My 67 swb project... YES its finally started. Sub frame swap

[GT-Racer]

OK I drew up the following schematic to help with some of the confusion on my build. The ford stuff is labeled in blue and the chevy stuff is labeled in red for easy reference.

ALSO and this is very important. please note the two cut lines I have drawn and labeled as mine and chris's. Please take a look at his galery in a previous post and pay close attention to where he cut his frame. (just in front of the front cab mounts. Also notice from my previous pictures where I cut mine at. This will be a critical decision for any who wish to follow our lead.

Notice in my drawing I show a 6 3/4 inch drop on the chebbie and a 3 1/4 inch drop on the ford. This is from the top of the frame where the suspension bolts on to the top of the frame under the cab. By cutting where I did, I have to drop my frame down to match up, which is essentially the same thing as Z'ing my frame. I am estimating that I should need to reverse my rear spring shackles and drop the rear 3 1/2 inches to compensate for this. Thats not a problem for me I dont mind doing that and being a little lower. BUT those of you who would like and ifs suspension but maintain the hieight you have now should follow Chris and cut forward of the front cab mounts. (the frames are still 34 inches here as well)

Hope this helps and doesnt add to the confusion.

[FORDification]

That's good info to know! Thanks for sharing.

[wt4speed#2]

Yea great work picasso

Tony B

[GT-Racer]

Yea great work picasso

Tony B

wait til you see under the cab, looks like the chapel ceiling,
Oh wait that was another guy...

[GT-Racer]

Well made more progress this weekend. My buddy came over and my frame is again in ONE piece. The welds turned out nice and we measured several bolt holes that are on both frame rails to check that we were square. Turns out we are between 1/32 and 1/16 of being perfect. I can definitely live with that. I will take pic and post tomorrow.

Next step is getting diamond shaped plates to weld on the inside just for added support. He also offered to weld up all the holes in the frame while he is there. So other than the extra grinding it will make for me, I think I'm gonna do it. Should be nice and clean after the blasting and powder coat. As soon as the welding is done, I will be setting the bed and cab back on so I can find the locations of my core support brackets and front cab mounts. Also at this time I will see how much I need to lower the back to match the ride up.

[GT-Racer]

as promised here are some more pictures. Not all of the welds are ground down yet but its coming along. You can see from the full frame picture just how much the frame is "Z'ed" now. Aproximately 3 1/2 inches from stock. Also the pics show the plates we added to the inside for strength. Next step is welding up all the holes in the frame. My buddy gave me a crash course in welding, like 5 minutes of instruction and then left. (without hid welder) So now I get to play and weld up the holes myself. Only bad thing to all this is that now I will have ALOT more grinding than I would have if he welded them.

[GT-Racer]

and one more....

[theskytoucher]

Its looking good man!!!!

[FORDification]

One question though. Was there a reason you only used a fairly small diamond-shaped piece of steel as a joint reinforcement? Granted, it's better than simply butt-welding the joint, but I'd be a little nervous without something more substantial. Maybe you should consider boxing that section of the frame at least, just to reinforce that section a little more?

[GT-Racer]

I just went off the advice of my welder. he has done this alot and has built a tube chassis pro street vega that he drag races. I asked the same questions and several people said I didnt need anything. When I asked about boxing it he said there was no need just plate it and it would be fine.

[GT-Racer]

newest pictures....

Buddy that welded the frame for me was so kind as to leave his welder for me to "practice with". So I have been welding up the holes to make a nice smooth frame when I am done.

[rjewkes]

Can't wait to see the finish.

[theskytoucher]

Are you two fisting those grinders or what??? J/k

[wt4speed#2]

Hey Gt,
Looks good , thanks for the update. But I couldn't help noticing the back ground in all your pictures .I've discovered your disadvantage, you've got way to much room and space in your shop there , I think if you clutter it up a little and throw some more stuff in there , it'll go much smoother.

[GT-Racer]

LMAO, I'm actually looking for an out building to store my mowers and parts I am not using yet. I hate clutter.