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Post Info TOPIC: 1938 Chev


BELLEVILLE, ONT

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1938 Chev
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I have owned this car for over 20 years. I started with big ambitions and low budget intending to make a nice car out of it. Got married , bought a house, 2 daughters came along. In other words, life got in the way. I never forgot about the car or even considered selling it. I was hoping to have it done in time enough to a take a family holiday with it. Don't think it's going to happen now. My oldest daughter has requested to be driven to university in it next year already. First thing I had to do was rearrange my shop to get it in. That done, I dug the car out of garage and it now in the shop. I ordered a bunch of stuff this week for it and plan to get at immediately. I am basically going to start this car over again as technology and designs have changed. I have a better budget and shop to work with now and I hope more talent too.

IMG_1494.JPG

First time out in about 8 years.

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Redo list

Frame, build new one. Original was junk, tossed it, put it on a 87 Nissan pick up chassis, thought torsion bar suspension would be cool and give a good ride. Too many things I don't like about, Going to build one from scratch going with Mustang II style on airbags. Rear triangulated 4 bar on air bags instead of leafs.

Floor, raise the drive line up, better rear seat floor.

Finish custom grille I started years ago.

Possibly redo tail lights

Chop top

A few pieces I robbed off this car to build my 47 Mercury pick up so I will need them too. Fuel tank, rear bumper etc.

I have a 305/ 700R4 combo for it with a 9" Ford diff. I would like to put an LS series in it. Either way it will be fuel injected. I have a TPI and throttle body system for it now. Will likely get an aftermarket controller for it if I don't get a LS engine.

 

 



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BRANT COUNTY, ONT

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Looking forward to following your build. Looks like a great project.


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PORTLAND, ONT

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HI MIKE : GOOD NEWS on the chevy re-start !! -- You have already done a ton of nice work on it and no doubt the future for it will be very bright !! Keep us informed on your progress , as we are all watching -- Thanks again for the up-date -- LATER -- DON / Fleet 51

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COURTICE, ONT

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Can't wait to see how it comes along

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CAMPBELLFORD, ONT

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Very cool Mike, ever need a second set of hands,just whistle!

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RICHMOND, ONT

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Hi Mike,
Looking forward to watching this build.

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PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, ONT

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Mike

Glad that car finally got some breathing space. If the build is as ingenious as your truck and as beautiful as the bike, it will be a winner, no doubt.

Warren

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SIMCOE, ONT

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image.jpg

image.jpg

image.jpg

Hey Mike

 

Cool car! Here is some pictures of my 1937 Chevy.  I have been working on it for the last three winter.  Hopefully this winter I get to paint it and maybe get it on the road in the spring.

Ray



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RICHMOND, ONT

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OHHHH this should be good, the race is on. Fastest and nicest, who will win. Looking forward to this guys, keep us posted.

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Well it's in the shop. Measured up wheel diameter, ride height, axle clearance etc and drew up the rear clip in CAD. Frame will be straight back from the B pillar.

IMG_1504.JPG

 

Some .188" steel on the table, and 5 minutes later, 4 pieces cut out. The large hole will be for mounting threaded bungs for the lower control arm. The small holes I welded 1/4" nuts to the inside for bolting up fuel and brake lines.

IMG_1508.JPG

Squared up  the pair of sides, spaced them with a couple of pieces of 2" X 2" tubing and tacked them together.

Squared and leveled my frame table and set them up.

IMG_1513.JPG

 

 

 



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BRANTFORD, ONT

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Nice work Mike.....

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THORNHILL, ONT

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WOW!......... Nice toy you have there!! Will be following this build for sure, good luck and have fun!

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Got to spend a little bit of time on it this weekend. Made up the rear section behind the axle kick up and tacked it in. Measured and cut the mid rails and tacked them into place.

IMG_1520.JPGIMG_1521.JPG

IMG_1522.JPG

Picked up my  order from Horton hot rods on Saturday. Full Ride tech air suspension. It's expensive, but it's really nice stuff. Only thing I am leery of are the ball joints and tie rods, no name on them. I have put a lot of ball joints in and the only ones I will buy any more are MOOG. Too many failures of others. Got an rack and sway bar for the front too.

