionable longitudinals. Restoration Design has replacements, or Brad Mayeur (914Ltd) has a great overlay kit that really stiffens the area. Engman made a nice inner reinforcement panel as well, but I don't know if anyone is currently making them.

I believe MadDogMotorsports makes the inner reinforcement panels...

Sounds like a good way to test the area without bending it out of shape. So there would be no reason to need to bend it back.

if its that bad you can see it ,just look under the car and behind rocker...then run like hell

Based on one data point, I'm going to say yes you bent the car. I went in the opposite direction: jacked the car at the jack point and when it came down, the door gap was closed at the bottom. When I got around to repairing the long, it was clearly bent. What there was of it.

Yeah, the bounce test isn't what you want to do.
Big butt test, sure. (roof off, doors open, add about 200+ pounds to the passenger seat and gently try to close the door.)

Your bounce test sounds like you could bend up even pretty solid longs. These cars do flex quite a bit at the longs under the best circumstances.

If its your car, get under it and look. Probe with a screwdriver. If its not your car, for gods sake don't to the bounce test! You will have a pissed off owner.

Zach

If you can bend the car to the point the doors won't close or stay stuck, it's not safe to drive on the road. Doesn't matter if you bend it back or not, all the metal on the longs will need replacement anyway. The reinforcement panels are just that - they are not a replacement for repairing the longs. If you do, your just putting a bandaid on an infected wound.

When the long is bad it's not unusual that the seat belt mounting point is bad. Throwing reinfocement panels on the long won't fix that spot. If the bolt let's go in an accident, your passenger is screwed.

This one failed that test:
Click to view attachment