Putting Camaro front in 55 second gen

[dsraven]

what did you use for the light strip? does it screw onto the adapter you fabbed up?

[Dave0]

Originally Posted by dsraven

what did you use for the light strip? does it screw onto the adapter you fabbed up?

The light is out of a Toyota camry spoiler. Its a tight fit, so tight I drilled to 1/8 holes in the back to push it out if needed. I put a piece of double sided tape on it before I put it in too...

Edit, the light was givin to me. Thats all I know about it other than the word CORD embossed on one end of it. I would like to find another one...

Its stupid bright! LOL

I found one on ebay 25 bucks. I bought it. It had these stupid tabs on it but I ground them off....

[Dave0]

Originally Posted by bowt1ed

Dave, was just looking back through this thread. Did you run your trans cooling lines through radiator, then trans cooler? Wondering if this approach will cool as effective as mounting trans cooler in front, using radiator fan.

Thanks, Jim

No I didnt.... I just didnt want the extra lines up front. I'm going to monitor the temps, if its on the warm side, will either run another cooler or one bigger one.

[Bobbyh68]

Dave nice work!
Your 3rd break light housing, did you carve the base out of foam? Looks Factory!
I cant tell from the pics, can you give me more details.

Bobby

[Dave0]

Originally Posted by Bobbyh68

Dave nice work!
Your 3rd break light housing, did you carve the base out of foam? Looks Factory!
I cant tell from the pics, can you give me more details.

Bobby

Hdpe plastic 1 1/2 by 2 inch bar....

Thanks!

[cameo]

Any chance you'd like to help a guy out?
I am doing the same subframe swap, and looking for some measurements.
Could you tell me the distance from the floor to the lower control arm shaft nut? (behind the A arm)
Also distance from the floor to the bottom of the frame cab mounts? Or the bottom of the frame below the cab mounts?
Also the bottom of the truck frame at the end of the subframe stubs?
I am trying to set my frame at ride height to position the front wheels in the wheel wells but I do not have all my parts in one city.

I hope my question makes some sense. if you had pictures of where you measured too that would be great.

As you can guess, I like the stance.
All your early pictures are missing ??

[Dave0]

The cab is not on the frame. If you "lap" the subframe under the original frame, you will get the same ride height. Within a inch or two....

My early pics are missing, thanks to photobucket. I have them and would like to replace them....

[cameo]

The reason I am wanting the measurements is to place the wheel where I want it in the fender opening, and the location changes with the height of the frame. My subframe is loose, so I don't have a factory height to work with. I just need a reference point

[Dave0]

If I did it all over again, I would use the factory wheelbase measurement. I went 3/4 forward of that to center it. I spent A LOT of time making the core support fit around the steering box

[Llay R. Rac]

very nice work. thanks for sharing.
makes me want a patina truck.

[dsraven]

cameo,
you need to have you cab, front sheet metal and a set of tires of the size you want to end up with, in the same shop as your frame. this is because you need to install the sheet metal to check for ride height desired,rake angle desired and also the centering of the wheel in the front fender wheel opening. different sized tires will look different in the opening because the opening is not uniformly shaped. it is relatively squared off in the front but slopes down and away in the rear. if you only have a little drop it will be less noticeable than if you have a big drop. big drops make the wheel look like it is too far back and is jammed into the wheel opening. check the build thread for "59apache-lifelong obsession". he didn't quite get the clip right the first time and it had to be redone. he has some good ideas on bracing etc as well.
if you don't have the front suspension clip yet, that is maybe a good thing. you sorta need to know the angle of the control arm, front to rear, or the angle of some spot on the subframe, front to rear, (take pics) of the clip while it is in the donor vehicle with the weight of the complete vehicle on the suspension and the car sitting level. this is so you can duplicate that angle when you are installing the clip in the truck. the lower control arms on the clip will likely need to be level, side to side, when at ride height with the weight on them. one way to fudge this is to use threaded rod in place of the shocks so you can pull the springs up to simulate the weight of the vehicle. that will get you to the ride height for the clip.the other important angle is the one of the control arms fore to aft angle (like mentioned above). you need to assemble the clip to the truck frame with the same angle as the clip was intended to run at. then it can be aligned properly and will handle like it was intended to. you need to know what rake angle you want the truck to be at, set the frame at that angle, then bring the clip up to the frame and get it sitting at the correct angles like mentioned and then you can tack it in, set the front sheet metal on and a set of front wheels with the correct tire size and check for the wheel opening issue and the ride height issue. spend the time to get this part correct otherwise you will regret it later. one other thing to do is install a set of new cab mount rubbers and bolt the cab up properly. that way you will know the rake angle you see is the finished angle as well and shouldn't change upon final assembly.

