Even braced the car is VERY flexable and unsturdy. Care must be made to keep it solid till its braced. I had to jack the center when I cut the roof. Its hard to believe what the roof actually does to strengthen the car.





Here the roof is cut and I cut a 1" notch into the B pillar for a slight rake to the roof line. Guess im a in the chop top club now....just a baby thou

Another pic of the 1" "CHOP"

As it sits....ready to build a new side frame.




1st I cut the door jamb out from the top of the B pillar down to the bottom rail. I will use this again later in the build

[This message has been edited by Bozzie (edited 11-12-2014).]

Then I trimmed the rest of it for the addition of the new 2x3 Frame section. I also cut the rear frame section out from the strut towers as these will be replaced as well with 1 long piece.



Starting with a 23' section I started to cut the frame out

[This message has been edited by Bozzie (edited 11-12-2014).]

Here you can see the rear frame out and a piece of the new 2x3 section .





I Trial fit the frame on the rear section. Just mocked up the door jamb to check.

Ghost.............THANKS !!! and its out of a 2000 Monte Carlo....with a lot of fitment

Hey Don....never a problem. I did a 3.25" cradle stretch first. Then while I had it apart I was just looking at it one day and figured if I didn't do the chassis stretch it would be a LONG way back to this point to do it. Cradle stretch basically to extend the wheelbase and get some more weight on the front end. I also wanted alittle more room in the engine compartment and the 3.25 " make a big difference. The Chassis stretch of 4" was mostly because I am basing my build now on the 512 wheelbase and its correct now. Also I wanted alittle more rake to the roofline and the extra room is just a bonus. Thanks for the question !

Car-Lo... thanks man.....I really look up to what your doing there. Yes its a big step. But winter is setting in here so time is all I have ! Keep the builds going !! One day East and West coast is going to have to get together

Another shot of the rear frame rail





mocking up the frame





and tack welded

All cleaned up and ready for the new frame





welded in and working on the B pillar

on the ground.... SOLID !!

Removed the C Pillar and speaker mount




Here I opened up in front of the intercooler to expose the lower frame which I'll be connecting to the new frame later

[This message has been edited by Bozzie (edited 11-16-2014).]

TIme to get the passenger side done





Triple checking the level

Tacked in place




finishing the welding on the frame

Cleaned up and ready to mount the new frame section




welded up some center supports to the lower window frame

another shot of the rear roof

Back on the ground for a bit. getting more and more solid. Next up it to tie the front lower frame to the front door support and add a lower frame brace..

All for the day.....
cleaned up some .... contemplating the new rear hatch area. Also thinking of reworking the body and rear fenders a bit.




Tucked away till next time

Working on the roofline.............

Notching the inside for room on the passenger side to connect the lower frame to the upper frame vertical support

Finally got the door jamb pillar back in and welded. Door is super solid now and it closes better than factory.







Primered
Welded to the frame with sheetmetal and sealed..

[This message has been edited by Bozzie (edited 12-12-2014).]

Put in Vertical supports for where the window will now go.

End pieces installed for rear window sides.

Rear shot with rear side window filler panels.

Passenger door jamb installed and sealed. Filler panel made for side extension and sealed. Also hinges welded in for the future hatchback.

[This message has been edited by Bozzie (edited 12-12-2014).]

Taking a break on metal work. Made some flat panels for the side window area.



Pieces trimmed and cut to shape.



1st layer of glass

After it dried I took it off and glassed the inside and traced out the window. You can also see here the door jamb area and extension tin is in and welded and sealed.



I put the lower rocker panel back up just to see what it looks like now. Im going to have just just toss this and make a new one from scratch later.

[This message has been edited by Bozzie (edited 12-12-2014).]

Got the other side matched and held up for now.




Needed more room so I tapered the rear frame rail in and down.




you can see the difference now just how much it makes and leaves room for the rear fender to be wider. Both rear inner sails you can see here with the hinges on the roof hanging....waiting ...

Widebody door cap doesn't cut it anymore so off it comes. Looks so different now !



With the lower effects removed again....for the last time its time to start making new ones..

Starting with the inlets I used flat panels I made out of 2 layers of glass. 2 more will be added later to make it stiff but for now there real flexable and pretty easy to shape. I glassed these to each other and the door. The door normally tapers in or round in at the bottom but these will be cut down straight later.