decided to keep the stock frame. have more ?'s

[dvanecek]

I've decided to keep the stock frame after lot's of good advice from all of you.  I do still want to use the S10 front clip since I have it.  

I saw an old post about Z'ing the front end.  I realize I have ALOT of engine going into the front end.  I'll have to watch the hood clearance.  Is this doable?  It would save money on lowering the front.  Also I would have the travel I want.  

Also I'm already looking at running a front mount electric fan to help with the lack of room.  I am also looking at cutting back those firewall ribs.  I was going to weld some plate or an X brace || with the firewall and then trim the ribs back.  Is this required?  I'd love to shed some weight and plate steel is not the way.

I have also decided to hold off on the vette rear and maybe run the dana that's in the fury.  The width should work and I can just shorten the fury driveshaft saving more money.    

I realize that this is a rather odd build but it's the parts I have and It will defintely raise an eyebrow or too when people see mopar on the 383 in my chev.

Thank's
Dave

[enjenjo]

How good a fabricator are you?

Zing the frame is fairly simple in a lot of cases but the design of your Chevy frame complicates it a bit. You will find that the inside of the S10 clip lines up pretty close to the outside of your frame. This makes it a bit more difficult to do, and a Z raises the difficulty bar again. There is a tech post on mt web site, enjenjo.com ,that covers a frame clip on a Chevy truck, the same method will work on your car.

[Anonymous]

Well, you ARE taking the rough way up the river...but I can't talk myself!  

Those ribs on the firewall are supposedly expendable...rumor has it that their primary function was to hold the body in place on the assembly line...but if your heap is as rusty as mine...I'd think twice about cutting any structural part of the car away!!!

The S10 clip CAN work...though mating it to the Chevy's 'tophat' frame might require a little deft fabbin' and welding...way beyond MY scope of ability...but hopefully not yours! The Mopar engine being a mid sump (as I recall), it may fit into the S10 front frame section better than it would into the stock chassis...but if you're Hell-bent on running a Mopar...you MAY wanna look into a Volare/Aspen front sub...though THEY have their quirks, too!

Any way you slice it...you're in for a good deal of fitting, problem solving and fabrication to assemble your selected parts into the vehicle you're building...but nothing is impossible...you're just gonna have a little MORE work to do than the average 49-54 Chevy builder!

[dvanecek]

I'm Polish.  I do everything the hard.  I will learn alot and also plan the next build more carefully.

[Dirk35]

Sounds like you have made your decision, now get to it!

And keep us posted along the way. Speaking of which, Im long over-due for an update on both trucks (oh wait, I have to do something, HeHe). Actually, its coming along ok in the 35.

[Leon]

Before you cut anything on the frame, block the car up level all theway around and drop plumb lines on the floor for important features such as spindle centerlines, radiator support, bumper mounts, etc.  then record each point's height from the floor so when you put the clip in you will be able to reference it to the old points - primarily the spindle centers.  Make sure the frame is well blocked so it doen't tip when the weight of the frontend is cut loose.  Having thedimensions of the other items such as the radiator support will help when you try to figure out putting the sheet metal back on.

[dvanecek]

Thanks fro the info.  I also need to get the wheels and tires i will running also correct?

Dave

[purplepickup]

Thanks fro the info.  I also need to get the wheels and tires i will running also correct?

Dave

You might want to use some old wheels and tires that are close to the height you expect you'll be running to get the stance right, but in my humble opinion, the final wheels and tires are one of the last things to buy.  That way you can get the exact offset and height that you need to fit inside the fenders the way you want.....especially since you're using an S-10 clip.

[dvanecek]

I'ts a catch 22.  I guess I'll call coker with what I think I want and find out what the tire heigth is and figure out final backspacing later.

Thanks,
Dave