| 03-26-2012 |
I started out today by installing the core support. The front perches were in the way so I had to cut the welds off and remove them.
It didn't take too much to get these off. From what I've decoded from the information plates this car originally came with the Knee Action independent front suspension. That means that someone other than the factory must have welded on the front perches. I didn't really think about this until I noticed that the welds didn't look very professional and they really didn't have very good penetration. It worked out better for me though, as they were very easy to get off.
The measurements for all these parts were based off the middle of the front hole for the bumper support. It took a lot of effort and time to make sure all the measurements were lined up perfectly.
I drilled two of the holes and put the bolts in to get the alignment right and finally decided to go ahead and flip the frame over. I installed all the other bolts for the IFS with the frame right side up and it was a massive headache. Aside from having to lay in metal shavings, while drilling up you also get metal shavings all over you as well as hot metal shards in your gloves. It was only a matter of time before one found its way past my safety glasses. Also, the lack of leverage meant that each hole took forever to drill and left you absolutely exhausted. After I turned it over I was able to drill each hole in about 30 seconds. It was well worth the effort of turning the frame over, even though by yourself it can be somewhat cumbersome.
Then I had to remove all the rivets holding the old transmission and brake crossmember in.
And with some more measuring thrice and drilling the new transmission crossmember was in. I really hope all this stuff lines up like it's supposed to when it's time to set everything in here like it's supposed to go.
Then I installed the power brake booster mount
And with that, it was done
Until I realized I had installed the brake mount with at the wrong holes. I had to move it back. Luckily it lined up with 3 of the 4 holes and I only had to drill one. Unfortunately, this meant I had to drill it from the bottom up so it was back on my back in the metal shavings and it took about 15 minutes to finally drill through.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to relocate my battery with the new crossmember, but I don't yet know where to relocate it.
