Crossmember Fabrication

Last night Danny came by and we attacked the crossmember. Well, to be fair, he did the all the work on the crossmember and I worked on removing the steering column, dash parts and wiring bits from the inside.
We took the previously forward-curved crossmember and made it straight across to allow for the best steering geometry with the Mustang II rack. We realized that we had the wrong 220v plug in the new shop to use the wire-feed welder, so Danny used his stick welder. This guy is a real artist. Most welders would be lucky to do such clean work with a MIG, and this guy makes it look easy.
The end result is a sweet, boxed and reinforced crossmember that is made of 3/16" plate and is smoother and stronger than the factory unit ever was.

HUUUUGE Progress!

Today we ripped out the drum spindles, sway bar and steering components to test fit the engine. The great news is that it will fit under the hood, so that rocks. Danny then showed up with his mobile welding rig and cut out all the steering mounts and motor mounts, then ground everything down nicely. Totally awesome, he just jumped right in.
I reversed the spindles and had SP send over a Mustang II steering rack to see if I could make it work. We are going to reinforce the backside of the crossmember and then essentially make it straight across on the front side. We will build in the mounting for the rack on the frontside and make it as straight as possible to minimize bumpsteer. I am going to have to get creative for a swaybar solution.
All-in-all and amazing day of progress!
More pics in the gallery

Engine is out

Today, Jimmy got the engine out, and we removed all of the front sheetmetal. After some research, it looks like airbags for the front are a no-go without more fabrication that I care to take on. The trick, it seems, is to go with some seriously heavy-duty torsion bar replacements and crank them to the desired ride height. Should ride and handle well.
The Cummins is a rear sump design, so I either have to go with a different pan/pickup or change out the rear-steer setup that is in the car. I am going to try to swap spindles from left to right tomorrow to see if I might be able to fab in a 3/4 ton dodge ram rack and pinion into the front of the frame and simplify my life.
Since we are this far, we will get everything mocked up and then have the frame blasted and painted so its nice and clean. Not sure if I need (or want) to blast the body. Its clean and has nothing more than surface rust, so I think we may be ok.

Minor Progress

Got the car into the corner of our "Area 51" shop and got the front on jackstands. Yanked the hood and drilled out the rest of the rusted-in top hold down screws. What a PITA! Checked out the frame some more, and based on the amount of torque we will be throwing at this car, we are definitely going to have to box the subframe and run subframe connectors to the rear of the car to prevent some massive twist.
Found a potential interior guy--'Mr. Quan' I hope to talk to him tomorrow and get the interior dropped off ASAP so he has plenty of time with it.

Just added some photos of day 2

Just added some "after" shots from Sunday. I removed the remaining interior, scraped all the loose paint/rust off and powerwashed the floors to get rid of the surface rust. I am bagging every fastener and labeling everything for easier re-installation. I still can't believe that this thing actually runs as well as it does and all the electrics work!

Slowing things down...and getting it up!

Today I got some great news. Turner's wrecking in Fresno hooked me up with a set of '71 C-Body spindles, a master cylinder and a booster for my disc brake conversion. SP, one of our big local suppliers, set me up with rotors/pads/hoses/calipers as well. Total investment in the conversion....about $500. Not too shabby!
I also managed to get the top mechanism to work enough to verify everything is there and functional.

The Vision

Welcome to my blog! I am going to attempt to document the entire build of a dream that has been brewing for several years.
My name is Erik and I am serial hotrodder. Seriously, I need help. I can't leave anything alone for long. Rattle Rod is the first project that I actually stewed on for years, trying to figure out how to do something different, fresh, relevant and cost-effective.

I decided that I wanted a fat, old, low car that I could transplant a diesel engine into, with the goal of a 12-second quarter mile, 30mpg cruiser that I could drive every day. I started searching in earnest in February of 2010. I quickly realized that anything from my desired target area ('45-'54) was going to be WAY too expensive and probably not in great shape. They would also need complete modernization of all suspension, braking and drivetrain components in order to support the heavy, powerful engine I had in mind.

With that, my focus shifted to the '60's. I wanted something a little different, preferably a Mopar so that we could keep it in the family. I checked out a Chrysler 300, several Cadillacs and finally cam across the beast you see here, a 1967 Chrysler Newport convertible. Hey, if you are gonna cruise, might as well get a tan.