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Old 03-18-2018, 03:51 PM
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pplace pplace is offline
MetalShaper of the Month March 2018, August 2021,November 2023
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Hector, MN
Posts: 294
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So with the major "re-proportioning" of the body modifications roughed in, it was time to prep the chassis for the necessary changes and upgrades.

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The first and very important task of setting the original chassis onto the rack is in progress here.

I've started with the rack perfectly level front to back and also side to side. From there I spent the necessary time to completely square and level the chassis on the rack.

Once it was precisely located, I temporary welded the center portion of the chassis down (I knew the center wouldn't be changed, thus a good area to secure to the rack)

If you look close I've made stations that weld to the rack and bolt to the bumper mounting holes. (This will help locate a fixed point in space later when I'm building the new front frame clip)

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I've transferred all the necessary measurements (front wheel center line, locations of firewall, where I want the "Z'd" portions of the clip to be roughly) and have them drawn onto the yellow tape on the rack)

Also note, just like the bumper mount locations, I also made a station that will locate the radiator support in the exact location as well.

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Once all the critical pre measurements were made and laid out, it was time to start cutting off the original front frame clip!

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This is a stock photo of the universal Mustang II front crossmember that I started with.

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With the measurements I had determined early (including ride height most importantly) I've begun on building the start of the front clip. As always, changes were made to the "universal" type part to fit my needs and wants, but overall everything worked out really well.

Even at this early stage I was able to level and square everything properly on the floor here (just as it would be in the vehicle) and do a rough setup of camber / caster to make sure everything worked out properly with plenty of adjustment in either direction.

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Here is the view from the rear of the start of the front clip. As always, everything is just tacked into positon until everything is complete as a chassis, incase something needs to be changed or tweaked slightly later.

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Here's the original clip and the new clip setting together.

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Before I pulled the body off for good, I temporarily set the clip into position on proper height "spacers" to locate it properly. From here I was able to check alignment on the wheel centerline, ride heights (low air out, ride height & max height) as well Z" would start in conjunction with the firewall.
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