Finally!!!! My first ground up build. 27/28 Dodge

cranny · Jun 26, 2012

Ok after years of this thing taking up space in my drive way and dreaming of having a Hotrod, I finally got off my butt and started plugging away at my sedan.

While i've tinkered with cars for awhile now this is my very first ground up build. I'm no master mechanic or fabricator. Just a average guy with a busy family so I won't be working on the car every day and updates will be sparse.

My goal is to have a safe rod that looks cool. Plans are to keep it a 4 door, chop 4 inches, channel over frame.

s10 4x4 rear end with triangulated 4 link, 305 chevy small block with t350 auto tranny.

I have a 40 ford complete spring in front axle with disc brakes that i'll mount on a suicide spring perch. This will be a fenderless car.

Here's what i started with.

GJunktionMike · Jun 26, 2012

Cool

Nice start [P

cranny · Jun 26, 2012

My first thought was to slap this thing on a chevy luv chassie and make a quick running car, but after seeing it i hated the look.

The porpotions were all wrong and the independent front suspention look horrible, so i scrapped that idea.

However the chevy luv chassie is made of 2x4 tubing and built pretty strong so i decided to clip the front end off and use the back half. I will stack 2x3 tubing on top of the cut off portion and that will be my front frame rails.

Here is how it sits now with the front clip cut off.

Tim...Ok · Jun 26, 2012

Looks like a good start to cool rod..If that back half fits your body well then I would use it, but keep in mind,if you are going to need to modify it much at this point it wouldn't take much more to build the entire chassis from scratch..

Keep us posted on your progress

cranny · Jun 26, 2012

Tim...Ok said:
Looks like a good start to cool rod..If that back half fits your body well then I would use it, but keep in mind,if you are going to need to modify it much at this point it wouldn't take much more to build the entire chassis from scratch..

Keep us posted on your progress

The body fits the back half nicely only modification will be to cut extra length off the back and another cross member for my coilover mounts.

Tim...Ok · Jun 26, 2012

cranny said:
The body fits the back half nicely only modification will be to cut extra length off the back and another cross member for my coilover mounts.

Sounds like a plan!! Now get to work

coming from someone who gets almost no shoptime..LOL

skull · Jun 26, 2012

good start

l'll be watching[P
sounds like the motor/trans/rearend plans are set

Later

cranny · Jun 26, 2012

here's a pic of my front end i got off a guy who went with a mustang II.

Also a couple photo shop pics. While the extreme chop is cool i'm going to be a little more practical and stay with my 4 inch chop.

cranny · Jun 28, 2012

i took a break from the frame build. ( all the measuring, leveling, and squaring things up was making my small brain hurt!)

So to keep things moving i filedl in some holes on the fire wall.

I already know i'm going to suck at this build thread because i don't remember to take pictures untill after my work is done! So sorry for no before pics i'll try to remember them when i do some rust repair.

Sam_Fear · Jun 28, 2012

cranny said:
I already know i'm going to suck at this build thread because i don't remember to take pictures untill after my work is done! So sorry for no before pics i'll try to remember them when i do some rust repair.

The more you you take pics and post updates, the more of a habit it becomes.

A 4" chop will be good enough.

cranny · Jun 28, 2012

Sam_Fear said:
The more you you take pics and post updates, the more of a habit it becomes.

I'm a trying...

I see your from Davenport. I was born and raised in alittle town outside Cedar Rapids. It's been years since i've been back, i need to make the trip again.

cranny · Jul 16, 2012

Scored some parts from a trip to the Spokane swap meet this weekend!

1. 1993 S10 4x4 rearend with 3.08 gears. Should work good behind my Turbo 350.

2. A set of coilover shocks a guy said he took off his roadster. has 200lbs springs. Will this be enough to hold up my sedan?

3. Dodge radiator shell. A little bent up, but usable and has the dodge emblem!

cranny · Jul 17, 2012

Also got some goodies from the brown truck the other day. Ordered this from Ron Pope Motorsports. Good guy to deal with.

cranny · Jul 18, 2012

Laid it all out on my shop floor. I'm getting excited. Just need my wheels and tires.

getting the metal for my front frame rails today!!

earthman · Jul 18, 2012

This area is under surveillance [P thanks for the update.

cranny · Jul 23, 2012

updates from this weekend.

I got my metal , 2x3 3/16th wall tubing and placed it on top of my luv frame to make the Z and tacked that into place.

cranny · Jul 23, 2012

here's a pic of the extreme taper this gave me.

cranny · Jul 23, 2012

to fix this i made several cuts on both rails of the frame and then was able to bend them to my desired width of 26 1/2 inches for my cross member.

cranny · Jul 23, 2012

here's a pic of the finnished width.

cranny · Jul 23, 2012

picture of the front frame width

Finally!!!! My first ground up build. 27/28 Dodge

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