I'm about to start teardown. I'm working in a Carport with gravel.
I have not cut anything yet.
What should be installed first? Subframe connectors?
Should there be a engine in the car when the SFC's are installed?
I'm sure the car must be level when installing sfc's, but level from where? the tires?
What are some good reference points? This car will be getting a floater/truck arm rear suspension with coilovers, a full cage, and rack and pinion up front, possibly with a tube K member and tube front LCA's, maybe even coil over struts, if I can find them!!!!!!!
So I need good measurment points to keep all of this square and true.
The tranny cross member will disappear for one that incorporates the truck trailing arm mounts, and ties into the SFC's
What's a good way to keep the rear end square to the new crossmember and the body of the car During layout and assembly?

 

you'd want the car at full weight. not level but sitting the same as it would normally sit. park it on a known level surface and take some referance readings with an angle finder then replicate the readings with the car on jack stands. ok i just read this again, you're back halfing the car plus doing the front end and adding a cage all on gravel. damn, you might want to find some concrete. always good to be able to do layout on the concrete and use it for referance too.

 

I'm working on gravel, but I have some huge solid wood doors, about 2 1/2" thick, that I am going to lay down on the gravel, once I get it raked level.

 

Crap in... crap out... You should really consider taking Ede's advice.

 

Yeah, I'm going to use the concrete pad outside the house.

 

Burn your house down. Then you will have a huge concrete slab to work on.

 

I have found that the easiest way to weld on sfc's is to pull the car onto an alignment rack/drive on type lift so that the car is still sitting on the tires, therefore EXACTLY like it should be. I know this might be an issue but for the $50 bucks most exhaust and auto shops would charge to weld them on, I would go that route.

 

im with lt1 i did my sfc's on a drive on frame machine

 

the drive on lift is the way to go id say .....but if you dont have access to one you need to atleast find a level area besides gravel ...for one thing gravel can shift on ya ive had it happen and its not a pretty site to be under a car and all of a sudden have it commin down while your tryin to get out from under it at the same time and im a big guy so it wasnt an easy task but i made it ......LOL....please dont try this at home....it has a tendicy to hurt severely when things decide to move or the cheap a** jack stands you borrowed from a friend arent quality either ...lol

 

My first job would be getting some boards together and pouring some concrete for a small 10x 20 slab...One of my buddies lost his life when a car fell on him about 5 yrs ago..

 

the gravel base aside , you might have structural problems with feeding the torque arms into a non tube frame car....along with the cage and all the other pick up points....

my suggestion? forget your project for the time being until you have the facilities to undertake a full frame on a flat floor. You need to think long term...a few weeeks any way to do all the fab work....to do it RIGHT you need a clean sheet of paper.....and maybe some new skills?

 

Did an engine swap for a friend; he had the car up on jackstands on blacktop- which, of course, cut right into the blacktop. Worse, when I bumped the car with my hand, it swayed back and forth like a drunk. I made him lower the car and jack it up again so it was steady up there. I'd never get under a car unless it was so sturdy that it'd be impossible to move.

Plus- this gravel is basically outside, right? (Even though it's covered by a carport)? So what happens when it pours, and the ground gets soaked, and water gets inside the carport, and the gravel shifts underneath the stands?