[alexandersavov]

Hello everyone!

My car is now mostly stripped, engine needs to come out and the leaf spring bolt has to be cut, otherwise it is just the shell. I bought the car and shipped it halfway across the world and upon inspection found that indeed it is in a fairly poor state. Some people might suggest that it is not worth the effort to perform the necessary repairs, but around here such cars are very rare, labor is cheap (but lacking expertise). Decided to go all the way and replace the following:All 4 frame rails, forward fender aprons (left and right), cowl vents, firewall, floor pans, left and right trunk panels.

I've acquired most of the parts, I will order rear right frame rail, floor supports soon.

I would greatly appreciate tips on how to sequence the repair. I was thinking - trunk, rear frame rails, floor and supports, front frame rails, firewall and cowl repair, fender aprons. I want to minimize the chance of frame components moving around and getting out of spec. I have the two-part front frame rails. Is it possible to do the change without cutting the entire assembly and removing it from the car (meaning first replace the inner frame rail, then the outer etc.)? Feel like the front repair would be the most challenging and if I can sequence it correctly and provide the knowledge to the person who will be doing the repairs, it should be alright...

Want to put the car on a jig. My idea was to mount it to the rear frame rails where the leaf springs bolt up, drill out the spot welds, take the frame rail out and put the new one in the same place. Similar story on the front. Now, I want to build the jig based on the correct dimensions and not based on the car to see if something is off. I do have the repair manual, but something is not clear to me:

How can the dimension between the leaf spring holes (red) be shorter that the dimension above between the front and the back of the frame rail (blue)? What am I missing here?
Also, when measuring the car, where do you find these locator hows toward the front end of the frame rails? I was underneath the car but didn't see those..
If someone has plans for a jig for a 66 and wants to share, I would appreciate so much.

I will leave you with a few pictures, showing the current state of the coupe:

 

[wicked93gs]

View attachment 815549


How can the dimension between the leaf spring holes (red) be shorter that the dimension above between the front and the back of the frame rail (blue)? What am I missing here?
Also, when measuring the car, where do you find these locator hows toward the front end of the frame rails? I was underneath the car but didn't see those..
If someone has plans for a jig for a 66 and wants to share, I would appreciate so much.

I will leave you with a few pictures, showing the current state of the coupe:








View attachment 815559

The leaf spring is mounted to the outside of the frame rail, sandwiched between the frame rail and a bracket tack welded to the rear torque box area...which is why the distance is shorter. I replaced a LOT of sheet metal on my coupe...but never the frame rails themselves, but, if I were to do it, I would do it the following order: Replace the sheet metal at the firewall first(whether its just the front floor pan extensions or the entire firewall...most times the vertical section of the firewall is just fine and it just needs the angled patch panels), but after getting the firewall(or extensions, whatever) in obviously do not spot weld them to the frame rails. At this point you will be able to take a marker and trace the position of the old frame rails onto your new pans, which gives you the position you need for the cabin area. The engine bay is rather easy at that point, just cut all the spot welds that hold the frame rail to the OLD fender aprons, radiator support crossmember and shock towers. Trace the old frame rail position onto the old sheet metal, install the new frame rail and simply tack weld to the old sheet metal while you spot/plug weld it to your NEW firewall/floorpans. You should be able to use a combination of traced outlines and a tape measure to align the new frame rail just fine using this method. One frame rail at a time you repeat this process double and triple checking your measurements and alignments....after that you can replace the old shock towers, fender aprons and whatever other engine bay sheet metal as needed. You won't need a jig as long as you follow the process correctly and triple check everything. That being said, a jig is of course the best method. The real thing to remember is that if you don't use a jig, replace one piece at a time and measure many times, making sure to note down any reference measurements you need BEFORE you cut.

P.S. WTH is up with those coil springs over the rear shocks? Burn it with fire! Seriously, the shock pockets were not meant to take a lot of pressure from springs, get rid of those things and be sure to check that area for metal fatigue.

 

[alexandersavov]

The leaf spring is mounted to the outside of the frame rail, sandwiched between the frame rail and a bracket tack welded to the rear torque box area...which is why the distance is shorter. I replaced a LOT of sheet metal on my coupe...but never the frame rails themselves, but, if I were to do it, I would do it the following order: Replace the sheet metal at the firewall first(whether its just the front floor pan extensions or the entire firewall...most times the vertical section of the firewall is just fine and it just needs the angled patch panels), but after getting the firewall(or extensions, whatever) in obviously do not spot weld them to the frame rails. At this point you will be able to take a marker and trace the position of the old frame rails onto your new pans, which gives you the position you need for the cabin area. The engine bay is rather easy at that point, just cut all the spot welds that hold the frame rail to the OLD fender aprons, radiator support crossmember and shock towers. Trace the old frame rail position onto the old sheet metal, install the new frame rail and simply tack weld to the old sheet metal while you spot/plug weld it to your NEW firewall/floorpans. You should be able to use a combination of traced outlines and a tape measure to align the new frame rail just fine using this method. One frame rail at a time you repeat this process double and triple checking your measurements and alignments....after that you can replace the old shock towers, fender aprons and whatever other engine bay sheet metal as needed. You won't need a jig as long as you follow the process correctly and triple check everything. That being said, a jig is of course the best method. The real thing to remember is that if you don't use a jig, replace one piece at a time and measure many times, making sure to note down any reference measurements you need BEFORE you cut.

P.S. WTH is up with those coil springs over the rear shocks? Burn it with fire! Seriously, the shock pockets were not meant to take a lot of pressure from springs, get rid of those things and be sure to check that area for metal fatigue.

Yep, the spring crap is going to the trash. I suspect that the old leaf springs were modified as the car was sitting too low. I think that they removed more leafs than necessary, the car became too low and soft and patched it up with these shocks/coil combo.

I appreciate the sequencing tips and the explanation regarding the dimensions in the manual!