IMG_1524.JPG



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DORCHESTER, ONT

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Coming along very nicely - you guys and your CNC machines make me envious!

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Notched the cross member for 4 X 2 rails and tacked them in place, Measured and calculated ride height, wheel base etc and positioned the front cross member to where it should go. Tack welded the frame and cross members to the frame table. Saves clamps and nothing moves.

IMG_1527.JPG

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Now to connect the two rails together. The most direct way between 2 points is a straight line. Boring. So, some drawing, figuring and  guess work I cut out a set of pieces and curved them to fit. Nothing elaborate, just used a piece of heavy tubing over a piece of channel in a press and slowly worked it till it fit.

IMG_1531.JPG

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Welded them into place on the back side with MIG. I will grind out a fillet on the out side of the joint and properly TIG it together after I get the whole frame together and can rotate it to a better position.

IMG_1529.JPG

IMG_1530.JPG

Next is the hard part of filing in the top and bottom.

 

 



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BRIGHTON, ONT

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Mike , your making me wanna get out in my shop and build my frame. Looks awesome so far!


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THORNHILL, ONT

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WOW!! I love this fabrication porn! Keep it coming!!

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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IMG_1532.jpg

Front suspension all tacked in to place.

IMG_1541.jpg

Body off and sitting in the corner.

IMG_1557.jpg

Located the rear diff in place and set pinion angle. Cut plates to tack weld in it to place. This will hold it solid while I make up the rear suspension mounts and brackets.

IMG_1558.jpg

Made up some lower control arms out of 1" DOM tubing. After much trial and error and head scratching I come up with lower axle and bag mount combination.

IMG_1559.jpgIMG_1560.jpg

 

 

 



-- Edited by Lightspeed Mike on Wednesday 21st of October 2015 06:54:06 PM

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RICHMOND, ONT

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anyone else see pictures, all I get are little x's. Might be my computer.

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BRANTFORD, ONT

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Martin. Your seeing X s. Because its FRAME PORN!

Good work Mike

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DUNDAS, ONT

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must of copped and pasted from the he man women hater site .... unless you are a member they will not show....... I see them fine.....



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WOODLAWN, ONT

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Don't see any of these. All the others I can see.
Lightspeed Mike wrote:

 

IMG_1532.jpg

Front suspension all tacked in to place.

IMG_1541.jpg

Body off and sitting in the corner.

IMG_1557.jpg

Located the rear diff in place and set pinion angle. Cut plates to tack weld in it to place. This will hold it solid while I make up the rear suspension mounts and brackets.

IMG_1558.jpg

Made up some lower control arms out of 1" DOM tubing. After much trial and error and head scratching I come up with lower axle and bag mount combination.

IMG_1559.jpgIMG_1560.jpg

 

 


 



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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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slim wrote:

must of copped and pasted from the he man women hater site .... unless you are a member they will not show....... I see them fine.....


 Yes it was copied and pasted, saves me more time to work on my car. Or I'm just lazy.......

Did see them Marten after Henry's 57 put them up.

 



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CRAIGHURST, ONT

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Lightspeed Mike, what gauge structural tube did you use on your frame? when I was researching this for my own build I read that .177 (3/16") was what I was recommended, later I realized that most manufactures were using 11g structural tube, so I always thought I have built the frame much heavier than I needed, maybe not?


Thank you,


Angelo

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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I am using 3/16 tubing and plate for the frame. I looking at others and found Fatman Fab was using this. I know most manufacturers thinner material but their stuff is all stamped, all the creases and fold etc make the frame more ridged. Cost is only slightly more in the big picture of building the car and a few extra pounds too. If you look at after market stuff a lot of it is 10 gauge or .134". That stuff is harder to get.

