TypeSL2

iTrader: (2)

Ha, you of all people know I have no time for updates. Lol. One day I will get her back out into the garage so we can finish snatching this motor out of here. One day...

James

rides by design

looking forward to the progress

locrzn

iTrader: (9)

Thats gonna be a sweet project.

TypeSL2

iTrader: (2)

Another long overdue update. Finally got Lila running well enough that I can just drive it whenever I want to. So most of my attention now has been on the frame. I guess I didn't really get a full shot of the frame completely assembled. You guys should get the idea though.

Front end pre-teardown




Front end torn down


Rear end pre-teardown, minus springs


Rear end out


All suspension completely gone


Rachael did 90% of the teardown. I took out the rear springs and shocks and did the upper control arm in the rear. She did everything else. Completely tore out the front suspension, all the brake lines, the fuel line, and all the exhaust hangers. She did it all. Frame is at the sandblaster/powdercoater. It is going to be a gloss black. All of the suspension parts that we are reusing are also going to be gloss black. We have a total of 22 pieces at the powdercoater including the frame. I removed all of the old bushings and ball joints from everything before it goes to the pc'r. I will get some pictures of that stuff tomorrow. I can't wait to get it all back, but we told him to take his time. We are in no rush. We are going to do front and rear disc brakes and the air bags when the frame comes back. That should go well with the Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. This car should ride pretty well. As always, more updates to come.

James

gofastwclass

iTrader: (2)

Nice work. Looks like you have a Canadian car... supposedly those frames are stronger from the factory.

You also have a keeper of a woman if she will work on the car with you.

TypeSL2

iTrader: (2)

I wasn't sure if this was a canadian car or not, honestly. I couldn't find any pictures that helped me identify it. I was told the car this frame came from was purchased in Georgia a few years ago, but the guy wasn't able to get the work done on it before losing his job. I scored the frame for $800, which is less than most junk yards around here. All of the rust was surface and should clean up well with the powdercoating.

James

tk-mpl

iTrader: (1)

Nice project. I am building a 61 Bel Air 4 door on air ride. Hopefully next year I will be doing a LS swap as well.
I'll be watching for the updates.

Trevor

RedMan*

iTrader: (4)

Very nice.
Awesome your wife is into working on it to.
My wife loves to help out as much as possible.
I'm curious to see what kind of notching your going to have to do to the cross support with that F-body pan.
What LS engine mounts are you running ?
Factory location or foreword ?

L8R,
Stu

TypeSL2

iTrader: (2)

I haven't figured out all the details yet as far as engine mounts and what not. I have been given some mounts from a friend that I am going to try. If they work, I will buy them from him. The wife is doing a lot of this work. It is her car and she wants to be able to say that she built it. She already built the LQ4 and is going to be building the LS2 when we get the piston rings and the rod bolts. More pictures to come.

James

gofastwclass

iTrader: (2)

If you look at your picture I quoted...
All Canadian frames are boxed down two sides in the rear from the factory, US frames are C channel. The X in the middle is made differently and the rear frame rails are one piece vs several stamped smaller pieces on the US models. Convertible frames (yours is not) have some added reinforcing ribs where the frame rises (where the hammer is) to clear the rear axle and two extra body mounts in the middle to keep things aligned with the top down. Etc., etc., etc.

Again, they are SUPPOSED to be stiffer. I really can't say because I don't have the engineering data but when you see them side by side you will understand why people say that.

I have a 61 Impala I'm slowly working on and my parts car has a Canadian frame under it. Since I'm doing a fame off, and the parts car is getting stripped it only makes sense but I wouldn't have sought one otherwise. I was simply going to box the rear of my frame, this saves me the effort. I'll probably add the "convertible only" body mounts in the middle because it will be a six speed car and I drive hard plus I want all the gaps to stay tight.

TypeSL2

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for that great info! That makes us feel better about putting this LS2 in it. Like you said, not sure if it really matters, but it makes sense that this may be a little bit stronger/rigid. Good luck on your build.

James

TypeSL2

iTrader: (2)

We have not given up on this car. We just finished up our 64 C10 LQ4 swap. Now it is time again for this car.

This is what we took to the powder coater, along with the frame.


We have finally dug out all of the powder coated pieces.


We put in all the new poly bushings.




I also finally dug out the rear end that came with the new frame. It was pretty dirty and rusty. Lots of dirt and rust removal, along with drum brake removal.






Old drums gone.


Rear end primed


And painted.


And finally back under the frame where it belongs.


Next step is going to be a full teardown of the interior so we can prep it for floor pan replacement. Hopefully that will happen within the next 2-3 weeks.

James