C9, thanks for the encouragement. It certainly would be good to avoid the arm-pinch effect if possible. I just had to work my way up to the better solution. I think I will be pleased with the added crossmember just knowing it looks more professional and not cobbled plus using tapped holes for the Adel clips will look better for the cable support. It will also be located just under the end of the flat steel (4" wide) plates in the interior floor of the Bebops body. At this point I am just waiting for the Chassis Engineering U-tube which I ordered from a shop in Md. I should have it by Wednesday and maybe get the whole thing welded in, smoothed out and painted by next Friday? So far I don't have any point of reference for the SBC-in-a-light-body feeling. I can only recall a Chevelle with a 350 my Dad bought new and I was AMAZED at it's performance. Actually the flat iron bar I added across the back of the rumble seat mounts is bolted to the square tubing of the framework inside of the rear quarter panels so maybe I will have a chance for enough rigidity to actually avoid the arm-pinch flex. I have horrific memories of clutch chatter in my '47 convert which produced a door flex of at least 1/4". Despite all the nostalgia and romantic stories of flathead Fords a lost memory swept under the rug was the horrible chatter in reverse and that was especially bad in convertibles; so bad that I avoided using reverse unless abolutely necessary. Of course a new clutch and throwout bearing would help for a while but after a few "bucking sessions" the whole drive line would loosen up. The only way to avoid the "bucking" was to get the clutch all the way out and then quickly put it back in so you didn't have a rear collision. Well thanks for the inspiration to a higher quality build!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder