The rebuild process begins! We first addressed the poor floor pan replacement. With the extent of the damage done by the replacement we felt it was better to replace the entire floor pan with a single piece heavy gauge unit. Framework was built for the rotisserie to support the vehicle in several spots in addition to cross bracing welded in to maintain the integrity of the shell while the floor pan was replaced. Several additional hours were spent grinding down the ugly welds from the original sheet metal work. We are painting the undercarriage of this vehicle so you can see why we go to such lengths to for a high quality finished product for our client.
Next we have the installation of our new custom front coil over suspension. This replaces the entire front end of the vehicle and allows us to delete the strut towers which is beneficial to our build for many reasons. We are installing a Total Control Products Pushrod rear suspension with a FAB 9 housing and TCP sub frame connectors with cross brace and driveshaft loop.
Now that our front suspension framework is installed its time for our mock up engine and transmission to determine correct placement of the drivetrain. We have relocated the engine rearward and lower for better weight distribution and handling. The firewall has been removed and will be replaced with a smoothed firewall for better appearance. The transmission tunnel has been modified to clear our relocated drivetrain and allow us the clearance necessary to properly set our driveline angles. Once firewall is in we begin the fabrication of the apron panels and radiator support. You may notice that in earlier pictures we purchased a set of pre fabricated aluminum panels, but with the location of certain components it became necessary to fabricate our own. The front body components have been reinstalled and braced to proper height so we can fabricate our new apron panels and radiator support. Next comes the locating of our radiator, intercooler, and A/C condenser. All of these systems have been carefully planned out as to maximize airflow and visual appearance. All of our bracketry will be custom built for ease of serviceability. In fact, when we are completed with the fabrication the entire front of the vehicle will be removable down to the frame rails for ease of service.
Fabrication on the front end is nearly complete. The mounts for the front lamps and hood hinges have been built. All of the fabricated front inner panels have been flanged with the mounting bolts hidden from sight. The lips of both fenders were stretched beyond repair where they bolt to the apron panels so new fender lips were fabricated for proper appearance. We fabricated mounts on our apron panels for a set of billet hood hinges. Many hours were spent in final welding and dressing of the fabricated panels for fit and finish. Detail work is what makes a car like this stand out above the rest. This engine bay will be painted so all of the metal work has to be perfect!
Our super cooling radiator is a custom piece we designed with the manufacturer Be Cool Radiators to take advantage of our clean engine bay and larger than normal radiator support opening. It features integrated dual fans and a variable speed fan controller for maximum cooling efficiency. Our Air Conditioning condenser and Radiator are mounted hidden behind our fabricated radiator support and for a cleaner visual appearance we are also fabricating a radiator support cover.
Our intercooler, condenser, and radiator have been mounted in our fabricated radiator support. Our hidden roll cage has been fabricated to complete our rough sheet metal fabrication. We have moved the vehicle over to mechanical fabrication.
We will continue to update you on this project as we progress!
-Revved Automotive Concepts