Introducing - Project 1/2-TRAK

[Damn True]

I was going to weld in my subframe connectors last night but realized that I was out of gas. The wife was happy to hear it.





.....some jackass left the valve on the bottle open.

[Ron S]

Looking good True,I think I leave the bottle on at least once a year,I got a note painted on the back of the entrance door to my garage,which says did you turn the heat off,Are the bottles off?,and i still leave them on.Ron

[trapin]

Great tech, True. It amazes me how many cool products have come out since I went through this process. The Eastwood stuff, Tyler's coilover system. I'm interested to see how your subframe connector install goes since I'm thinking of going with the DS&E ones.

[zman1969]

I was going to weld in my subframe connectors last night but realized that I was out of gas. The wife was happy to hear it.



.....some jackass left the valve on the bottle open.

- GIGGLE
D/True I have read alot of your posts and after reading the intro to your car - I have to admit I was touched-really how cool that your grandparents car- is now yours - I wish we all had a legacy as that! I had never heard about the pink cars - so in a way thats one of fifty - rarer than a Yenko! I hate to say this but it needs to be pink! real men can drive a pink car with all that history and what it represents. - not dissing your rendering - that looks cool! if not, then it needs like someone suggested a pink pinstripe and being you're in Ca. you need to get it autographed by Hugh before he runs out of viagra and passes. - Just like Caroll Shelby autographing all his cars - its a real piece of history there, just with out Yenkos 427s to tear it up. take care and I'll be watching your progress- Cheers

[Kenova]

I was going to weld in my subframe connectors last night but realized that I was out of gas.

That's almost as bad as forgetting to turn the gas on and then spending an hour or two trying to figure out why you can't weld worth a crap.

Ken

[Damn True]

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate all the input.

There will be no work done on the car for the next few days. I'm otherwise occupied.

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=50351

[Mean 69]

you need to get it autographed by Hugh before he runs out of viagra and passes

THAT!!!!! Is a FANTASTIC IDEA!!!!! I'll ride shotgun if he invites you over to the pad to do the honors!!!

M

[Damn True]

Been quite a while since I've made an update to this thing. I cut the openings for the subframe connectors just before Thanksgiving and that's when things ground to a screeching halt. Thanksgiving, a ton of work before a Christmas shutdown, then two weeks of gift shopping, food shopping, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, visits hither and yon, house guests, a trip to Phoenix for New Years and then a ton of work to make up for no work over the last two weeks....cripes!

Well, I did eventually get a little time to finish the subframe connectors. Read on.......

As I mentioned previously, it's a liberating experience to cut your first big hole in an old car!



Cutting the holes was pretty straightforward. I used a cutoff wheel on a 4.5" angle grinder. It made pretty short work of it. I think a cutoff on a pneumatic would be easier, but since the compressor I bought is not up to the task it had to do.





The only real concern here is to be very careful to cut the hole undersized and sneak up on the fitment of the connector. I used a grinder to whittle away at the material until the connector just fit. My welding is pretty bad so I wanted the gaps as tight as possible. Not too bad.



Then it was just a simple matter of welding it in (yeah, right!). Welding the seam on the inside of the car was pretty simple. Though 18ga to 3/16 steel requires a bit of fiddling with voltages and wire speeds. It wasn't awful though.




Where it got tough was underneath. The outboard bit wasn't too bad but the inboard side was a horror show. It's still technically a "T-joint" but the floor pan has those rolled beads in it and one of them directly abuts the subframe connector. So instead of a straight 90degree angle the joint looks like a lower case "h" and you are trying to do your welding up inside the bottom of that lower opening. Really tough work. I burned through the floorpan in a few places and had to patch it but eventually got it all done.



The fwd spring hanger blocks a bit of the joint between the connector and the rear frame rail so I'll have to zip a bit more of that together later.

The next step is the installation of the Detroit Speed mini-tubs. These will allow as much as a 335 section tire, but I won't be going quite that wide. I'm only going to be able to fit a 275 up front and don't want a super wide disparity so I'll probably stick to a 315 or so out back. But I'll have room for more.

The first step of this process was to remove the rear suspension assembly. It came out absurdly easily. Seriously, I didn't even need to break out any penetrating oil or even so much as a breaker bar. Everything came apart with a 3/8" drive ratchet and minimal effort. God bless my grandparents for keeping this thing garaged for 35 years. It's spent more nights outside since Ive owned it (2000 on) than it has in it's entire live. The bolts looked literally brand new when I took them out.



The 4x4 patch of tape on the fender has marks on it identifying the axle centerline. This will be important for locating bits of the 3-link but more on that later.





I'm not going to go into excruciating detail on the tub install. This thread outlines the process better than I ever could and it would be redundant to go over it in detail again. https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=46900

I'll post a few photos here and there though.

Anybody need a complete rear suspension and 10-bolt rear for a 1968 Camaro? Free, if you come pick it up. Otherwise I'm tossing it.

[icebird84]

nice project , good work , keep it up

[Kenova]

The first step of this process was to remove the rear suspension assembly. It came out absurdly easily. Seriously, I didn't even need to break out any penetrating oil or even so much as a breaker bar. Everything came apart with a 3/8" drive ratchet and minimal effort.

Don't you just love it when that happens? My Nova was the same way when I pulled it apart. I felt like I'd won the lottery. How it made it through it's life without suffering the ravages of the rust belt, I'll never know.

Ken

[Damn True]

Well this car lived in the area of San Jose, CA for 35 years of it's life so it has something of an advantage in that regard.

[Damn True]

This just in: plasma cutters are freakin bitchin!

I got one of my inner fender wells cut out last night. Took about 2hrs to drill out all the spot welds and cut out the material. I should be able to do the other side Tues night.

[Steve68]

I want more info on the boards on the rack, the red, the green, and the one standing up.

I have 2 Surfboards Hawaii, ones a 66' triple stringer, and the others a 10'5 Nose rider, newer model, but it has double red wood stringer, can't wait till spring!

[Damn True]

The green one is a 1963 Gregg Noll
The white and orange are both newer, shaped by Randy Rarrick.

The one leaning against the wall is a skateboard that I made. Copied an 18th century Hawaiian paipo board at the Bishop Museum. I have a friend that is one of the curators there and he let me trace a template from it.

[Steve68]

Cool, do they see any action, I don't know how far MV is from the coast,

Post up some pics of the tub job, Idoing mine at teh same time, couple of spot drilling and ones out,

[Damn True]

A few times a year. I am about an hour from the beach.

I used to surf once or twice a day when I lived in Hawaii, but here, it's a long drive, the water is cold and the waves are often lousy.

This is by far the best chronicle of the tub process I've seen. https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=46900 I will post a couple of progress photos, but I see no need to duplicate what has been done so well.

[Steve68]

I've never seen that thread!, thanks,

I grew up in Cocoa Beach, Been surfing since I was 7, now my G/F and our girls are interested 7 and 10, so were at my old house on the beach every weekend, I live about 45 min away,

[Damn True]

Very cool.

Do you take the kids out tandem?

[Steve68]

The 7yr old and I have started, but the board was shorter, the bigger 10' should be good for both,

[6'9"Witha69]

It's all about the pop. If you can get up, you're half way there. That was the hardest part for me at least. Haven't been in years, used to go 3-4 times a week.


Holy thread hijack Batman!