My biggest build yet.

[dpea250]

I don't know if I can describe what I mean but I'll try. Weld a top on the long portion of the verticals and have it turn down to the lower before it gets to the mount. Leave the mounting holes and bracket exposed as they are now. The top that I'm talking about would basically totally enclose the pocket you have exposed AND give you a location to drill/tap a hole or 2 should you decide to install a heat shield over the mount. If it were me, I'd trim the lower plate back to expose the bottom of the engine mount and weld the top portion that I'm thinking of to the bottom to form a ~90 degree angle, thereby eliminating another potential pocket for anything to collect in. It looks to me that the vertical sections should be plenty strong to support the engine for that short section. They don't really need the fore and aft reinforcement that the bottom plate provides. I applaud the thought of over building it that way, but it can also be a catch all for oil, water, mud, etc that could build up over time and sit right under your mount. By the looks of the thickness of the vertical supports you could add a top plate without interfering with the frame mounting bolts.
I tried to draw a sketch of what I'm thinking and I'm posting them as well.
Hopefully this will help explain better than my description....

I see exactly what your talking about here. Basically make a box with tabs out the end. That section would still have enough clearance to drop the frame side of the mount out with ease, still not a bad idea to make a hole for drainage on the lower section.
I have some 1/8" flat that I could form to the curve of the arms of the mount. Once I've got the second mount and cross member fabbed up I still need to pull the motor to do a little more work on it. When I do that I'll do the finish work on the mounts.

 

[LILCBRA]

You could either drill a drainage hole OR open it up on the bottom in this case. Think of like a large U shape, so you still have some extra lateral reinforcement yet open the bottom of the frame mount so things can fall or drain out.

 

[dpea250]

Update, finished the trans crewmember and done enough with the drivers side mounts.

Motors back out and im a little burnt out on metal work so im working on the wiring now ill be cleaning up the drivers side mount and painting them as well as a little clearancing on the frame rail for the alternator before reinstalling the motor.

Ill be sending out my ecm to get it flashed and ready to test run, after that install radiator, trans cooler and intercooler, run the turbos hot side piping, then get to work on framerail reinforcement and prep for the rear end. In that order.
Need a lower prifile intake manifold, but other than that there is no issues with hood clearance though i am thinking of to small mach one style vents similar to what ive seen pisted as an idea on a 429 build on this forum.
It feels like progress is slow but considereing what ive staerted with (2 not runing cars with engines to 2 not running cars with one engine sometimes ) im moving at a decent pace.

 

[2Blue2]

That trans mount looks substantial

 

[dpea250]

substantial indeed. Will eventually run some square tubes into the frame rails as well, but i figured this will help to ad some rigidity to the chassis. If everything goes as planned ima need all i can to keep the frame straight. . Been looking up intercoolers and radiators, probably going with 18x20x3 on the rad and still looking into sizing the intercooler. Ill also have to get a new intake manifold as the truck manifold sits too high, the throttle body is where im starting to run into clearance issues. To make that work, Ill have to also get a water pump from a 2010+ camaro, and a tensioner as well seeing as thats mounted to the water pump.
This is very reminiscent of the last car, sure building the motor cost a bit, and the turbo was pricey, but the nickle and dime crap (couple fittings here, -an line there)
is what drove the cost up to a level that could have been a down payment on a lot bigger of a house lolol.

P.S.
Screw we working wiring harnesses!!!

 

[rarely]

OK only that one photo posted

Hey man , I'm quite jealous of your build- ha! So recently i wrecked a 77 coupe , Before that happened i purchased all the reproduction weatherstripping components for the doors and trunk - If your interested PM me.

 

[dpea250]

Hey man , I'm quite jealous of your build- ha! So recently i wrecked a 77 coupe , Before that happened i purchased all the reproduction weatherstripping components for the doors and trunk - If your interested PM me.

I just might when the time comes as of now my cash flow is tied up in getting this thing running.
Update i finshed the wiring harness save for one o2 sensor and a little bit of the "service loop" from the front it looks nice and tucked with something of a tangle in the back. Im not too worried about that seeing as this is a temporary harness untill budget allows for an ms3 megasquirt that has its own harness.

The next step is now to clean up the mounts and finish the oil pan plumbing. I started shaving the truck intake with hopes that i could make it fit, but after a bit i started hitting the throttle body so its looking like a car intake will be needed.
To make that all fit i will need to install a 2010 camaro waterpump.
Im now doing research on radiators and intercoolers, if anybody knows a site thats easy to filter options let me know.
Im trying to take as many pics as possible but if there is anything yall want to see specifically let me know

 

[dpea250]

While waiting on a new oil pan i decided do some fab work on the front rad support. Decided to use turnbuckles on the upper corners where it's connected to the body in the bay so i can have a little adjustability.
This EMT is a little bit of a pain to weld on, its kinda hard to take off the galvanizing without grinding it too thin. A wire wheel and a little heat does seem to help without removing metal but doesnt get rid of all of it.
You can smelll it when you hit a spot that still has some. Ive been welding with the garage door open and taking a slight break after each weld to keep from inhaling too much at once.

