NTBA

Rolling Chassis


Here's what I started with. A pile of 2x3 rectangular tubing mostly.		Splurged on a miter saw so I can cut angles the right way


Here's the first tube cut and laid out like it will be		I clamped it down with U-bolts so it won't warp all up when I weld it.


		I've got it tacked and clamped every which way to make sure the rear kick-up is parallel with the rest of the frame


I ground down everywhere I am going to weld so I can get some good penetration.


Make the tacks nice and stout so it won't come apart when you turn it over.		2-1/2" round tubing makes the front cross-member. The spring perch will be welded to this


Braced and clamped to the table and to itself to make sure it stays straight. There's lots of welding to do.


I cut and bend the frame tubing around the round tubing to make a good look in the front.		All this will be out there for everyone to see when the car is done.


Welded up and ready to start cutting and grinding and welding on all the brackets for the front spring, radius rods, rear end, engine mounts, steering box, etc.		I got a six-inch drop front axle and spring from Speedway Motors and remachined old Chevy spindles that will take Mustang II disc brakes. Here's the axle sort of balanced with the spring


		Mustang II disc brakes mounted on the axle.





I got a transmission shell from the local shop and a buddy gave me a rear end out of a Camaro. I also made the hairpins to locate the front axle. I'll do the same for the rear axle


Here is the coil-overs mounted on the rear.		Finally got the wheels and tires so I put them on to see just how the car is going to sit. There's six inches between the front axle and the ground. The car will truly be "in the weeds".




I made the motor mounts to bolt to the engine and to weld onto the frame. Now I sort of put the rubber bushing in between to make sure it fits.


I got a transmission shell from the local shop and a buddy gave me a rear end out of a Camaro. Also made the hairpins to locate the front axle. I'll do the same for the rear axle.		I got a body from Spirit Industries in Mountain Home. I guess their frame is longer than mine because the body didn't fit. I sawed a section out of each side to let the frame poke through. The little pickup bed will cover this up. Other than that, it's fine. I want the engine to be as close as possible to the body and the little pickup bed to be only a foot or so long.


		I bought some sprint car style headers on Ebay, so I thought I better mock them up here to make sure everything is going to clear.


Got some pretty slick chrome coil-overs on Ebay, mounted on the rear. Here's one with the body off and one with it on. Back to the body work.


Well, the frame sat too low and the rear end hit the body if you bumped it. So I redid the rear springs. Then I put some tires on the back with 2x4's under them to simulate the size of the rear tires and put jack stands under the front spindles to set the front end the right height off the ground. This is pretty much how the car will sit. It has a drastic rake toward the front, but the engine tilts back, making the engine level while the car rakes toward the front.


Made a bracket for the steering box. It's a Corvair box, reversed so the pittman arm comes out on the outside. You can see the shaft on the inside of the body just above the fiberglass dust.


Had to make the tie rod brackets, etc. Here's the front suspension complete with all steering gear hooked up.


		Finally got the wheels and tires so I put them on to see just how the car is going to sit. There's six inches between the front axle and the ground. The car will truly be "in the weeds".






		Well, back to work. Here's the Corvair steering box, reversed and mounted on the frame. You can see the steering shaft going into the body. The next pic shows it coming up with an additional 2 feet of 5/8" steel that I had my local professional welder add on. The stainless steel tubing you see on the floor of the car will be the column that goes around the steering shaft. I got the gauges mounted. There's no speedometer. I figure the patrolman will be happy to tell me how fast I was going. Also, got the brackets for the brake master cylinder mounted, pedal in place. The gas pedal came off Aunt Edna's donor car and makes a nice neat deal. Used it all, from the pedal to the cable to the carb.


		Just some simple aluminum tabs to hold the radiator shell on. The radiator itself is securely fastened to a bracket that's welded to the frame. That motor sure looks different than it did in Aunt Edna's Malibu. Uncle Jed decided to donate the car to a worthy cause after Aunt Edna hit the mailbox. Again. He believes in reincarnation so this seemed like the obvious thing to do.


Headlights. These are just a pair of those super-bright off-road jobs that the kids mount all over their pick-up trucks. No high beams, but plenty of light.		I got a gas tank from a mid-60's VW. It's not pretty, but it fits. It'll be hidden under that top I made for the pickup bed. I made a bracket to hold the tank, welded to the frame, then brackets to hold the wooden cover, also welded to the frame. This way the fiberglass pickup bed doesn't have to hold any weight.





I made a stainless steel housing for The steering shaft out of a restroom grab rail bar. Looks nice for less money. Made some bushings to keep the steering shaft centered, you can see the shaft just inside the top of the housing, and after hours of Dremel tool work, a tiny bit at a time, slid the housing through the firewall and onto the steering box. I made a bracket to secure the housing to the dash. To the right you can see the windshield frame clamped to the body. I need to get some 1/4" board of some sort to clamp it all together before I start drilling for the bolts to hold the frame in place.


		I need to shorten the housing enough to affix the steering wheel. Right now the steering shaft doesn't make it to the top of the housing, but now that I have it through the firewall I can measure and (hopefully) make an accurate cut. Starting the electrical wiring. I'm trying to color code everything to make it easier to trouble-shoot, but it still gives me a headache.


Here's my steering column drop. Made it out of some 1-1/4" (I think) black pipe welded to some 1/8" flat stock at an angle to match the column to the dash. I'll secure it with two 5/16" bolts. After paint I'll replace this bolt with a couple of nice stainless hex bolts.		After weeks of trying to find a water neck that aims toward the passenger side, I finally got one of those chrome ones that points straight ahead. Then I had to cut two hoses up and join them with another piece of black pipe. Right in the middle of the hose you can see the joint. I'll put clamps on this section, then take it off and go to the parts house and see if I can get lucky enough to find a hose with these bends in it somewhere. If not, this will work OK.


Well, I guess that's about it. Took the body off and will take the motor out and all the other stuff off and load it all up in the truck and take it to the paint shop.


I've got to figure out a shifter. I'm not going to pay $100 for a store-bought one, and I don't want the stick sticking up in the middle of the floor, in the way all the time, so I'm going to make one that will lay flat on the floor in front of the driver's seat when it's in park and the driver can just pull it up to get in gear. It should be way away from his legs when the car is moving. Here's the simple little brackets I've made to get it started. I took off the lever from the side of the transmission and made a lever to bolt on there, then a bracket to hook the lever to under the driver's side.		Got the frame back from the paint shop. It's turning red.





Now the motor is back in. Got a few paint chips, but mostly behind the firewall line.		The fuel tank is sitting in its cradle and the rear end, coil-overs, etc. are in place.


Now the motor is back in. Got a few paint chips, but mostly behind the firewall line.


Got the body back from the paint shop. It's really red now.


Getting ready to bleed the brakes. For some reason the bleeder valve, when the caliper is mounted, is not pointing up. There's not much chamber above it, but there is some. And yes, I tried flipping it, mounting on the other side, etc. So I put a piece of 2X4 and one of the pads in there to take up the slack and I'll bleed it here then mount it on the car.


Here's a couple of shots of the steering arms I had to make. The tie rod brackets are REALLY close to the wheel, but they clear. They had to be out like that so the Ackerman would be right. The steering arm comes down like that so the drag link won't be up at some bad angle. It needs to run as close to the same angle as the radius rod so the car won't steer itself around when you hit a bump. It is all made out of 3/8" steel, bolted on the passenger side with two bolts and on the driver's side with three.


Steering column mounted, chrome wheels on, headers on, ready to send to the upholstery guy.

by "Arkie Jack"