1972 SSP Resto Mod / pro Touring, the build begins

[Paul_G]

Time for more pictures. The frame stiffenening kit is done, all welded in. I started on the new suspension. QA1 front and rear. Double adjustable coil overs, tubular k frame, 4 link in the back. The front is pretty much mocked in where it needs to be. I need to take the springs off the coil overs to get the chassis down at ride height with no engine in the car. Need the front end down at ride height to get the 4 link set up in the back at least close to where it will be. Nose high effects that. The hardest part of installing the front kit was cutting off the factory bump stop brackets.

The rear kit has a main support bar that gets welded in between the frame rails. Coil overs and upper control arms mount to it. It is holding all weight. The frame rails in this 72 taper outward toward the front. The rear of the bracket wedged in between the rails nice and tight for plug welding, but the front of the bracket had a 1/2" gap tapered away from the rail. Had to bend a dog leg in to the front mounting of the bracket to get it close enough to the frame to plug weld. The factory shock mount bracket has to be cut off yet.

The rear axle is mocked up. Cant weld the perches and the upper control arm tabs till the trans is in and pinion angle can be set.

Putting the rear Wilwood brakes on the Dana axle has issues. Wilwood requires Green bearings which the axles have on them. But, they must be a very old version. The brake rotor/axle needs to go in another 1/4" for the caliper to mount correctly. Going to get some new Green bearings and see if that solves the problem.

Know why custom cars cost $200,000 and up? ........ Because nothing fits!

 

[Paul_G]

The Hemi is in the engine compartment. Has a fitment issue. Passenger side head and valve cover hitting the shock tower. Cut away the hump on the tower and plated it.

The steering shaft also has problems. The big 2 1/4" tube header on that side is in the way. No direct line from steering column to rack. I would dimple a tube if that is all it took, but the shaft is going half way in to the tube, no bueno. So I cut off the end of the steering column shaft as close as possible to the column body to help correct the angles on the universal joints. Added a third joint in the center to get around the header tube. Then made a support bracket to hold the center bearing that is now needed on the shaft. It's just hanging there, not welded down yet.

 

[Richard Cranium]

By chance, are you using Indy heads? Years ago, I had a Hemi built with Indy heads & when I installed our engine, I too had a shock tower clearance issue. That’s when I found out that Indy heads were wider. I had to have headers custom made to fit the car.

 

[Paul_G]

Yes and yes. They are Indy heads, and the headers were custom made.

 

[Paul_G]

I could have saved myself a lot of time and a little money fitting the steering column shaft to the rack. I was trying to fit a third u joint and bearing to get around the headers. I had the column in place but not fully secured. I noticed that it was not straight with the steering wheel where it should be. Put the rest of the bolts in the pedal mount and column, tightened it all down, low and behold the column moved over in the engine compartment and I had a clear shot between the column u joint and the rack u joint. Just had to dimple two header tubes. Lesson learned.