Had to pick between a salvage yard frame pull or a driveway hack job on my 97 Civic

My front end got crunched backing into a pole last month. The local shop quoted me 400 bucks just to pull the frame straight. I ended up renting a come-along from Home Depot for 30 bucks and strapping it to a tree in my yard. Took me three weekends but I got it close enough to slap a junkyard hood on. Still drives straight. Has anyone else gone the sketchy route on a beater car and regretted it later?

2 comments

2 Comments

patel.daniel1mo ago

Huh, you strapped it to a telephone pole? I gotta say, that one caught me off guard. I mean, I know we all do what we gotta do with a beat-up car, but a lamp pole holding up your Accord's front end? That's a whole different level of trust in public infrastructure. At least my tree was anchored in the ground, those poles are just sitting there with some bolts and concrete. Glad it worked out for you in the end, though the tire thing is a good warning for anyone thinking about trying it.

wren8061mo ago

Tied a chain around a telephone pole in my buddy's backyard to pull the front subframe on my 94 Accord after I slid into a ditch. Got it close enough that the bumper sat right and the headlights aimed straight for about a year before I sold it. Only regret was not checking the alignment first, ended up chewing through a set of tires in four months because I was too cheap to get it checked. You probably saved yourself that headache if yours still tracks straight.