[Dave0]

I made a bracket to hold the 06 chevy truck electrical center to the firewall. The computer will get mounted underneath of it. Then mounted the fenders and inners, just to make sure it clears. I also took a few measurements so that I can start eliminating and adding wires (rough wiring when I'm bored). Basically everything will be utilized out of the 06 fuse/box, there will be no fuse box inside the truck. All of my relays are already there and may just need to shorten/lengthen wires. (Fuel pump, fans, headlights, dash stuff) I really dont care what under the hood looks like, I just want reliability....

[dsraven]

looks good and functional as well. me too with the who cares what it looks like idea. mine will be a daily driver so I want stuff accessible. not that I would intentionally make something look bad, it will be finished edges and etc.
keep posting, I need some incentive.....

[Dave0]

Originally Posted by dsraven

looks good and functional as well. me too with the who cares what it looks like idea. mine will be a daily driver so I want stuff accessible. not that I would intentionally make something look bad, it will be finished edges and etc.
keep posting, I need some incentive.....

Thanks!!! Well at least the interior will be nice and clutter free.

I got one seat brace welded in and the trans hump. Then a bracket made to mount the dash controller box... Its coming along slow!

[Dave0]

Kicking around a extension on the bottom of the dash.... Grrr! Sub box started and started thinning wires out of the engine harness. Moving wires, shortening wire. Fun stuff!

[Dave0]

Screw it, going with new stuff theme on the inside.... Make some room for a Kenwood Excelon DNX994S nav radio... Might as well loose the ashtray too...

[Dave0]

Cab vent tucked behind sub box.
Drive by wire computer mounted under electrical box.
All of the rust work is also done! Inner cab corners in, steps totally welded. The only welding left is to hang the doors, and finish fitting the outter cab corners.

I started making a fresh air duct to the vintage air box. Its a small exhaust cut out motor. It will be wired so when the defrost comes on, it opens.

[59chev]

What did you use for the trans hump? It is a stock 4 speed trans cover?

[Dave0]

Originally Posted by 59chev

What did you use for the trans hump? It is a stock 4 speed trans cover?

I guess, I bought the truck without a engine and trans. It was a 3 or 4 speed man...

[Dave0]

Merry Xmas to me!

17 inch new shoes,... Same diameter tires that I had everything mocked up on.
Parking brake all hooked up. Got the fresh air vent for the defroster done too!

[rapid49]

Nice job on the park brake. I was thinking about doing the same thing , what was the donor vehicle for that pedal assembly ?

[Dave0]

73 to 87 chevy pick up. All S10 cables, fit almost to a 1/4 inch!
Hard to tell from the pic but I shortened the pedal length a 1 1/2.

[Dave0]

I was going to try and recycle these little detail pieces around the various knobs from the upper dash into my lower dash extension. Instead of torturing myself welding and grinding these in, then hours of sanding. I built a die for the shop press. Now when I get the lower extension done, I will just press them in where I want them. The lower extension will have a couple of power outlets and the cables for the fresh air vents....Test piece of 16 gauge. Mine are a little "crisper" around the edges but good enough.

[Kim57]

That is very cool.
Kim

[Dave0]

Originally Posted by Kim57

That is very cool.
Kim

Thanks Kim! A lot of little time consuming details ahead!