Got the hoodlatch brackets welded to the rad support. The hood opens and closes without too much trouble, but i need longer bolts for the bracket.

All thats left to do before i test run the motor is pull the steering column off the truck so i dont have to send the ecm to get the antitheft dissabled. New oil pan and a radiator. Once i can confirm the motor runs and all that, Ill be running the pre turbo plumbing, I will be using schedule 10 stainless for that.
Then a tranny rebuild, 9" and wheels and tires and ill be ready to test drive.........

 

[2Blue2]

All thats left to do

and ill be ready to test drive.........

Lol thats alot of work for one paragraph, fun to see the steady progress this one

 

[dpea250]

Sorry its been a while, but things have spiraled a little out of control. Ive got a 9 inch and 4 link kit to put onto some frame rails i buit...... oh yeah ive also decided to just lean into this downward spiral and go all out and now im not entirely sure how much of this car is going to be original.
This car has been on the back burner for a bit while i get my last one ready for delivery.
But now im back at it. Over the last 2 weeks ive been building this frame and now im almost ready to get the 4 link brackets on it and stuff it under the car.

 

[2Blue2]

Wow stock frame rails are going going gone

 

[a91what]

Not sure if you realize this or not yet.... but that car is going through an identity crisis... your doing all this chassis work to make it straight but then you confuse it by putting an LS into it.

 

[MustangIIMatt]

Not sure if you realize this or not yet.... but that car is going through an identity crisis... your doing all this chassis work to make it straight but then you confuse it by putting an LS into it.

Should we tell Mike about this build? I'm not sure whether he'd just hate it for being a II, hate it even more for having an LS, or respect it begrudginly because of the craftsmanship going into it...

 

[a91what]

Should we tell Mike about this build? I'm not sure whether he'd just hate it for being a II, hate it even more for having an LS, or respect it begrudginly because of the craftsmanship going into it...

to poke the bear may be dangerous with his current mental state.

with that in mind @CarMichael Angelo absolutely needs to see this thread

 

[dpea250]

Lol to all the replies.
Ive been playing around with 4 ling bracket positioning. I know i may not be able to get it just perfect due to space constraints but i do have a good bit adjustment.
If any of the people you mentioned know a thing or 2 about setting up suspension i would gladly take any input in exchange for a mild to moderate roasting.
Here is a rough mockup for what im thinking is a decent spot for the brackets. The top of the frame rail is pretty close to where the oem floorpan is.

In true american fasion its mounting height is about a cinder block and a piece of scrap high (anything but metric)
And the rear most length of the frame rail is about a cinderblock and 3/4 of a jack stand high.

 

[a91what]

Seems scientific enough to me.
My main concern is that you have enough adjustment to get the lower arm in a good position.

I would also use something a bit more robust than painters tape for the suspension work... maybe consider duct tape before settling in on that permanently.

 

[dpea250]

Seems scientific enough to me.
My main concern is that you have enough adjustment to get the lower arm in a good position.

I would also use something a bit more robust than painters tape for the suspension work... maybe consider duct tape before settling in on that permanently.

The final product will be held in place with zip ties and ill say "yupp, thats not going anywhere" so no worries there lol.
Finding a best possible position while retaining as much ground clearance is the goal here. I have about 4 inches of adjustment on my lower frame bracket and about 2 inches on my lower rear end bracket. The 100% antisquat line is a little difficult to find but thats what im gonna be figuring out this weekend.
Is it better to have the instant center further forward or more in the middle of the car?

 

[a91what]

The final product will be held in place with zip ties and ill say "yupp, thats not going anywhere" so no worries there lol.
Finding a best possible position while retaining as much ground clearance is the goal here. I have about 4 inches of adjustment on my lower frame bracket and about 2 inches on my lower rear end bracket. The 100% antisquat line is a little difficult to find but thats what im gonna be figuring out this weekend.
Is it better to have the instant center further forward or more in the middle of the car?

That depends... do you want to go fast or pick the tires up? The amount of squat is important and we want the suspension to separate from the body during launch.. IC is not the only factor that needs to be taken into account..

this is an easy read but covers the basics.

Four Link Tuning - IC's Versus Geometry

This piece won't give you the actual dimensions your car will need to run its best; rather we'll cover some of the basics and theories that seem to work and give you something to tune around.

www.dragstuff.com

 

[dpea250]

Thank you for the link. Ima read this during my free time and give it a good think before i make it perminant.

 

[dpea250]

So..... reading the link provided by @a91whative decided i may raise the bracket some. Ive got a lot of adjustment so i can play around with the geometry a good bit. And reading into why you want seperation, its not so much lifting the chassis up as it is pushing the rear end down off the chassis crushing the radial into the ground.
Im shooting for a spot where i can have my lowest points on the brackets within a few percent of 100% anti squat kinda far out near my verticle center of gravity. I feel this should help keep the car stable and streetable. And should i decide to run slicks having the IC that far out will soften the hit if i decide to stay above 100% anti squat.
Im also thinking of moving in the brackets to give me more room to mount the shocks so im not bottomed out on my height adjustment. I am a little concerned about having it so far in due to the fact that the axle tube has a lot of leverage against the spring, but it gives me more use out of my available