When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
My original idea was to weld them in but i decided to drill holes, weld in tubes and bolt them in. I also incorporated other areas of the car that i would consider structural that i couldn't do with welds, i mean i still could weld them in if i wanted but i don't think its going to matter at this point. I would say bolting them in the 30+ locations was actually stronger with my sub frame design, since there is a constant clamping force every (roughly) foot from each bolt/nut location along the entire sub-frames... I noticed when i only had bolted into the original locations i was going to weld in with no other places bolted in along the sub-frames there was some flex not much but some which was probably due to the thickness of tubing i chose to use, however once fully bolted in with the the correct bolt toque speculations for the bolts i used there was no flex. I am extremely impressed with the structural rigidity of the car, i was able to get 3 wheels off the ground when i jacked one of the rear corners of the car. The doors moved less then 3/32 away from the rear quarter panel, this was with out the t-tops on and i opened and closed the doors with out any problems while the car was up in the air with 3 wheels off the ground, no creeks, no cracks the about the only thing i heard while i was jacking the car up was the tire on the opposite side drag across the garage floor before losing contact from the floor
Last edited by FueledSoul; 12-23-2012 at 12:42 AM.
Some underside shots and an idea on the clearance... they sit about the same height as the UMI transmission cross member... actually the lower relocation brackets and rear of the torque arm hang lower then my subframes...
Beautiful frame connectors! I may be building my own in the near future, I will be sure to use your's as a reference. Also I believe (I may be wrong), the grease boots on your idler arm and pitman arm are on upside down. Not a big deal, just thought I'd mention it.
What tools were required? I'm assuming a chopsaw, grinder, welder, cutoff wheel, drill... anything I'm missing?
All of the grease boots should be in the right spot however nothing is really bolted in on the front half yet...as you can see in the top pic you quoted...
Everything you mentioned tool wise plus a tape measure, levels and angle finders... I used some air tools air die-grinders too im sure, but you covered the basics of what you will need.
Fantastic time detail and so well thought out and executed. So many wouldn't of changed design to impove to save time and cost!
Great job, def impressive
Stronger than the entire FRAME of the car I bet. Those things tie into every major stress point on the floor pan front to rear. If you cut the roof off that car I bet it would still be stiffer than a stock Thirdgen without SFCs.
About the only thing stiffer would be a full cage I bet.
I am looking for front frame rails for my 85 berlinetta. I was under the car and noticed there isnt much left holding up the tranny. Where can i get new ones, or do i need to make my own??
I have an 85 and the frame rails where the tranny mounts are getting really bad. THANKS Ontairo, for putting salt on the roads. I am looking to fix her up, I am wondering if anyone knows of what i can do to, other then making up something. I am good with a welder and I know my way around tools thank god. I have been looking at new floor pans its just that no one has the frame rails on them. PLEASE help me.
I have an 85 and the frame rails where the tranny mounts are getting really bad. THANKS Ontairo, for putting salt on the roads. I am looking to fix her up, I am wondering if anyone knows of what i can do to, other then making up something. I am good with a welder and I know my way around tools thank god. I have been looking at new floor pans its just that no one has the frame rails on them. PLEASE help me.
Sounds like you're in for fabbing your own frame rails, and a sheetmetal bending brake capable of bending whatever thickness necessary and some way of making long cuts in metal sheets would be on my wish list. If you aren't concerned with originality, you might be able to use square or rectangular tubing instead.
Norm
Last edited by Norm Peterson; 04-24-2014 at 07:32 AM.
Thanks for posting this whole thread FueledSoul. After reading through it I was able to mimic what you did with your inner set. Mine probably didn't turn out as nice but they still look great and should work fine, in addition to saving me ~$300!
12-23-2012, 12:36 AM
