My 1967 Belvedere Convertible Plans and Restoration (aka - Mad Scientist Build)

[conv67bdere]

US Cartools . . . follow up . . .

With my calculations and concerns on the 3/16" movement of the spring relocation, I gave Chris a call at US Cartools. We have a 45 minute discussion on the spring relocation brackets, the pros, the cons, what I had in mind, what they were considering, and it was a great discussion. He informed me that the 3/16" movement would probably not be a concern and it could actually help with 3'16" extra clearance at the front of the wheel well.

BUT, he also offered to make me a new set, with the holes relocated 3/16" forward so everything will be correct, which then got us talking about the rear spring relocation concerns . . .

Here's the difference in the frame heights - this shows the hole for the original spring shackle:



And this shows the difference in the height of the two frames in this area:



Well, US Cartools is in Durham NC, which is about a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive, and Chris has invited me up to see the facility, said that he should be able to get the new brackets done by Friday, and we could swap them out. He also said he'd like to discuss the new plans that they had been tossing around - the reason they hadn't pulled the string on it yet was the amount of fabrication work that will be needed to make the new hole support the original shackles and work properly. I've already put in for the time off from work on Friday and it looks like I'll be making a road trip to Durham to see the US Cartools facility and talk to Chris. By the way, he seems like a great guy and was very easy to talk to about his products.

I'm looking forward to the adventure ! ! !

 

[747mopar]

With my calculations and concerns on the 3/16" movement of the spring relocation, I gave Chris a call at US Cartools. We have a 45 minute discussion on the spring relocation brackets, the pros, the cons, what I had in mind, what they were considering, and it was a great discussion. He informed me that the 3/16" movement would probably not be a concern and it could actually help with 3'16" extra clearance at the front of the wheel well.

BUT, he also offered to make me a new set, with the holes relocated 3/16" forward so everything will be correct, which then got us talking about the rear spring relocation concerns . . .

Here's the difference in the frame heights - this shows the hole for the original spring shackle:

View attachment 188340

And this shows the difference in the height of the two frames in this area:

View attachment 188341

Well, US Cartools is in Durham NC, which is about a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive, and Chris has invited me up to see the facility, said that he should be able to get the new brackets done by Friday, and we could swap them out. He also said he'd like to discuss the new plans that they had been tossing around - the reason they hadn't pulled the string on it yet was the amount of fabrication work that will be needed to make the new hole support the original shackles and work properly. I've already put in for the time off from work on Friday and it looks like I'll be making a road trip to Durham to see the US Cartools facility and talk to Chris. By the way, he seems like a great guy and was very easy to talk to about his products.

I'm looking forward to the adventure ! ! !

That's pretty sweet, I can think of a few places I'd love to tour, Playboy Mansion, Rad Rides, Jay Lenno's garage, Beaches of Normandy, Blah, Blah, Blah. Sounds pretty fun.

 

[kb67mopar]

Enjoy the trip!

 

[conv67bdere]

Tire hitting concern . . .

Still looking at these wheel wells, and the way the lower body rolls inward at the bottom of the car, along with the wheel flares.

This is what I'm seeing - a potential place for the tire to hit the bottom of the flared area ( looking up from under the car )



White line - big ole meaty TIRE
Red Line - areas where the tire will hit
Green Line - do I need to move the flare out to this area ? ?

 

[747mopar]

I see what your talking about now! I don't think it will be a problem unless your running very large diameter tires. Mine are around 27" tall so if you actually had an axle on there you would just measure out 13.5" (or half of the diameter you'll be running) from the center of the axle and see where you are. You would really need a big tire for that to be a problem, I can post pics of the same area on mine but it's a Charger of coarse (tons of clearance).

 

[conv67bdere]

Thank goodness it's Friday ( tomorrow ) . . . 2 days of no work on the car as the spring relocation brackets need to go in the car next . . . so I'm off to get them tomorrow.

Need to put them in as a pair - and get measurements to make sure they're even ( the car may not be as true as one would hope ) . . .

