BUILD THREAD Rustier then I thought!!!

[RabbitHoleSS]

I got some garage time in between plugging my sisters tires, fixing my stepdads brakes and carving pumpkins. I mocked up the reinforcement above the rear end. Im thinking about notching a bit of the spring pocket out so the lower bar sits higher/closer to the top bar. The tubing also seems kinda small compared to a friends. Its only 1".

I used cardboard to make templates for the LCA gussets. Heres my plan. Its not as beefy as the kit you buy from trick chassis but it should help by "boxing" it in. Im gonna stick the LCAs back in when I weld it so it wont move. I got tbe triangle gussets made and ready to weld in too.

The wax on the back was whoopin me. It would either fling off in little balls and stick to other parts or it would smear across the metal. So I used a handheld torch and wire brush to knock most off. Then wax and grease remover to get the residue off.

Couple more hours of stripping and I can get it coated.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

I decided to remake the the rear reinforcement again. I kinda screwed up the notch ,there was big gaps, i didnt keep the tube centered when I cut them so the notches weren't aligned so it was gonna suck to weld. Plus the tube was pretty thin. So I bought some 1 1/4" .120 wall tube. Took my time and it came out much tighter. I had to notch the bottom of the spring pocket so the tube wasn't to low.

I used 14 ga metal to box in the lower control arms. Just traced my cardboard template onto metal. I welded the triangle braces first.

I made spacers and bolted the LCA so it wouldn't move before welding. I also painted the spots that are unreachable after welding. Then I clamped on the outside piece and welded it shut.

I ditched the triangle brace idea. I couldn't get them to fit like I wanted and it was gonna be some ugly gnarly welding. I got the UCA trick chassis instant center brackets cleaned up from a prior install. Made spacers for them too. So Im gonna weld the tubes and UCA brackets tommorow and hopefully coat the frame this week.

 

[Rktpwrd]

I decided to remake the the rear reinforcement again. I kinda screwed up the notch ,there was big gaps, i didnt keep the tube centered when I cut them so the notches weren't aligned so it was gonna suck to weld. Plus the tube was pretty thin. So I bought some 1 1/4" .120 wall tube. Took my time and it came out much tighter. I had to notch the bottom of the spring pocket so the tube wasn't to low.View attachment 160888
I used 14 ga metal to box in the lower control arms. Just traced my cardboard template onto metal. I welded the triangle braces first.View attachment 160889
I made spacers and bolted the LCA so it wouldn't move before welding. I also painted the spots that are unreachable after welding. Then I clamped on the outside piece and welded it shut.View attachment 160890View attachment 160891
I ditched the triangle brace idea. I couldn't get them to fit like I wanted and it was gonna be some ugly gnarly welding. I got the UCA trick chassis instant center brackets cleaned up from a prior install. Made spacers for them too. So Im gonna weld the tubes and UCA brackets tommorow and hopefully coat the frame this week.

Nice work on the rear LCA mounts. It’s almost identical to how I boxed and reinforced mine on The Juggernauts frame.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

Thanks I really appreciate it. And where do you think I got the idea🤔 I didnt follow it to the letter but its my less skilled version.
In all seriousness your threads have been an enormous help. A guideline of sorts. Just know all those hours you put into making those threads hrs made my build possible.

 

[Rktpwrd]

Thanks I really appreciate it. And where do you think I got the idea🤔 I didnt follow it to the letter but its my less skilled version.
In all seriousness your threads have been an enormous help. A guideline of sorts. Just know all those hours you put into making those threads hrs made my build possible.

My pleasure brother. It’s why I put the time and effort into detailing what I’ve done. If it’s useful to even one person, then it’s worthwhile for me.

 

[Northernregal]

My pleasure brother. It’s why I put the time and effort into detailing what I’ve done. If it’s useful to even one person, then it’s worthwhile for me.

Probably more than one person. 😉

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

Well I was reading through NorthernRegals cutlass thread and figured id copy his UCA brace since I have material. Its just 14ga sheet and 1" tube. I made the tube with the angle and welded it to the sheet. Then welded that to the frame/outside of the UCA.

I also got the trick chassis instant center kit welded in. I used tube and bolted it in to keep the bracket from opening while welding.

I figured I should finish the frame mods while I was at it. Heres the ladder welded in place. Fitment is key to success with the tubing. I had 1 spot that wasn't tight and it was PITA to weld. Everything else was easy. Ill make an L shape bracket that'll weld the top bar and crossmember together.

I stripped the bottom of the frame and cut the #3 access holes in the boxed portion. Then started the kbs cleaning process on the front of the frame. Im hoping to get the frame painted tommorow. I never could've imagined how much dust this process was gonna create.

 

[joesregalproject]

Everything looks excellent. I'm enormously jealous of your progress. My car is collecting dust.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

Everything looks excellent. I'm enormously jealous of your progress. My car is collecting dust.

Thanks its coming along. Stop spending so much time under Fords and show the Regal some love.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

I bought the KBS frame kit a while back. Its finally time to put it to use. The kit comes with detailed instructions, which was nice. After I stripped all the paint/wax off I used there cleaner. I used a scotchbrite pad to work it in the surface. Then sprayed it off with the water hose and dried it with my leaf blower. The next step is to soak it in the rustblast solution. It smelled like a weaker version of ospho. I kept it wet for around 30 mins and sprayed it off with the hose and dried it with the blower. You cant let it dry on the surface.

I was skeptical at first to paint over that mess but kbs says a light white coating of zinc phosphate will be present. So I started brushing on the rustseal portion of the kit. If you dont overbrush it the paint will flow out with no brush marks.

Im gonna scuff with red scotchbrite and spray rustoleum flat black as a topcoat since this isnt uv protected and its too glossy for my liking. I also picked up the 6 zq8 wheels i bought last month.

Ive pretty much decided on nylon fuel lines. Im hoping stock style brake lines will work so I can just buy a kit. If they wont ill make my own with nicopp line. I also need to figure out the brakes on the 8.8 swap.