New Project and Frame Design

[Chevelle LT1]

Since I now find myself in posession of a Jaguar XJS (1987) with a 350 already swapped in place of the V12, and with one project just about done, I thought I might give this thing a whirl. Since the car has spent some of its life in MI, the underbody is pretty well trashed, so herein lies my question: I have been thinking about building an entirely new frame for the car, junking the IRS in favor of a solid axle, and dropping in an LSX motor. Based on others' past experiences, do people find it best to build the frame in the car, one piece at a time, or to build the frame entirely separate, and then join the frame with the body? This will be my first shot at a project like this, so I would definitely appreciate knowing what has (and especially hasn't!) worked well in the past.

Thanks,

~ Jason

[Paul_J]

Do you have a good picture of the underside of the car? One that shows how the current structure is set up? There where a few JTR cars running around Houston that performed real nice.