Here's the plans:

Drop a plumb line from hole in the stock front spring mount - mark it on the ground.
Drop a plumb line from the rear of the torsion bar bracket - mark it on the ground
Measure from Driver side Torsion bar mark to passenger side spring mount.
Compare this to the measurement of Passenger side Torsion bar mark to the Driver side spring mount.
Adjust as needed ( front to back ) - tack lightly into place
mock up the springs -
figure out the rear mount relocation - ( going to talk with Chris at US Cartools about this tomorrow )
mount the springs -
assure proper travel and squareness -
tack weld things in place
assure proper travel and squareness -
Drop plumb line from rear mount holes - mark on ground
Measure Driver rear mount hole to passenger torsion bar mount - compare to Passenger rear mount to driver torsion bar mark
Adjust as needed ( front to back
assure proper travel and squareness -

Hopefully the plan works ( and I can make all the measurements agree )

Do you think I "assure proper travel and squareness" enough times ? ? ?

 

[kb67mopar]

Lol. If the factory could make them go straight down the road with minimal caring about squareness, I bet you can do it too. I am pretty sure my rear frame rails were no where near perfectly paralell....and that was how they built it. Close only counts in horseshoes, handgrenades, and....well sometimes mopar suspensions from 1967. But get it as close as you can. If you are running leaf springs the front hangers are what counts the most. The rear have the shackles to adjust for any length discrepancies.


While your at US Cartool see if he has any "scrap" that look like fender well seals/shields for my Coronet

 

[747mopar]

Don't know much about the 67's but if they aren't true like KB says them maybe you should go off of the K member bolt holes instead just incase, that way your going off of what actually supports the front suspension. Best thing would be to go off of the front spindles but that's not an option in your cars present state. I'm sure you'll nail it without a problem.

 

[conv67bdere]

Visit to US Cartools . . . Great visit - I like Chris' attitude about cars . . .

Had my visit to Durham NC - and US Cartools . . . Great Visit, Charlene and Chris are very friendly people and very easy to talk to . . .

When I pulled up in the parking lit, I knew I was in the right place . . . this is what I saw . . .



Nice . . . all original with many US Cartools stiffeners installed . . .



Walking into the shop, he had just pulled a sheet of steel off the plasma cutter that cut the metal for 8 spring relocation brackets . . .



Chris had already made the new front brackets for me and they were waiting when I arrived . . . and he showed me the design that we had discussed on the phone about altering the frame rain to keep the rear shackle in the proper location . . . he showed me a prototype - and we walked to a B-body on the lift to discuss . . . it's exactly what I had in mind, and what we discussed - and it looked perfect for the job . . . but he only had (1) prototype . . .

So . . . not an issue . . . Chris just went to work to make (2) more for me . . .

Cut out the pieces on the plasma cutter . . . .



The final pieces cut out . . . ready for assembly . . .



Add the necessary bends to the metal . . . That's Chris doing the bends, I'm just watching and taking photos . . . ( smile )



The finished products - tacked together - I'll give Chris some feedback on the install and provide him a picture tutorial . . .



While I was there . . . couldn't resist picking up another stiffening part for the 67 Belvedere . . .



Chris shared with me a couple of projects that he's in the middle of design, and they're great . . . can't wait to see them announced when all the R&D gets done, tested and ready for selling . . .

Really had a great time there, has a blast talking cars and designs with Chris, and I'll be making another trip up there ( if he can put up with me again )

Thanks US CarTools . . . Love what you're doing, keep doing it "right" and Made in America ! ! !

 

[Ron 73]

Thanks for sharing buddy!! Thats super cool man!!!

 

[conv67bdere]

Don't know much about the 67's but if they aren't true like KB says them maybe you should go off of the K member bolt holes instead just incase, that way your going off of what actually supports the front suspension. Best thing would be to go off of the front spindles but that's not an option in your cars present state. I'm sure you'll nail it without a problem.

Thanks 747 Mopar . . . I like the idea of using the K-Member Bolt holes . . . may add that into the picture and see what it tells me . . .

Measure twice . . . weld once ???

 

[coronet340]

Finally caught up. 49 pages oy.

