When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
This is a pro touring chevelle chassis that I found on the Chevelle site. I really like the looks of this frame. The main rails appear to be 3X4, the side braces 2X2.
Note the notches in the top of the new frame rails to clear the body braces. My frame will finish out very similar to this but with a twist or two thrown in. Forget those mufflers too, nothing like that will be under my car. Just visualize that frame with all of the exhaust tubing and mufflers missing. This car also has a rear shock brace and front frame horn brace. Check out the neat drive shaft safety loop.
Lots to think about
Jarhead
A picture taken today of the Cutlass and the new A arms. The camera died after this picture. We are back in Texas and work is starting up again on the project. The frame is now boxed in the main portion and the gas tank area will also be boxed. Some repairs are needed on the body, the right rear inner wheel house needs fixing badly as the previous owner beat the **** out of it to get in bigger tires, in a couple of places it looks like he used a hatchet to chop out some of the sheet metal. Surprisingly the driver side is not nearly as bad. Rick wants me to narrow the outside of the frame a bit and mini tub it slightly. But I had a 10 inch tire under it and I don't think I will make it any bigger. Also the rear glass channel is rusted and needs replacing as well as a couple of body braces. I mocked up some Olds valve covers today on the LS3 and they look pretty good. With the coils hidden and the motor carbed and painted Olds gold, most people will not know that it is an LS3. Oh yes, I also mocked up a fake distributor housing on the back of the motor to make it look like an Olds. It turned out looking pretty good. Also measurements are going on for the frame bracing and PWTBs. Pictures to follow.
Jarhead
I have ordered more parts for the Cutlass. I am using the Hooker front mounts for the 1 inch forward position. We will build the rear mount in the shop as part of the new frame members. Originally I was going to use the stock mounting plane mounts but I decided on the other to be able to run other transmissions too, so that a 4L80E or 6 speed manual would fit better. I will start with the reverse valve body T400 that I already have but down the road I may try an overdrive. For motor mounts I ordered some fabbed up poly Gen 4 Camaro LS mounts. I have decided on a new fuel tank with a high pressure FI pump built into the tank. A pressure regulator will drop the pressure to 7 PSI for the carb. I do plan a Holley Sniper FI throttle body some day so the fuel system will be built for eventual FI. More to follow.
Jarhead
A couple of pictures taken today. The Olds valve cover is off a boat motor from Hardin Marine, cast aluminum and I gave $10 at a swap meet. My buddy milled off the last two letters in Hardin and then stuck stickers on it to spell hardass Marine. The cover is just sitting on the stock LS3 covers, a bit long but all in all not too bad for a mockup. I mocked up a couple of different distributors (HEI, stock GM single point, a Mallory, and rare Spalding Flamethrower) just to get an idea. Rick and Sky, the guys actually doing the work like the idea of making it look like an Olds and both have ideas for a unique looking ignition setup. Sorry no pictures yet on the mocked up distributors, the camera again gave trouble.
The other picture is taken from underneath to show the plate put in to fully box the frame. Not quite finished yet, we have the body on the car to mock up the PWTBs and frame members.
I am ordering front floor pans today as it needs the passenger side and I might as well do the driver's side too.
Jarhead
A picture of the Hooker 1 inch forward LS mounts for 64-67 GM A body. Nicely made, and they arrived quickly, The fabbed poly mounts from Metaltec seem well made and just need to be painted. We are going to mock up the engine and T400 next week using these mounts. We will build the frame bracing and exhaust around how the motor is positioned.
Jarhead
I’d like to offer you a word of caution regarding your chosen engine mounts. I spent no time validating the fittment of those mounts with the Hooker Blackheart LS swap system, so their compatibility is unknown.
Why didn’t you just buy the gen. 4 engine mounts and convert them to poly or run them as is, they are plentiful at any auto parts store and are very cost friendly? Doesn’t make sense to try and reinvent the wheel.
I saw reports from several users online that these mounts fit exactly in a 98-02 Camaro which is the mount specified in your Hooker instructions Tod. Did I miss something?
Jarhead
I saw reports from several users online that these mounts fit exactly in a 98-02 Camaro which is the mount specified in your Hooker instructions Tod. Did I miss something?
Jarhead
There are aftermarket mounts and/or poly inserts that are advertised to be for 4th-gen F-bodies that are absolutely horrible to install. Just check out some threads on this forum for replacement 4th-gen poly inserts and see what guys go through to get them installed. My favorite is using the spare tire jack between the engine and the frame to get the holes to line up. The stock mounts are asymmetric from top to bottom and front to back, so if those mounts you have are centered up with no offset in both directions, they are going to give you grief.
Thank you Todd for the heads up. I have ordered some stock mounts and Monday I will pick them up. I will take pictures of the stock and fabbed up poly mounts side by side and from different perspectives.
Then we will try both kinds of mounts and see how it fits in the Cutlass.
Some time back Todd mentioned that Holley was bringing out the correct poly mounts and I intended to run those but they are not yet available.
How about it Todd, when are the mounts coming onto the market?
Jarhead
Thank you Todd for the heads up. I have ordered some stock mounts and Monday I will pick them up. I will take pictures of the stock and fabbed up poly mounts side by side and from different perspectives.
Then we will try both kinds of mounts and see how it fits in the Cutlass.
Some time back Todd mentioned that Holley was bringing out the correct poly mounts and I intended to run those but they are not yet available.
How about it Todd, when are the mounts coming onto the market?
Jarhead
They have been released and are listed on the Holley website now...it may take a while for them to show up on the websites of our distributors. You can use the Hooker/Holley poly inserts with the Hooker clamshell brackets, or with the clamshell brackets you get with aftermarket replacement 4th-gen mounts that you buy. You will have to drill out the rivets of the aftermarket mounts to remove the rubber insert and install the Hooker/Holley poly inserts.
Pictures taken today of a 5.3 block and a powerglide case mounted in the Hooker 1" forward brackets using the stock replacement mounts from AutoZone. The Hooker frame stands are well made and fit perfectly. Following the instructions I left the mount bolts slightly loose and the motor slipped right in with only minimal wrestling. I used the powerglide case because it was the only bare case I had laying around. Wednesday I will try the fabbed mounts and a T400 case.
Jarhead
Pictures taken today of the Olds. Mocked up the motor with both SBC valve covers and Olds covers. Just sat a SBC performer RPM and Holley carb on it to make it look something like it will look finished. The shot from underneath shows the powerglide case mocked up at about where it will sit. As you can see there is tons of room around a powerglide. Tubo400s and other transmissions fit much tighter. The level strings are depicting bottom of frame, lowest point on front crossmember and approximate height and location of new frame members and PWTBs plus a couple of other things I will not mention yet. More coming as I plod slowly along on the project. The guys at the shop are finishing a few other cars and then we will get back to getting the chassis done.
Jarhead
10-04-2018, 10:39 AM
