This project update is long overdue and we’ve made quite a bit of progress on the chassis and inner panels. The last installment showed the chassis be sandblasted. Like many old cars, this one lived a rough life and some serious accident damage was apparent on the passenger side. Enough damage to necessitate straightening and a major realignment.
Instead of placing the car back in the rotisserie, we secured it to a chassis jig constructed from 2″x5″ steel tube. Custom fixtures were fabricated to locate the rear axle, frame rails, front suspension turrets.
This fixture locates the nose of each frame rail. The 5/8″ solid rods will slide into the holes for the front bumper mounts to keep each frame rail level and parallel.
The second part of the front alignment fixture locates each suspension turret in relation to the rear axle.
Checking straightness of the replacement frame sections with the Stanley laser level.
These four pieces locate the lower control arm mounts through the while keeping them parallel, and the correct distance apart.
The aforementioned control arm mount fixture.
A quick mockup of the control arms, lever-action shock, and spindles.
Double-checking the camber and caster before everything is welded in permanently. The factory calls for 1 degree +. However, it is common to set camber at negative .5-1 degrees, which is better suited for modern radial tires
With these chassis repairs squared away, I’ve been able to move forward with fitting replacement floor pans, footwells, and a scuttle plate.
To be continued.