Quote:
Originally Posted by 1968firebird455
Cut the frame ties loose, Confirm all body bushings are new and in proper locations. Align with dowel ( I believe its 5/8". I have machined dowels I use but you can dig through and find a deep well socket that will work). Also make sure the frame doesn't have collision damage. When you are done, take some cross measurements as shown in the chassis manual to confirm you have it located properly.
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There are some other things to consider. While the fenders aren't attached directly to the subframe, they are attached to various brackets / gussets that attach to the upper part of the radiator support. If you aren't going to re-adjust the fenders, you may need to loosen the lower radiator support to subframe bolts as well and / or possibly the upper front fender bolts and things they are attached to..
Also keep in mind that your exhaust system "might" need to be loosened up a bit so it too can reposition at the hangers / and or the exhaust manifolds. The full length metal hard fuel line may need to be "unclipped" from the clips that hold it to the subframe as well. I may be forgetting other things as well.
Also remember that the body weight of the shell is helping to compress the front springs. I rolled a fully loaded subframe with engine and tranny on it under my 68 convert shell and bolted it up a long time ago. The engine does most of the loading on the springs, but the weight of the body still made them compress further. When I did my bolting, I had the shell supported at the front of the rocker panels and subframe supported at the back, then bolted them together. You need to consider safety when doing this and figure out if and how to properly support things. Keep in mind that my car didn't have a front clip on it, so it was a different scenario.
Good luck and remember to pay attention to safety. I'm not the guy to tell you how to do it the safe way. Just a guy who has had a few close calls because of mistakes I made.
OJ