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CRAIGHURST, ONT

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Lightspeed Mike wrote:

I am using 3/16 tubing and plate for the frame. I looking at others and found Fatman Fab was using this. I know most manufacturers thinner material but their stuff is all stamped, all the creases and fold etc make the frame more ridged. Cost is only slightly more in the big picture of building the car and a few extra pounds too. If you look at after market stuff a lot of it is 10 gauge or .134". That stuff is harder to get.





That makes sense, I also went right to Fat Man as they were the first I had found in the magazine when I was researching frame fabrication and of course I built from scratch for around $600 material, of course then I added the Hiet's Supper Ride and and and, still only about 1/8 the price of a store bought frame. But a hell of lot more fun.

Angelo

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RICHMOND, ONT

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Hi Mike, must be my computer. I still don't see them. Clearly some people see them.

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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I reloaded the pictures, can you see them now?



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HALIBURTON, ONT

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I don't see them either.

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WOODLAWN, ONT

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I can see I can see!!



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RICHMOND, ONT

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me to, me to. Looks great Mike. Clearly I have to many things on the go as I seem to have trouble getting into the shop after looking after the rest of my life.

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Made upper bag mounts and tacked them into place.

IMG_1564.JPG

Found a donor truck with a 5.3LS engine in it. Didn't expect the weather to hold out this long and figured it would stay put till spring. Plans changed and I got it home today. Another reason for my  neighbors to hate me. Found it about a month ago with a for sale sign on it. $550 plus a hundred bucks to friend and he it hauled home for me.

IMG_1578.JPG

IMG_1580.JPG

 

 

 



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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Rear shocks mounts were made up and installed. Machined a threaded bung to accept a 1/2" bolt and made up a at ride height shock mock up out of 1" square tubing. That located where the upper mount was to go. Drilled a hole in the shock mount cross member at that location and installed the rear shocks. Just a set of Speedway street rod shocks. Installing them on an angle gives me a little more suspension travel.

IMG_1596.JPG

Next part I found the hardest so far, locating and installing the upper control arms. I first  had to cap the top of the rear  frame rails. I cut a couple of pieces of 3/16" just wide enough to sit on top of the side pieces so I could get a nice outside corner joint. Formed the bends by hand just tweeking them as needed to follow the rail.

I measured up length required and made upper arms out of 1" DOM tubing. Trying hold the arm in the right plane and angle to be able make a template to measure and cut. Then have be able to locate the exact spot and angle on the other side. One thing I find great about having CNC plasma cut parts is being able to use them to check measurements side to side. If the parts fit the same side to side you know everything is straight and square.

IMG_1592.JPG

IMG_1598.JPGIMG_1595.JPG

 



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NORWOOD, ONT

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Awesome!

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TORONTO, ONT

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Beautiful work, I love it. That will be a nice ride for sure

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Thanks for the comments guys.


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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Started to put the front suspension together and found the lower shock mount was hitting the wheel well before full turn at ride height. I wasn't very impressed after spending large $$ for ride tech control arms. I made up some new mounts to go on the top of the control arm. It's not perfect, the wheels will hit the mount at full drop, but it's the best compromise I could find.

IMG_1601.JPGIMG_1602.JPG

Then I could locate and fab up the upper mount. Ride tech gives you brackets with the shocks, I'd rather make my own.

IMG_1604.JPGIMG_1605.JPG

 

 



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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Spend some time capping the rear rails.

IMG_1607.JPG

With everything about done on the top side that I could do. I had to release the frame from the jig to flip it over. I welded in some X bracing to help hold shape because the frame isn't fully welded yet.

IMG_1608.JPG

I wondered how much the frame would spring after I cut the tack welds. 5 minutes later, I found out. About 1/2" in the rear and 1/4" in the front.

I knew it would because I have only welded on the top. I figure it will move again once I weld the bottom so I'm not worried about that right now. It didn't twist, just curled a little bit.

IMG_1609.JPGIMG_1611.JPG

 

 



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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Lifted the frame off the table and put it on it's side to do some welding. My horizontal welds look way better than my vertical uphill welds.

IMG_1612.JPGIMG_1613.JPG

Since I'd rather look at a good MIG weld rather than a sloppy TIG weld, most of it got done that way. I would rather TIG it all but my TIG skills aren't that great yet. I'm still practicing and getting better. All super critical stuff got TIG'd.

