I have built one brand new 65 and used a convertible chassis. That chassis rocker panels are like having eye beam on each side of the car which gives it a lot more strength and support for any horse power you would want to use. Not bad mouthing your project at all. Your advice is spot on because watching videos and using the internet for information was how I came across using the convertible chassis
The convertible floors are much stronger. They have that cross brace that sandwiches The floor. And that really thick inner rocker brace , I may do that on the next conversion. That’s a really good idea!
I guess you ended up not needing to brace the body? I have a 67 I am about to convert but the previous owner jacked it up and level it and cut the floor out and installed subframe connectors and then never finished it. It's been back down on all four and sitting for awhile so I was worried I may need to get it on a jig in case it flexed, but part of me wonders if the roof, rockers, and subframe connectors are good enough to have kept it in shape (roof is in really good condition too so it's sturdy). Did any issues ever arise from it not being braced? Your completed car looks absolutely phenomenal!
Great question. The first thing I would do is get the frame measurements off of the Internet. And just take some cursory measurements as best you can to see if it’s in the right place or at least in the right vicinity, without the complete body and it is possible to twist it with the floor out of it ,And I would suggest investing in a tram gauge. You can usually get this fairly reasonably off the Internet. It’s just a measurement device. Getting back to the issue of bracing For me, there’s a couple schools of thought The first one is the restoration guys will tell you to brace the body . In some cases, this helps because if you absolutely need to hold A part in a certain position, this works well for that . However, my background is in collision repair. And restoration. So I prefer to leave it unbraced. Just because parts float and they’re easier to put in the right position. Now you gotta remember these cars that we are rebuilding these days are all going to be repaired with aftermarket parts They don’t fit like factory and you’ll have the devils time trying to get them to fit correctly when they just won’t. So I preferred to move parts around to get the best possible fit. It’s a compromise. Because I spent my whole career moving metal that has been bent and crashed so it doesn’t bother me. But for the important parts it’s critical to have correct measurements and things being the right position , Particularly frames and suspension mounting points. This will adversely affect cars handling if they’re not right. But for upper sheet metal. I always go for the best possible fit, and compromise and work with that. I hope this answers your question.
For me '65 '66 looks more proportional in a coupe than fastback. 'For '67 '68 more proportional in a fastback since the lines are more curved. Thanks for the video.
I bought all the parts from a place called Kentucky mustangs. They treated me well and everything that I needed basically came in a kit form and they have each piece. All the parts are Dinacorn
That’s a tough question because it would vary from shop to shop. If they bid the job for actual hours then it would depend on what they charge per hour. Or if another shop just gave you a dollar amount to do each portion of the job, metal work. Bodywork. Paint work. It all could vary a lot
I have built one brand new 65 and used a convertible chassis. That chassis rocker panels are like having eye beam on each side of the car which gives it a lot more strength and support for any horse power you would want to use. Not bad mouthing your project at all. Your advice is spot on because watching videos and using the internet for information was how I came across using the convertible chassis
The convertible floors are much stronger. They have that cross brace that sandwiches The floor. And that really thick inner rocker brace ,
I may do that on the next conversion. That’s a really good idea!
Great explanation and I really appreciate the detailed views of what's needed to do the conversion. Thank you and keep up the great progress!
Thank you for the Kind words, and thank you for watching
I guess you ended up not needing to brace the body? I have a 67 I am about to convert but the previous owner jacked it up and level it and cut the floor out and installed subframe connectors and then never finished it. It's been back down on all four and sitting for awhile so I was worried I may need to get it on a jig in case it flexed, but part of me wonders if the roof, rockers, and subframe connectors are good enough to have kept it in shape (roof is in really good condition too so it's sturdy). Did any issues ever arise from it not being braced? Your completed car looks absolutely phenomenal!
Great question. The first thing I would do is get the frame measurements off of the Internet. And just take some cursory measurements as best you can to see if it’s in the right place or at least in the right vicinity, without the complete body and it is possible to twist it with the floor out of it ,And I would suggest investing in a tram gauge. You can usually get this fairly reasonably off the Internet. It’s just a measurement device.
Getting back to the issue of bracing
For me, there’s a couple schools of thought
The first one is the restoration guys will tell you to brace the body . In some cases, this helps because if you absolutely need to hold
A part in a certain position, this works well for that .
However, my background is in collision repair. And restoration. So I prefer to leave it unbraced. Just because parts float and they’re easier to put in the right position. Now you gotta remember these cars that we are rebuilding these days are all going to be repaired with aftermarket parts They don’t fit like factory and you’ll have the devils time trying to get them to fit correctly when they just won’t. So I preferred to move parts around to get the best possible fit. It’s a compromise. Because I spent my whole career moving metal that has been bent and crashed so it doesn’t bother me. But for the important parts it’s critical to have correct measurements and things being the right position , Particularly frames and suspension mounting points. This will adversely affect cars handling if they’re not right. But for upper sheet metal. I always go for the best possible fit, and compromise and work with that. I hope this answers your question.
For me '65 '66 looks more proportional in a coupe than fastback. 'For '67 '68 more proportional in a fastback since the lines are more curved. Thanks for the video.
You’re welcome thank you for watching
Hi, what brand conversion?where did you get the conversion from?
I bought all the parts from a place called Kentucky mustangs. They treated me well and everything that I needed basically came in a kit form and they have each piece. All the parts are Dinacorn
how much would a shop charge you to do this?
That’s a tough question because it would vary from shop to shop. If they bid the job for actual hours then it would depend on what they charge per hour. Or if another shop just gave you a dollar amount to do each portion of the job, metal work. Bodywork. Paint work. It all could vary a lot
Thank you