Yes, it's true, I have been dreading the front suspension of this project.  Mostly, because I had no idea what I was doing or how it would function when done.  Not doing it, made that it would be basically impossible for me to steer!!

I could rest much easier now, because it wasn't that big of a deal and went really smoothly.  The problem I was facing was to get 26 inch tall tires to steer in the miniscule  wheel opening found on a round body falcon.  The solution?  Remove 1 1/2 inches from both the upper and the lower control arms. 

 I squared up the arm on a couple of metal shims, and squared a laser level on a sawhorse, and just taped along the line.

 Once it was taped, I sprayed it with some primer and set about to remove everything gray. ( except obviously the overspray)

 They actually end up lining up rather well.  I will of course have to finish welding it, bracing it and finally boxing it, but the preliminary fit and functionality is great!

 1 1/2 inches sure brings the ball joint back quite a bit.  It definitely gives it that late 50s Cadillac/luxury liner look.

 It will now steer fully aired down.  Not too shabby for one Saturday :-)

 peace

We worked on the beast for 12 hours, and it almost looks exactly the same as it did before I started! (at lease to the neighbors!)

Certain tasks sure seem to go slowly. When I look back at the pics though, I can see why it took so long. Here is a small recap... (for a full-size recap, click on the picture link below)

Due to our needing to move the cross member 4 inches rearward, (because the overdrive trans was longer), we had to make new side plates. Construction paper makes the perfect template.

The next step was to bolt everything "in place" and tack the plates to the dual frame rails, and also to the crossmember itself.

Next, we had to cut the tacks that hold the plates to the frame rails, but leave the plates tacked to the cross member. we drilled small holes through the plates just to get me in the ballpark of where the holes in the crossmember are located. This is the part where we had to go in with a die grinder and enlarge all the holes, and line everything up perfectly with the holes in the crossmember. Then, we had to bevel all of the notches in the plates where it will weld to the frame rails. This makes the welds much stronger. we also had to patch any cuts that we put into the plates from hitting it with the cutting wheel, while removing it from the car. I also pulled a bonehead, and didn't account for the amount that the transmission mount will compress (which is about an inch) and drilled one of the holes too low. We had to fill this in. Can you see why it took 12 hours?

before (with patch in place)

after: 

 Next, was to bolt the finished beveled cleaned plates to the crossmember, put it under the car, and final weld the plates to the dual frame rails. Almost there... or so I thought. I discovered another bonehead. The crossmember is slightly wider at the top than it is at the bottom. ????

When I welded on the top eyes, the heat shrank the material and pulled the tabs out-wards. I couldn't get the darn thing out. After torching, bending, prying and pulling, I got it out, then had to grind it quite a bit to level it back out. (about two hours worth). This was not my favorite part of the project...

The final step is to box the frame mounts

The finished mount: (and don't forget to primer all of the metal inside the box before you weld it up, and allow a place downhill, preferably, where the water can drain,should any make its way in there...and it will)

I finished up the other side, primered everything and installed the transmission and cross member into the car.  DONE

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AbN2rJq3as4m

Now that the motor and the transmission are in and properly mounted, I could finally move on to another section of the car :-)

YAY!

One of my favorite things about building a car or taking on any project of that size is the community that is created around the construction of it. When you work on a project of this magnitude and with as many high school kids that have stepped foot into the garage, every step along the way and stage of the project has significant and specific memories of conversations and people. Many of you probably do not know, but I have bilateral nerve damage in my arms, and lost the use of both my arms for about five years. During this time, I could do nothing, so I ended up helping my wife with the youth group at our church. What a cool experience to get to know other people's teenagers :-). Most of them actually listen when they're not yours. However, it was sad to see so much potential in those kids, and not a whole lot of output.

I am not a fan of sitting around in a room, going over curriculum in a book, and I don't think many of the kids are either. Building a car is one of those things that can bring out the best and worst in you. ( any wrench throwers out there?) The problems you run into...and the solutions end up employing, mirror many of those problems you will find in life later. Building a car is a source of endless object lessons. So, why not? I threw the invitation out there, and people started showing up. We meet once a week for four hours and work on everything from design, parts cleaning, welding and fabrication, engine swaps and pretty much everything you can run into. Most of the kids had never touched a power tool before. It is really awesome to see them get the hang of it and gain confidence in themselves...and really enjoy the rewards of doing a good job on long term project.

We have been going strong for one year and eight months:

Here are a few highlights

You got to love the face he's making on this one...

One of the many things we had to do was a complete roof swap. The original one was completely rusted out...

Let's learn about clean welding!

Many chefs in the kitchen, attempting to solve the mounting issue...and sharpening analytical thinking skills along the way.

The more experienced, instructing the new recruits on the idea of paper templates. See what I mean?, they totally pay attention:-)

How do you know, the new roof is going to fit and line up? Because the gauge you made off of the original roof, lines up with the new trim holes...

The motor will absolutely not fit!

Just enough danger and pain to intrigue the more adventurous...

Everyone who shows up works... no favorites, no exceptions. If you're new, you will likely be degreasing or sandblasting (See below), not welding, or working on the intake manifold.

It has been really awesome to watch these kids learn and grow. Some of them have gotten their own cars and projects, and others are making all kinds of crazy stuff. ( medieval armor and the like).

It's not that they all have to end up being into cars, or Fords or what ever, it's more about showing others that most things are doable, if you're just not afraid to try.

That applies to all areas of life :-)

peace,

kai