Nismo280zEd Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 since i'm having to rebuild my car anyways... i figured i might as well strengthen the frame rails... i'm looking at some 10 gauge steel i believe rectable tubing. planing on cutting the top off the tubing... and overlapping the stock frame rail with this.. then welding it to the floorboards... Question is... How are you guys making templates for the underside of the car? Cutting cardboard to match the contours seems like it would be impossible. What did you guys do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Tape measure, and trial and error fitting with the actual material. Didn't take as long as you would think. I had the car on a rotisserie though...it's the only way to fly Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted October 27, 2003 Author Share Posted October 27, 2003 well my cars on the ground... no rotisery for me... i guess i'll just use a countor guide 4"s at a time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 The only places that needed work for me was the front (where it tied into the TC Rod mounts), and in the rear where it bends down to the rear cross member where I also cut a 'V' into the ends of the tubing to accommodate the edge of the 'square' of the crossmember. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted October 27, 2003 Author Share Posted October 27, 2003 mine has a rust hole about 1" by 1" at the end (rear) of the drivers side frame rail... figured since i'm fixing it... might as well strengthen it... be nice to know i have something down there to grind on over a spend bump besides 16 or 18 gauge metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ebay240z Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Or you could just forget about cutting the top off of the tubing, cut out all of the old stuff and weld the new tubing in. I am in the process of doing this right now with 2.5x2.5 1/8 steel tubing from the radiator support all the way back to the rear subframe. But my frame rail was completely torn away at the T/C bucket so I did not have any other options. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phil1934 Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 I cut the floor out to the inside of the original frame rail. This left a half inch hanging down, but was easy to get a straight line with the grinder. You have to eyeball behind the cross brace. I cut the other side wide and replaced the floor with a piece of 6"x24" 16 ga from Home Depot. This is a lot easier than trying to make two parllel cuts. Also by poking the rail through the floor you can weld down instead of laying under the car. That's worth a lot! I kept the toe board, just laid the tube up it to the A/C box on the pass. side. On the driver's side I used a piece of 3/8"x3" flat stock so I wouldn't lose pedal travel. The top of the tube is flush with the floor. I used 2"x3"x11 ga. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted October 29, 2003 Author Share Posted October 29, 2003 do you have any pictures? i'm having a hard time visualizing what you did. sounds like you welded a new frame rail inside the car, but then how is it flush with the floor? Much apreciated. -Ed Also i don't have a plasma cutter or acess to one, would a sawza work? combined with grinders, a roto zip and a dremel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigWhyteDude Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 get a cut off wheel dude they are great for this kind of stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silicone boy Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 I agree with the cutoff wheel-it's more precise than a sawzall or plasma cutter. I did mine without a rotisserie by basically cutting the frame rails out, leaving 2 parallel cuts in the floor. It was easier than trying to contour the floorpan (I thought about doing this, but it turned out to be easier to just rip out the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phil1934 Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 I cut through the floor, but the toe board, the angled lower part of the firewall, was in like new shape. So I put the frame atop it. It looked like too much effort to cut into the front end gusset on th eother side. And yes, I did it with a recip saw and finalized the cuts with a 4" grinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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