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240zJJR

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    Heavy Duty frame rails and connectors

    in Gen III & IV Chevy V8Z Tech Board

    Posted · Edited by 240zJJR

    I have been powder coating all my parts as well for my project. I am blessed to have a good friend who does all my powder and sandblasting. I just finished the headlight assemblies and retro fitted dapper LED7 lights and also finished the wiper assembly. I took everything apart right to nothing. Reason i did this was that sometime powder coating can seize things up or make them bind and not work correctly.

     

    So my question to you is. The hood hinges at the front of the car that you powder coated, does it move freely and not bind up? This will determine if i will powder coat it or not. This piece can not be separated into smaller pieces from what i can tell.

     

    Thanks Jeff

    RWB Jeff - 1970 Datsun 240z - Build

    in S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z

    Posted

    On 3/18/2019 at 12:42 AM, seattlejester said:

    My 0.02 for what it is worth.

     

    You may want to reinstall the seats and see if you have enough movement. I ended up cutting my bar and base out for an extra 2-3 clicks on the seats and I am not that tall of a person.

     

    That rear kick down is also pretty low. You don't see much out of the rear quarters, but that bar is smack right in the middle of it. Not to mention I don't believe you are supposed to have curvature on the rear legs like that if you think the cage will come into play at any point. 

     

    An interesting thing I heard about the dimple die plates on cages from a builder was that it is the sign of poor fitment. While they look cool and have function, compared to having the cage butt right up to the pillar and if needed welding the cage directly to the pillar which is cleaner, saves weight, and improves visibility, the dimple dies are sub optimal. He said he uses them when he does cages for customers as the turn around is usually pretty fast or they don't approve of cutting access holes to drop the cage or for installs, but on personal vehicles or projects with more time he opts not to use them.

    Appreciate the input.... glad people are watching.....

     

    One thing you did not see in the video is that i had the seats mounted way to many times to count to make sure all the bars were set correctly. The distance is perfect for me with a wheel. I am 5 11" 

     

    When we created the rear bars..... we looked into the NHRA specs. It states that the rear bar is allowed to have a bend.... but that bar can not be attached to a TUB. but the floor. So i am going to have a cage specialist come and check it all out and give me some better direction on those bars. They are tacked in and can be removed.

     

    The front of the cage is set perfectly...... I truly don't need to add the gussetts but really like them. I tried to bead roll pieces but the radius's were to tight to do so. Drew and I  chatted last night and i may keep them off or get something water jetted out of thicker material for the front bars. Not decided yet.

     

    The next video will be more of an update as we have been trying to get more fab done without the camera. You will notice the door bar is not of spec either...more for aesthetics. However, we will be putting a fully removable door bar for when i am at the track. 

     

    Jeff

    Heavy Duty frame rails and connectors

    in Gen III & IV Chevy V8Z Tech Board

    Posted · Edited by 240zJJR

    20 hours ago, toolman said:

    240zJJR, First, Just check the squareness of interior?engine compartment before welding bracing in.   Usually you really don't know if the vehicle was in a previous accident or not.  In my case, I measured from the seat belt mounting hole crosswise to the lower door

    hinge mounting hole.   Perform the same on the other side.  Your two measurements shouldn't vary more than 1/8" to 3/16".    After that.I made

    3/16" plate to mount 1" X 1" steel tubing in a crossing diagonal pattern.   You can also weld  four 1" tubing from side to side and front to back if

    you wish too.     I use this method for the engine compartment as I was removing the frame rails also.   You should measure frame length( front

    to back)  especially when building a new front frame.    And, of coarse,  use a bubble level for front to back and side to side checks.   One thing

    a lot of people forget the vehicle must be level to begin with(before any work is done).    I used 1/8" steel shims( or bigger if needed) tack welded

    to the top of the jack stands to raise or lower the car.  Place bubble level on the rocker panels to check.   I hope this helps.   There are a lot of

    people on this forum that will also help you.

                                                                                              Toolman

    I twisted my back so haven't be able to work on my car for now.

    Thanks you for your advice, We leveled the car before i braced it. I now have to go back and do all the measurements (my stupidity). I may be removing everything i have already done.....i pray i am within spec.

     

    I followed your bracing pattern as well.... and did similar to your design (Plates on outside using door hinge and inside). My biggest concern is when you did the floors and one frame rail at a time, you cut the front rail away from the firewall.... does this cause any twisting? I don't think it matters if your doing one rail at a time, then leveling the car to do the front rails, should bring everything back to where it needs to be?

     

    I also cross braced the rear strut tower to strut tower. Not show here. And went from outside door bar to center console for extra rigidity.

     

     

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    Heavy Duty frame rails and connectors

    in Gen III & IV Chevy V8Z Tech Board

    Posted

    I was at Sema as well. Such an amazing event. This was my very first time as well. I missed Kyles car as they moved it for the final judging. Tyler Powel Z06 was awesome to see, really great guy. I also spoke with Chris from B is for build.... awesome dude as well.

     

    I have been following your thread and you have made some amazing progress.

     

    Question for you, I am following the same process you are and making a whole new frame for my 240Z hellcat swap. The way you installed the frame rails under the car (NOT THE ENGINE) i noticed you cut the floors out and braced the car. I will be doing the same (already braced). Did you have any flex at all and is your car squared up properly? Any words of wisdom or advice before i start cutting this weekend.

     

    I started my own thread showing the progress.

     

    Thanks so much Jeff

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