Thread: Frame swap

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Made a big decision .. going to swap out my 1951 Buick special frame for a 1983 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham

Switching because of the newer brakes and steering, better frame, & because the rear end has to be switched any way ( whither it be gears and some "contraption" to attach to an open drive shaft, or a complete switch to a F- body rear axle coil spring type with trailing arm .

The way I'm looking at it .... it'll be less work in the long run and I've got everything I would have changed anyway.
I understand that its going to be a big job and not worried about the resale value " I assume I'll never get back the time I've put in to it and it has helped me keep my MENTAL health up to par... or as good as it was "

But have measured trice and haven't cut anything yet... just thought I should ask you guys with some experience before I go any farther to see if I could get some words of wisdom about unseen problems you have run in to while doing something like this ?


or get a little kick in the head from the geezers about something I "Should'A" been thinking of .


"Ummm? ...here, is where I'm at" ........ the wheel base is exactly 119.0 on both and they match bearing to bearing length wise . I "may" have to cut the trunk floor and move it up for the gas tank, and swap bumper brackets .... front cab mounting braces ( have to replace front floor pans anyway ,and I was going to make them my'own'self anyway) .... What else should I be looking at ? ..... have to play around with the mounting of the front fenders to the frame ..... going to use the Olds steering column, brake booster and pedal , and part of the wiring harness.
as soon as we get the body off the Olds I'll rebuild the brakes.and check it out a little more ....

"?You think I'll run into the same problem with parts/ cost with the Olds later down the road ? since they don't make them anymore . " there a dime a dozen right now"... ....what'Ya think ?

Getting the Olds for cheap! ( I found it while looking for a S-10 frame to swap for my '49 pick-up ) , a guy was driving it to work & the gas was killing him ( plus the seats are trashed ) , has the 307(5.0) V8 4bl, runs great but, I have an old 60 - 70 ? Big Block Olds motor that has less miles on a rebuild and as soon as I lock down A "defiant "casting number "I may run it "

anyway there it is .....
Thanks for reading & any helpful comments ,
"I'm going out, to help start taking bolts out and getting the body off the Buick frame

T L

Okay TL, here's something to think about. When you say you need to replace the floors I'm assuming you mean the Buford, not the Oldsmobubble. Take a tip from Dick Dean, lang time famous mucho customizer. A lot of the Mercs he does are done this way using pretty much the same setup you're talking about.

He cuts the body off the Olds floor pan, and leaves the firewall intact too. When you cut off the Olds do it as far out to the edges and as high up on the firewall as you can (trim to proper size later). Then, depending on what the differences are to the Buick, cut out the same way on it. Several advantages. One, you get the good floors (?). There may be some differences in rear pan length in the trunk, but that is either a shorten or lengthen deal, not rocket science. The really neat thing is you can channel the body to give the car a good, low, sleek look and still have full suspension travel. It helps to have a good, level working surface so that you get the Buick body attached to the floor pan evenly. (cattywumpus would not be cool). If you search the web for articles about Dean you might even find one of the ones that were written about 15 or so years ago.

Solves "a lot" of lil problems and only creates a few new ones,


I keep my dash and get all my mounting hardware with out all the little hassles. and I get it lowered "a little" with out the air ride that I was planning. cab mounts, hangers .... " everything"

now where exactly to cut and how to keep my Buick body straight as I lift and switch, maybe some welded braces before the cut and .....???

never done or seen a channel job performed so I'll have to get to reading and asking . the floor looks good in the Olds ... and is all ready recessed over the frame and trans a little ....have to do some more measuring to see where it would end up.
I'm still looking around.... on the web



thanks for the kick BBB


T L

TL
I put a 50 Ford coupe on a 76 Cutlass chassis the way Bob described it after reading the magazine article about Dick Dean doing it to a 50 Merc. I took a bunch of pictures. The date on the back of them is June 91 so the Dick Dean story was around that time.

Since the nose was off the Ford when I set it on the chassis I measured the distance from the front edge of the door to the centerline of the front wheel on the Ford. I made sure that distance was the same when I dropped it onto the Olds chassis to keep the wheels in the center of the fender opening. I Lowered the body over the floorboards till it looked right and put blocks under the doors to level it off. The doors were clamped shut with two hose clamps on each side. I crawled in through the window and welded the doorposts to the Olds floor and rocker panels. The trunk floor was about a foot too long and had to be cut down to fit.