1 build thread caught up, 10 more to catch up on, and most importantly 1 build to really dig in to.

 

[HYRDGOON]

Thems some nice RACIN' parts he dun made fer ya KAHN!!! FER RACIN'!!!!!

 

[conv67bdere]

What a bust weekend - but busy around the house trying to get some stuff done - trip to Durham to see US Cartools - and trip to Spartanburg SC to grab something.

Borrowed the neighbors skid steer and did a bunch of dirt moving in the 1 acre area that I'm trying to get cleaned up . . . went much faster and I'm far less tired then the day before when I was moving all the dirt by hand . . . the skid steer wins buckets down ! ! ! ( and what a blast it is to play on too ! )

Spent about 1 1/2 hours in the shop today "trying to get the car leveled, front, middle and back - as cutting the frame has me worried the back "could" drop . . . so I'm trying to get it all squared up so when I cut frames - it stays straight with no twists . . .

I'm just about there - digital levels are good and bad . . . when it's off by 0.1 . . . and you try to make it perfect . . . it can be like chasing your tail ( ok, if I had one )

 

[747mopar]

Doubt you have much to worry about but it never hurts to be cautious. These cars weigh nothing when stripped down and the roof and quarters really stiffen things up quiet a bit. Good luck Kahn

- - - Updated - - -

Almost forgot.......... you have no roof! Yeah, better safe then sorry for sure.

 

[conv67bdere]

Progress on the Spring Relocation Brackets installation . . .

Had to get to this as it was driving me crazy not getting started ( too much to do around the house ) So, today I started to dig into it . . .

First the leveling . . . inside the trunk . . .



Middle of the car . . . finally got them all ( almost ) dead on . . . it was a struggle . . .



Started cutting the passenger side out - had to cut it in half as I could not cut from the outside - has to cut from the inside . . .



Another look of the frame cut in half so I could cut the outside from the inside ( hope that makes sense )
Was really surprised at how "clean" the inside of the frame rails were of rust - I will be painting inside the frame rails after welding . . .



Passenger side bolted into place . . .



Measured 3X before cutting and I still had a much larger gap then I really wanted - will weld new metal back in . . .



Cut out the driver side frame rail - compensated for the error on the passenger side . . . ( note: I still have a gap ! ! ARGH ! ! ! )



Driver side bolted back in place - both springs back in place to mock-up and measure for squareness . . .



First thing that has gone BACK ON THE CAR in 9 months since the restoration started . . . hope that's a good sign of things to come ! ! !

Next, I'll have to do a load of measurements, and double check all the levels to try and get it as squared and true before welding . . . hope to be back in the shop tonight to get some of those things done a check how well ( or not well ) things are currently situated . . . The rear relocation hangers will be a lot more fun ! ! !

Good news . . . ran a rod through both sets of brackets and threw a level on it . . . this is my results . . .



At least it's a step in the right direction ! ! !

- - - Updated - - -

Doubt you have much to worry about but it never hurts to be cautious. These cars weigh nothing when stripped down and the roof and quarters really stiffen things up quiet a bit. Good luck Kahn

Almost forgot.......... you have no roof! Yeah, better safe then sorry for sure.

I got a roof 747 Mopar . . . it's hanging from the rafters in my garage ! ! ! ( smile ) I do still have my door on and they help support the car as well.

 

[usaroadrunner]

that looks really nice, another quality product from them. had nothing but good luck with them and fast shipping. mini tubs, leaf relocation, big tires!!!! HELL YEAH...FER RACING!!!!!!!!!!lol

 

[747mopar]

Don't tell me you have one of those Pollish tape measures with little feat on them haha?????????? Looking good, Your well on your way now.

 

[Propwash]

Heck yeah man! Nice looking work!

 

[Ron 73]

Fantastic work my friend! outstanding, inspiring work!

- - - Updated - - -

BTW, I used a fruit tree sprayer, smallest holes i drilled in the home made brake line really wasn't small enough, i finally bought a hose that connects to Eastwoods Endcalsulator cans, saves material and gets the job done!