Front frame rail complete assembly fixture

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I restore classic cars ,Mostly Mustangs and 1935 -37 Ford pick ups .I have even been known to touch a GM product every now and then ...Hey i have a 10 foot poll HAHA.   About the only place i have to work in now is this car port ,every place else has a car stuffed into it .I would build another shop but i already have cars that would fill it before i could even finish it .

 

This one will take some time i think ,someone did some very crappy work on it and almost all of it will have to be redone .The fiber glass was attached ...You will notice i didn't say fit ,because nothing fits , very badly and it is cracking and even falling off .And they didn't even do the metal work before sticking on the fiberglass ,and fiberglass can not be attached with Bondo ,it just will not work .The fiberglass is so thin it is like paper . This work was supposedly  done by a professional shop ...Um , they need to find another job !

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

All X braced and solid as a rock .I cut the driver door post out first along with the dash ,it only had 3 spot welds holding it in place .Trimmed of the rocker and it has a bit of surface rust under the old post so i will sand blast the area and epoxy prime before the new post is welded in place 

The door posts did not have the hinge plate brackets welded in ,so i drilled holes for plug welds and clamped them in a welded them .

 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Another computer hick up

I clamped the cowl side panel and post in place .I took measurements from three cars for this and i got 3 different measurements so i settled for the one in between ,they were all 3 with in 1/8th inch of each other .

I had a brace for the door opening i made for a 65-66 a long time ago and with a little hole enlargement it bolted in .It will keep my door post in place .

Now i have to take it back apart and weld the post to the side panel ,i scribbed alignment marks ,and drill it for plug welds and weld it all in place .Then i get to figure out how to get the upper piece of the window post out of the roof ,i may have to cut the corner of the roof to get to the inside pieces .

[RPM 1,190]

Ridge, you have a fantastic set-up there at home! 

 

Ash if you think it looks nice it pics, you should see it in person! The perfect set up and located at the foot of the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains. A true gear head's dream.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

That reminds me ,since i got my first wish and the magic Gennie moved my post ...do i still get two more wishes ?

[RPM 1,190]

Yes you do, as long as you wish for some cooler weather! Gotta get me a cooler in the shop. Probably shoulda bought one instead of the heater I bought last week. A Glock model 36.

[Ash 145]

That's cool you do trucks too. I love old Ford trucks. I have an F1 cab I'm going to build up, a little differently, after the Mustang moves well along.

 

I get envious of some of the set-ups you guys have. Very large sheds and work spaces seem to be common. I watch these picker and car shows from the US as well and there are sheds and barns galore on peoples properties.

And I completely agree with the more space you have, the more stuff you gather to fill it with, haha!

 

At the top of the window pillar, just below the roof line where you have made the cut, how do you re-attach the pillar? There is an overlap there from factory, do you recreate that or butt weld the section back in? Reason I ask is both my sides need work, more so the passenger side as it has cracked through.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Ash if you think it looks nice it pics, you should see it in person! The perfect set up and located at the foot of the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains. A true gear head's dream.

And where Virgins dance neked in the moon light ...Um ...That would be one of those other two wishes i was referring to ,and yes ..you may have your cooler ...make it so !

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

That's cool you do trucks too. I love old Ford trucks. I have an F1 cab I'm going to build up, a little differently, after the Mustang moves well along.

 

I get envious of some of the set-ups you guys have. Very large sheds and work spaces seem to be common. I watch these picker and car shows from the US as well and there are sheds and barns galore on peoples properties.

And I completely agree with the more space you have, the more stuff you gather to fill it with, haha!

 

At the top of the window pillar, just below the roof line where you have made the cut, how do you re-attach the pillar? There is an overlap there from factory, do you recreate that or butt weld the section back in? Reason I ask is both my sides need work, more so the passenger side as it has cracked through.

The window post will be tomorrows job ,and it will not be fun .

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Sand blasted the area where the door post will set and epoxy primed .

I sanded and sprayed primer inside the door post and the cowl side panel where the post will cover it up  .

I set the post on the cowl panel and lined up my scribe marks ,clamped the two together and welded them .then ground the welds .

Bolted the side panel and door post back to my door brace ,checked all the measurements ,clamped it in place and welded it.

All done for the day ...TO DAMN HOT !

