AMD Subframes - Quality, fit, and finish?

daven1256 · May 18, 2012

I am trying to get some feedback on AMD subframes. I have read through the archives but still can't find the answers I am looking for.

Can anyone speak from their own experiace as to their quality, fit, and finish? Can anyone say if they bolt up to the body OK and if all the front end sheet metal and suspension components fit up to it correctly. And do they they hold up once installed and put through their paces on the street?...........or are they like so many other repro products....Close, but not quite right....and have to be modified?

I am surprised there has not been more discussion on them. You would think when these came out, that it would have been a huge breakthrough and everyone would be getting them..... I also wonder why the price has dropped twice since the were first introduced? Not selling well?

Thanks,
Dave

DEROID · May 18, 2012

Re: AMD Subframes - Quality, fit, and finish ???

Everything I have gotten from amd has been great. Return policy is awesome. Haven't used there subframe yet but I bet it's good also.

reelknots · May 19, 2012

Re: AMD Subframes - Quality, fit, and finish ???

Well I hate to say it but I bought an AMD subframe and didn't discover a problem until I was hanging my fenders. When I installed the fenders the gap at the rocker panel was about 1" !!! I had to jack up the rad support, remove the bushings, bust my A$$ getting the lower fender bolts at the rockers installed, jack the rad support back up to re-install the bushings and go on from there. Currently my front end is about 1 1/2" too high and I don't know what my fenders are feeling under the stress. I've been communicating with AMD thru email and phone and currently have filed a dispute with them with my credit card company. AMD has been cordial but careful to accept responsibility for their deformed version of the GM subframe. The critical offset measurement of an original GM subframe of 6" in my case is an AMD offset of 6 3/4" on the drivers side and 7 1/2" on the passenger side.
During the two months of back and forth emails, they subtlely suggested that they could send me another subframe but are worried that there is something else wrong with my car that's creating this problem. I say....bs....a 6" offset should be a 6" offset! My biggest problem is going to be all the work it takes to remove the subframe and install another.....I'm currently driving it!!!

BPOS · May 19, 2012

Re: AMD Subframes - Quality, fit, and finish ???

That kinda answers that.

Remember that 68-73 (maybe 74, I forget) Nova and other X body subframes fit these cars as well as 67-9 Firebird. 67-69 Camaro alone was close to 750,000 cars, and the X-bodies and birds would have to push the total into the millions. As Ken Kesey said..."They're out there."

I bought a respectable one from a 73 Nova this year for $200 and spent another $100 on it sanblasting and painting, doing the work myself.

reelknots · May 20, 2012

Re: AMD Subframes - Quality, fit, and finish ???

BPOS said:
That kinda answers that.

Remember that 68-73 (maybe 74, I forget) Nova and other X body subframes fit these cars as well as 67-9 Firebird. 67-69 Camaro alone was close to 750,000 cars, and the X-bodies and birds would have to push the total into the millions. As Ken Kesey said..."They're out there."

I bought a respectable one from a 73 Nova this year for $200 and spent another $100 on it sanblasting and painting, doing the work myself.

I thought of getting a used subframe and refurbishing it but couldn't locate one in my area. I had the extra cash at the time so I thought buying a new subframe would eliminate some work and also look great. While researching the subject it seemed everyone spoke highly of AMD so I chose them. Even if and when I win this dispute....I still loose...since I'll have to completely disassemble the front of my car to make it right, and no manufacturer warrants labor costs!

DT · May 20, 2012

Some more reading:

http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=9573.0

z28rich · May 20, 2012

Re: AMD Subframes - Quality, fit, and finish ???

reelknots said:
I thought of getting a used subframe and refurbishing it but couldn't locate one in my area. I had the extra cash at the time so I thought buying a new subframe would eliminate some work and also look great. While researching the subject it seemed everyone spoke highly of AMD so I chose them. Even if and when I win this dispute....I still loose...since I'll have to completely disassemble the front of my car to make it right, and no manufacturer warrants labor costs!

