UNDERBODY FRAME FOR RESTORATION

[FeeBee]

I am about to make up a frame for under the car to lift it up and brace it to before I start cutting the Sills and floor panels out. After any advice of what is a good working height to bring the car up to. Lets say what the Sill should be at? I am thinking 500 - 600mm above floor height??
I don't want to go rotisserie at this stage as the whole firewall and dash section is going to come off and be replaced with a non rusty one.

And any pics of how you have attached to underside of car would be good. I was just going to add welds to non rusted underbody.

[Blacky]

I would make it high enough so you can sit on a cut down plastic chair and slide around underneath sitting up with a 5"grinder and a wire wheel - you are going to be under there for a while , you might as well be comfy. Make the frame so it bolts onto the rear bumper mounts and the front subframe inner mounts , that will be plenty stable .

[FeeBee]

Cheers Blacky

Will have to investigate the rear bumper mounts as a bolt on each side was just turning. Had to cut to remove. Good ol rust has killed the inside thread and they just turn. I was going to make a plate with a nut welded to it and weld that back in place. Might do that as a first job then.

What do you mean by the subframe inner mounts? Are you talking about where the bolt goes through the front of the sills under the floor section? Probably cant do that either as one side that bolt connection is gone.

I just keep telling myself...metal can be repaired!!1

Show day is coming up in a couple of weeks, wife has to go to work, so I am planning to spend all day on the car. I will post progress pics

[parisian62]

Hi Adrian,

The height of the frame and trolley we made was governed by the opening height of my garage door. Ar first we were going to make it comfortably high to work under but then quickly realised it wasn't going to fit in and out of the garage door... Not sure if this is a limiting factor for you.

The frame we built wasn't welded to the car. At the rear we made two rectangular 'cups' and welded these to the top of the trolley frame. The 'cups' were the exact width and size of the rear suspension hangers and about an inch or so high. The rear hangers sat neatly inside the cups. The weight of the car ensured it didnt jump out of the cups. You could put a pin through the cup and the hnager if you were worried about it jumping out.

At the front of the frame the two trolley uprights were bolted through the front door hinge holes of the A pillar. It wasn't a perfect soultion as it limited access when cutting out rust at the bottom of the A pillar. We actaully had to rejigg the trolley to get access. We then had two lengths of square tube running from front to back to tie it all togther.

I don't have any pics of the actual frame but you might get some ideas on the build thread. Page 4 has a reasonable pic the trolley and EK on a flatbed.

http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtop ... 6&start=60

regards
Stewart

[Blacky]

Cheers Blacky

What do you mean by the subframe inner mounts? Are you talking about where the bolt goes through the front of the sills under the floor section? Probably cant do that either as one side that bolt connection is gone.

No , they are the outers, that area ALWAYS needs work unless you are extremely lucky, I mean the inner two nearest the centreline of the car , they are less likely to need work and if they do , fix the outers first then redo the trolley

Stewarts idea of the rear spring hangers sounds like a good one , if you mount it there you can then sort out your bumper mounts when its on the trolley. If you have lots of rusty bits to fix you might want to reconsider the rotisserie though ................

[FeeBee]

Thanks Stewart. I remembered last night you had a frame on your build so I was checking your photos out. I think I will go off the rear spring mount as you say, I will probably put a bolt through just to be safe. What was the load rating on your wheels of the trolley?

Blacky when the motor and box came out The brace that goes under the box was still good connection, I am thinking those holes should do the job up the front and just widen the frame for wheels. That way I can still remove the firewall. I will later on go rotisserie after the firewall and sills are done. I think I can support it better on a trolley and minimise her warping.

Appreciate the feedback guys.

[parisian62]

Ooops I think I've mixed you up with Finny?...

Anyhoo..They are solid steel castor wheels I picked up from an auction house...so no idea on load rating.

Check out this thread for some more discussion...http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtop ... or#p131307