Perimeter chassis "tie-in"

[TLWiltman]

I have a stupid(?) question for those who have built a tube chassis for a 2nd gen Camaro.

I've noticed that it looks like the tie-in point of choice is along the pinch weld at the rocker panel. Since my car isn't cut apart yet (still scratching my head over design and a good solid drawing before I go there:hmm:). I'm kind of wondering what I'll find down there when the floor pan is eventually cut out. I guess I'm trying to take some advantage of your collective experience so I can develop a plan.

And a dimension...
I'm having some trouble getting an accurate measurement of the pinch weld/pinch weld rocker panel distance (to establish frame width). The trans hump is in the way and I'd like to try and get an accurate measurement before the first cuts are made. So, before I do anything drastic, does anyone happen to remember that figure off the top of their head?


TLW

[MrQuick]

Hi there, we did a full frame on a 2nd gen at my old job but I don't remember the dimentions, it was 6 years ago. We also bridged it off of the stock subframe.
To figure out your cars dimentions just run a plumb bob down from the pinch and lay it out on the floor. This is the most accurate way in your situation.

[Mean 69]

Not terribly much help, but I did want to point out something interesting on my current project. We are doing qtrs on my car, a full trunk floor, and I am also doing a mini-tub on it. We left the front sub, engine/trans, and rear suspension on the car. The car is sitting on jackstands at the suspension points to keep it loaded, the doors were aligned to the original qtrs, and then the cutting began. Since we are doing a trunk pan, we decided to cut the rear panel and trunk floor out to make it a lot (a LOT) easier to access the tubs. After the cuts, the passenger side door became very, very difficult to open, you had to really yank it to get it to come off of the post while closed. We were all pretty surprised. Moral of the story, when you are doing SFC, measurements, etc, it seems to be really important to keep the car loaded as it will be when assembled. We plan on reinforcing the door jambs, etc with temporary tubes before the rest of the disassembly (after the qtrs are back on), because the car is going on a spit and getting some further cutting. Lots of people already know this, but it is good to keep it fresh in your mind when doing frame/structure works.

Mark

[MrQuick]

It is real important to brace before you cut, it doesn't take much to brace and it also helps where not to cut.Certain cars will take support better than bracing. It all comes from experience and after a couple srtip downs and chop ups you will get the hang of it. You gain alot of knowlege of how a car is constructed by cutting a one up.
Another thought TL is boxing and frame tie in to the rockers so your rockers become the perimeter frame is another cheap fast way to gain torsional strength.

[TLWiltman]

Thank you for the replies, keep 'em coming. This project is definitely in the beginning stages. This project is also a challenge and a learning experience for me. The more ideas I see, the more I learn and can apply.

Found it... 53" (upper pinch/upper pinch).

Thanks for the info, guys

Tad