 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I had to pull off of it for a bit .

The front of the roof window chanel is rotted and has to be cut out .I wanted to do a roof but that is not an option ,so i will cut the channel back into the roof about 2 -3 inches and repair it with an old roof section i have here .

I have the old front section cut loose but it still needs to be trimmed out .I will be saving the front section of the roof and the roof support under the roof skin ,and the sun visor brackets .

I will have to drill out the spot welds on the roof skin front section and remove the rest of the front window post ,then i will have to do the same inside the car .The piece with the black line has to be removed it is the old window  post .The same pieces inside the car will have to be removed for the full length new window post .

 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

OH THOSE SPOT WELDS ! Seems like you drill one out and another one grows back .I drilled all i could find and still missed a few . 

 i drilled the inner posts pieces that were left and the sun visor brackets ,i have to reuse the visor brackets .

 

I drilled the outer post piece and pulled it out ...not easy to do ,but it can be done .

All of that was only the driver side ,i still get to do the pass ,side .And then....I GET TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN!! the very same thing has to be done to the body for the new window posts.

 

[RPM 1,190]

Damn! You charging by the hour or spot weld?

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I got the passenger side door post on ,every thing was done the same as driver side .I set the cowl in place to make sure everything lines up and it does, perfectly .

I will X brace the posts to make sure they stay put . I still have to trim out the roof and cut back the window opening and trim out the pieces of window post .I got the roof support out of my roof patch panel and one door post trimmed out ,one side left to go then i will trim my roof patch panel to about 2 or 3 inches wide ,just far enough to replace the rusted area in the roof .

 

[RPM 1,190]

You guys with body fab skills amaze me.  

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I trimmed out the rest of the roof patch and cut it down to 3 inches wide ,still wider than i need .

Blasted the roof support and primed it along with the visor brackets .

I marked 2 1/2 inches on the roof so it would be smaller than my patch and cut the front of the roof off .Some one had repaired it once before ...stuffed it full of silicone hahah.  I cut the roof support out and trimmed out the old door post pieces .

The outer door posts were next ,fit so good they were almost perfect right from the start .

I set the cowl in place and clamped it in ,the door posts are also clamped in so i could try a ford windshield and it fit perfectly .

I took it back apart and drilled holes for plug welds .The outer door posts were first .Then the cowl ,i left about 3 plug welds out in the front of the cowl so i could spread the side panels if i need to to get the front clip in place .

 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Ok lets see if it will post the pics this time .

The Outer door posts welded and  the cowl welded in ,it was ready for the inner door posts .I clamped them in and used my spot welder to weld them in place .

 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Having trouble loading images ...one more time !

 

 

And tomorrow ????????

[Ash 145]

Amazing work mate, very impressive!

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

It's Tomorrow !  Dont you just love it when something goes just exactly like it is supposed to ?

I set the front clip on my Harbor freight lift table and slid it into place ,it slid right in .And i did it all by my self .

going up . all the alignment holes were right on .I used the engine compartment brace holes and bolted the cowl to the fire wall and it pulled right in place .It need very little tweaking it just fit .

Checked it with a level and it was right on ,so several screws and clamps to hold it in place .I didn't remove the floor ,i just tied it up out of the way with a ratchet strap.

 

I checked the cowl to fender apron brackets and both of them set right where they are supposed to and they are not even welded .

I released the floor and let it fall into place and this one is about the tightest fitting floor i have done yet 

I bolted on a set of fenders ,they touch the rocker at the door opening but do not over lap the rocker .i measured from the tip of the fender at the door opening to the door jamb at the top and the opening is perfect for the door so i figure it is ready to weld .I will probably wait a bit ,the sun is directly on it now and it is supposed to get 107 * today . 

 

 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I seem to have more trouble posting pics than i did fitting the front clip !!

All ready to be welded , then it is up on the rotisserie .

[RPM 1,190]

By yourself? Where was your brother? I'd have driven up to lend a hand. Holler at me next time. Congrats on the fine fit.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

It was way easier than i thought it would be with this  lift table .,it just about fit its self as i lifted it in place . 

But i will take you up on it next time 

[Midlife 814]

Nice job!  Time to sit back, have a cold one, and pat yourself on the back. 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Been there ...Done that ...And doing that right now .