With the sides welded I lifted the frame and rolled the table back under. My push around fork lift is another tool in the shop I couldn't live with out.

IMG_1615.JPG

Next hard part was capping the front frame kick up on the bottom side. Ended up cutting the pieces I had cut in to 2 to make it a little easier to form.

IMG_1618.JPG

 

 



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LONDON, ONT

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Nice work Mike looking great

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RICHMOND, ONT

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Hi Mike, getting caught up on the news. Looking great. For us uninformed what makes TIG better then MIG welding? I see a spring ride for sure now. lol

Marten

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Marten wrote:

. For us uninformed what makes TIG better then MIG welding?
Marten


 With TIG you have better heat and filler control than MIG. MIG is a constant filler wire feed, it also inputs the heat. TIG is an "electric torch" and you can add filler when you need it.

You can also vary the power on the fly with control from your foot pedal.

Pop quiz time.

Who introduced TIG welding in building  cars for racing?

 

 



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S/W ONTARIO

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Lightspeed Mike wrote:
Marten wrote:

. For us uninformed what makes TIG better then MIG welding?
Marten


 With TIG you have better heat and filler control than MIG. MIG is a constant filler wire feed, it also inputs the heat. TIG is an "electric torch" and you can add filler when you need it.

You can also vary the power on the fly with control from your foot pedal.

Pop quiz time.

Who introduced TIG welding in building  cars for racing?

 

 


 Answer --wait for it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,STAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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SARNIA, ONT

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chips wrote:

 

Another difference is this ..... once a Mig weld has been started, you can NOT change the amperage (heat) or the speed at which the filler wire is being fed.  With Tig, the operator feeds in (by hand) as little or as much filler material is needed AND can vary the amperage (heat) through a foot pedal or through a rotary switch/dial on the Tig torch handle. 



-- Edited by chips on Wednesday 30th of December 2015 10:07:28 PM


 Not so, I use a Miller Optima and can change both amperage and feed (through pulsing) on my MIG.  I run Manual Pulse and the Synergic Pulser to get my desired results.  Rhys.  



-- Edited by Builderrhys on Thursday 31st of December 2015 09:13:16 AM

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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I finished welding the bottom side, flipped it over to finish the top and set it back on the frame table to see how much the frame had twisted back. I was surprised and very happy to see see most of the curl came back after welding up the bottom. The only 2 spots still out were on the right rear in front of the axle, it was off the table by 1/16". The right rear behind the axle was up .3 degrees. The 1/2" curl at the back and the 1/4" curl at the front were gone. I decided to try a few shrinks to see if I could get them any better. The curl behind came out back to level and got the gap down to about .020". Close enough for me.

IMG_1640.JPG

IMG_1641.JPG

 



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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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With most of the chassis work done I wanted to get it off the table cause next is body fitment time. Bolted on the wheels and dropped it on the floor.

IMG_1653.JPGIMG_1654.JPGIMG_1655.JPG

IMG_1656.JPG

 

Ride height is right on the money, just like I planned it.

The X brace is temporary, it was in there while I was welding and rotating the frame. I am going to  be putting in a proper center X member after I figure out the driveline install which can't be done till the body is on. But when I do I get to use my new toy. Of course the first thing I did after I got it was convert it to full hydraulic. Works mint, bent a 1.5" tube to 180 degrees perfectly.

IMG_1657.JPG

 



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CAMPBELLFORD, ONT

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I was going to mention that the X frame looked a little light,but what do I know...

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BELLEVILLE, ONT

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Started cutting the floor out to fit it on the new chassis. I braced the body first and checked and adjusted the door gaps.

IMG_1665.JPG

IMG_1677.JPG

 

Made up some new front mounts and bolted it down.

There was a lot more head scratching than picture taking during this session.

 



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RICHMOND, ONT

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Wow looking great. I think I need a bigger shop.

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INNISFIL, ONT

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looks great from start hows all the progress goining


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