Hey Steve,It sounds like you got the piece of crap they sold me:yes:.Back in Jan I bought a new frame from summit and they had it drop shipped to me from AMD.well it showed up and if was so bad that the UPS guy didnt want to waste his time takeing it off if the truck

.so back to AMD it went.so I called Summit and had another one shipped to me.this one showed up in a box and all looked ok for now.We put the frame on a big table a realized that frame rails from side to side are way off

So i took it to a local frame shop to check out.the front of the frame was bent dont and the one frame rail at back was a 1 1/4 lower on one side.:noway: I called AMD and they said it was within specs:clonk: well it went back to Summit and I got my full money back. its so bad because its not abad looking piece.not worth $900 plus another $500-700 to make it right at a frame shop.

69-er · May 20, 2012

Richard, just curious; when you say "full money back", did it include the return shipping?

That's always been a sore area for me; to have to pay return shipping if a part's not right.

Sorry for the hijack...

Larry

z28rich · May 20, 2012

69-er said:
Richard, just curious; when you say "full money back", did it include the return shipping?

That's always been a sore area for me; to have to pay return shipping if a part's not right.

Sorry for the hijack...

Larry

Summit was great to deal with.:thumbsup: They refunded the price of the frame,shipping and prepaid the return shipping to Summit. I found if I order the wrong part,I have to pay return shipping. Thats why I give them alot of my money because of there customer service has always been good to me

reelknots · May 21, 2012

Well my last coorespondence from AMD asked me to take more measurements. So considering they like playing tennis with their responses, I asked them to send me a sketch or drawing showing me the measurements that they want me to take. I haven't heard from them in over a week. Maybe they're trying to deal with my American Express Customer Service Rep!!

z28rich · May 21, 2012

reelknots said:
Well my last coorespondence from AMD asked me to take more measurements. So considering they like playing tennis with their responses, I asked them to send me a sketch or drawing showing me the measurements that they want me to take. I haven't heard from them in over a week. Maybe they're trying to deal with my American Express Customer Service Rep!!

Steve,dont put up with crap:noway:,if the frame isnt up to your standards.they pulled the same crap of "its within specs". is your frame in or out of the car? I told them that it isnt good enough for my car.where did you buy it from? good luck and keep us posted:yes:

reelknots · May 21, 2012

Thanks for the support. To make a long story longer. I took my car apart to fix a rear main seal .rleak, tranny leak, vibration problem and clutch chatter. While I had the drive train out, I thought I might as well replace the subframe since I knew it was slightly bent on the passenger side. Well it's all back together and all the reasons for taking it apart are fixed and the car runs great except for the deformed subframe which makes the profile too high in the front. I expect to remove the fenders this winter and fix some rust as the next phase in my resto and I don't want my sheetmetal all twisted when I put them back on.
I'm sure American Express will come thru for me, but I'll be stuck with a bad subframe and all the work to remove it and put in another! By the way, I just checked and it's been 2 weeks since I've heard from them. This is a real bummer.

z28rich · May 21, 2012

reelknots said:
Thanks for the support. To make a long story longer. I took my car apart to fix a rear main seal .rleak, tranny leak, vibration problem and clutch chatter. While I had the drive train out, I thought I might as well replace the subframe since I knew it was slightly bent on the passenger side. Well it's all back together and all the reasons for taking it apart are fixed and the car runs great except for the deformed subframe which makes the profile too high in the front. I expect to remove the fenders this winter and fix some rust as the next phase in my resto and I don't want my sheetmetal all twisted when I put them back on.
I'm sure American Express will come thru for me, but I'll be stuck with a bad subframe and all the work to remove it and put in another! By the way, I just checked and it's been 2 weeks since I've heard from them. This is a real bummer.

that just sucks,I feel your pain.you need a few of these,it worked for me:beers:

daven1256 · May 21, 2012

Thanks to all who responeded to my original post. I was hoping to hear more favorable news about the subframes.

