This has to deal with Subframes, Floors, Body Fabrication... I see all these wonderful builds going on here, by some very talented experienced metal men...NO JOKE !!! I am jealous of their ability, if not their garages...I digress !!!! I have a coupe body, basically a rough shell, no floors, no subframe, needs patching for sure... Was looking for opinions and advice...as to what you might think of as a way to go... Would you fix the body first ??? Cross brace it, make it square, and then fix the body...Sit it on the frame and work from there, I think you can figure out where I am going with this... The object is to end up with a body, that can be bolted to my frame.... Any and All Help will be much appreciated... Or of course, if you live close to Minneapolis and would like to tackle this...GIVE ME A SHOUT !!!!
I am not the master you are looking for maybe "FLOP" will speak up at some point he IMO is in the top cl*** of guys on the board. But I would square it up and brace it first that way you have a base to work off of .. Then go from there Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
As with any project, ask a dozen people for advice and you'll get two dozen ways to proceed. My .02: Since you have a frame (***uming the frame is square enough to work right), get the body in the correct location on the frame and start bracing up the body so that it sits correctly on the frame and make sure your doors (or anything else that) open and shut properly. If you're going to run front fenders/hood etc, get those lined up once you have the body square/braced. In the past, I've used ratchet straps/floor jacks etc to "wrestle" a car body into shape (cars can get pretty flimsy with no floor) Once you know that all your panels will line up correctly, and you have good bracing in place, build the floor and your body mounts. Once the floor is in, the body will be much stronger and will stay in shape better as you tackle the rocker/other rust on it. Any major surgery (like chopping the top) and you'll want the bracing in place (floor or not). The more work you do now to make sure that the body is straight/square and sitting on the frame properly the easier it will be to mount everything up as you progress to finish work.
Suppose I'd sketch it out in this manner. 1. square and clean up frame. weld as needed 2. body: square, (meas. diagonals) align doors, gaps. brace it, (up above the rotted) 3. position body above frame, (wood members thru windows, etc) locate w/care. 4. build subframe w/sq tubing, then do body panel repairs, & connecting bracketry (its the joining between the body and the subframe as built, that takes time) I invite those who have more exp. here to improve my thoughts. Flop's posts are helpful.
Do not use square tubing for the floor. It is not needed, it adds a lot of weight and the next guy will have to cut it out and do it right.
So far, EVERYTHING you have all said makes perfect sense...thanks for your time and expertise....keep it coming..there is room for everyone in the pool !!!
I would square the frame up, then make a simple "sub frame" that sits on top of the frame rails, and bolt it in place. Then I'd move onto squaring up the body, and hanging it at the right height. It helps if you have measurements from a finished, or complete body so you know where everything is supposed to line up (like where the bottom edge of the new cowl patch panel should be, etc. . .). I usually weld in two sections of pipe on each of the door pillars (like an inch wide) that are drilled and tapped for a bolt. Then I use a piece of tubing that fits into this, and goes across the doors. It helps cause you can loosen the nuts and move the pillars in/out to get the rocker length correct, and get the door to open and close properly. Then you want to do your patch panels, rockers, and eventually start tying it all into the subframe. It's pretty straight forward, but expect a lot of work.
Keep in mind that these were not that accurate from the factory- to expect it to fit any frame is not realistic. Make it fit your frame, then make it as good a panel fit as you can. As stated many times it all starts with a square frame, but remember that plus or minus an 1/8th was not unusual then, and frames were designed to be flexible due to the roads when these were built. Good luck with your project. Jim
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