This frame was complately stock in the front when we started. The following pics are from doing the Z on the frame and also cutting the bottom of the frame off under the cab area. This is done instead of a traditional body drop.
I started by cutting off the 4 link and redoing the mounts. This truck had a universal 4 link and we reworked the mounts and bars to make it work better. The Watts link also helped acheive the look and ride we wanted. Look for a tech article on the Watts link install in the futre on my tech page. The next step was to Z the front of the frame to make the front engine crossmember and side rails lay out at the same time without doing a bodydrop on the cab. This is alot of work on this bodystyle truck but with the cab off its not too bad and well worth it when its done. The prototype BYC tubular upper and lower control arms are visible on the frame in the pic below.
We started by jacking the frame up and putting it up level on stands. We then grinded and marked the areas to be cut. We used the Hypertherm Powermax 600 plasma cutter to cut the frame. We then grinded the rough edges and lined up the front section with the rear section. We used existing holes in the front section and rear section and cross measured to make sure the frame was both level and square. We tacked the front section on and then remeasured the frame again.
The next step was to make cardboard templates of the plates we were to make for the bracing of the inside and outside. I could have gotten away with just plating the inside so the outside could be flush but I wanted an extra bit of bracing because the truck was soon to receive a 502 big block. Most smallblock trucks could easily be braced from the inside and be fine.
The next step was to cut the curve off the bottom of the frame. This is the area just under where your feet are. If you trim about 2 inches or so off this area, you can lay body without a bodydrop. This along with the step of the front clip makes for a very low frame that still looks pretty good.
This cut was done after we finished the Z in the front of the frame. This area has to be plated to have enough strength to hold up this heavy truck especially with a bigblock going back into it.
Once we got the cut grinded and the lower plates installed we started to plate the inside of the frame where the inside edges of the "C" of the frame is to box it in and make it really strong.
The tubular arms on this truck were the prototype version for the 1963-1987 GM upper and lower arms. The 1963 to 1972 trucks have drum brakes but the arms are the same. The upper and lower balljoints are the only difference. I decided to make these fit only disc brake since I dont think anyone would want to put drums back on a truck after bagging it. Especially when all you have to do is get 1973-1987 spindles. You can even get dropped spindles and get that much more drop. The uppers were made of 1&1/4"x1/4" DOM tube and the lowers were 1&1/2"x1/4" DOM tube.
The inner frame plates met up with the inner braces for the Z in the frame and were welded up and small plates made to fill the gaps.
The next 2 pics below show how much we cut off the bottom of the frame side rails.
The next 2 pics below show the completed inner frame bracing after being grinded and smoothed. This will be completed with plastic filler and painted.
The 2 holes in the pic below show the place where the transmission crossmember bolts up. We welded 1/2" grade 8 nuts inside the frame bracing to hold the crossmember.
The next 2 pics below are the front frame horns. We dropped them the same as the rear of the frame to allow the core support to bolt up like stock. While we were at it we braced the steering box area where many of these GM truck frames crack from stress around the steering box mounts.
The next pic below is the place where the front cab mount used to be riveted to the frame. We cut the rivets out and pulled the mount off to allow us access to the frame for better cutting and plating. We welded 3/8" grade 8 nuts inside the frame to bolt the cab mount back on. This allows for adding nice stainless, allen head or even button head bolts if we choose.
The next 2 pics are of the trans mount installed. We fabricated this mount from 1&1/2"x1/4" DOM tube and 1/4" thick cold rolled flat end plates.
The frame turned out well. It was alot of work and some would rather build a tube frame complete from the front clip to the back or even a complete tube frame. We wanted to do this to see how much it would take to do this to a stock frame and see what it would look like in the end. We saved having to do a body drop and after all the extra holes in the frame are welded up this will be a pretty nice stock frame. Below is the front section complete.
For more pics of this project please click the link below. The pics are currently in a random order. I will update this asap.
86 Chevy frame pics
For more info on this or any of the other projects on our projects pages, please feel free to email me at
Mike@Dallashotrodparts.com