Steve and Richard.....Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. Steve, when you say you had a 1" gap between the fender and rocker, is that because the spacing on the subframe between the firewall and core support mounting points was too big pulling the fender forward?..or maybe the subframe was tilted to high at the front end causing your fenders to tip up? Also, can you explain about the "offset" dimensions of 6' and 6 3/4". I am not sure what these dimensions are.

The reason I put the question out on the AMD frames is that I just pulled my original frame out and got it stripped to the bare frame and found more damage than I expected. I thought the AMD frame might be the answer but now am not sure. I am going put out a post about my original frame to get opinions if it beyond repair or not...I am going to do that next and go from there.

Steve...I hope this all works out for you in the end.

Thanks,
Dave

reelknots · May 21, 2012

daven1256 said:
Thanks to all who responeded to my original post. I was hoping to hear more favorable news about the subframes.

Steve and Richard.....Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. Steve, when you say you had a 1" gap between the fender and rocker, is that because the spacing on the subframe between the firewall and core support mounting points was too big pulling the fender forward?..or maybe the subframe was tilted to high at the front end causing your fenders to tip up? Also, can you explain about the "offset" dimensions of 6' and 6 3/4". I am not sure what these dimensions are.

The reason I put the question out on the AMD frames is that I just pulled my original frame out and got it stripped to the bare frame and found more damage than I expected. I thought the AMD frame might be the answer but now am not sure. I am going put out a post about my original frame to get opinions if it beyond repair or not...I am going to do that next and go from there.

Steve...I hope this all works out for you in the end.

Thanks,
Dave

The fender gap that I spoke about was 1" at the bottom by the rockers and within tolerance at the top because the front of the subframe is too high at the radiator support. The 6" offset is the difference in elevation from the bottom of the rear of the frame ( that bolts to the cabin )to the bottom of the front of the frame where the radiator support bolts to. If it was 6" like it's supposed to be my fenders would not be pointing up. I hope I explained well enough to give you a mental picture. I have a drawing but it's too large to upload.

DEROID · May 21, 2012

I was getting ready to buy a front clip from amd!!!!! Any input on that????

Sauron67MM · May 21, 2012

DEROID said:
I was getting ready to buy a front clip from amd!!!!! Any input on that????

Sheetmetal is different, has already been discussed and would get a better response if you posted a separate thread.

reelknots · May 30, 2012

UPDATE. I got a call today from AMD and they admitted that they have a couple of subframes in their warehouse out of whack like mine. There was a change in their process that resulted in out of spec subframes. There's couple of other customers out there that are complaining that they also received deformed subframes. I'll be getting a refund through my credit card. The service rep was totally honest and forthcoming with their problem which means a great deal to me. It means they care and they want to make good. Unfortunetly for me this isn't just a hood or fender out of spec....this is the foundation of the car. It's gonna stay under my car until the winter teardown season. In the meantime, I'm looking for a good subframe.

daven1256 · May 30, 2012

Steve.....I am glad they stood by their product and did right by you.

Dave

z28rich · May 31, 2012

reelknots said:
UPDATE. I got a call today from AMD and they admitted that they have a couple of subframes in their warehouse out of whack like mine. There was a change in their process that resulted in out of spec subframes. There's couple of other customers out there that are complaining that they also received deformed subframes. I'll be getting a refund through my credit card. The service rep was totally honest and forthcoming with their problem which means a great deal to me. It means they care and they want to make good. Unfortunetly for me this isn't just a hood or fender out of spec....this is the foundation of the car. It's gonna stay under my car until the winter teardown season. In the meantime, I'm looking for a good subframe.

I know I didnt what a free or anything,I just wanted a good product. Im glad things worked out:beers::beers:

AMD Subframes - Quality, fit, and finish?

daven1256

DEROID

reelknots

BPOS

reelknots

DT

z28rich

69-er

z28rich

reelknots

z28rich

reelknots

z28rich

daven1256

reelknots

DEROID

Sauron67MM

reelknots

daven1256

z28rich

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