It worked out pretty good and things went so smoothly up to that point that I decided to chop six inches off the top. That's when the S#!t hit the fan and I learned that chopping a top isn't easy.

I didn't weld braces across the rear window opening even though I knew better and it streched out of shape during the welding. It still sits in a back corner of the garage unfinished.

just recently I got some new quarters for it and another rear window section to weld in. I also picked up a mint original grille and a 53 Chevy grille. Can't decide wich one to use. Also got some 54 Merc headlight rims to mold in. It's got power steering, disc brakes, A/C and a tilt column. Maybe some day I'll get her finished. The Olds 350 only had 60,000 miles on it so it should still run good.

Was already thinking about a chop ???? maybe , after .... got to keep focused....
been reading all day .... and I'm still going to do it!

Dad and a couple of his car builder buddies are coming over tomorrow to help measure and remind me of things I should be thinking of..( rear wheel clearance and real world ride height ) so I don't go over board and make sure I stick to the plan.
and his buddies have channeled a few, and I'm not above saying " tell me what I'm doing wrong"

and I have to be thinking of head room and what kind of chop I'm wanting to do later.... so I don't go to far with the body.
Planning on welding braces across the inside and like Al said "keeping the doors shut !"

still haven't found that article about the merc but found lots of other useful stuff " even thinking about a Carson top now"
But anyway!... cutting the floor will get me to my goal in less time with less headache . thanks BBB

I'll have the wife take some pixs " because I'll be busy"

hope fully I can start tomorrow evening !!!!!



"should have seen my helpers faces when I explained what the new plan was !" >>> " they ended up weedeating and mowing all day while I was reading and on the phone !" .........

And AL ? where are the pixs of the 50 Ford ? may I take a gander ?

I have a couple dozen pics. They're not digital so I have to scan them. I can only fit three at a time in the scanner and the first three came out too big to post here. I'll put them up on my website in jpeg format and post the links. It would take all day to do them in HTML with descriptions.


I was wrong it only took 4 hours. here's the pics.

http://www.thealshow.com/frame.html

sent you an E-mail.
Also talking to another guy from Hotrodders.com and he said
that he would try and help if I have any question.
He's done 2 Mercs and is doing a '49 chevy now.
the pics got my mind set right .

Now to see if the guys at my old job will bring over the boom truck? to make it a little easier.

here are some of the links I've been checking out if anyone is interested ...

ask the experts > http://www.driveonline.com/html/experts_covell3.html
The History of Dick Dean >http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/thehistoryof/4842/
Vintage Channel Jobs> http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/...378/index.html
Top Chop Tricks> http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/...423/index.html
I'll post some of the others later , looks like my help is here

T L

TL
I guess I shoulda updated my email address sooner. I switched to a cable modem a few months ago and can't get email on the old one anymore. If it comes back try again with the new email. I still have every rodding magazine I bought since 74. Not very well organized though. I'll see if I can find the one that inspired the project.

Started cutting yesterday "Finally"
had to get through a small "honey do " list (since I'm able to crawl around in a car !!!) and the worrying about me doing "2 much" .
"moving slow but, still going " < didn't pull the seats !!!! "I'll end up pulling them ! " {stupid me! should have done it in the first place !!! }

should have the Buick hanging over the Olds by sunday evening ...." Ya! .... real slow!....... "

and then start leveling everything, "just taking my time "
will start taking pictures this morning, with the "old?" 35mm

what would be the best way to get it level ?
"measure floor to floor on the body drop all around " or should I do something else ?
I'll have the Olds sitting level when I drop ..... (! set ) the body on the it and ......? what am I not thinking of ?
That should give me the right stance side to side correct ??
with out being DogLeG to one side or the other ? or what did Mopar Bob call it " cattywumpus"? >>>>>>I need every chance to be cool ,,, I can get!!! "I'm running out of time for that ! "...........



T L


Al > didja get your mail this time ?

I got it this time.
If the chassis is level with the floor all around then the body should also be level with the floor. I trimmed any interference as I lowered it over the chassis. I had the body on blocks so I could get all the measurements even before I started welding. Get the two front corners even side to side then the back. Check inside from the doors to the center of the floor. Then check everything again before you weld. I would tack weld as many locations as possible then measure again before making it final.
It took me 3 or 4 days to do it taking my time so you're right on schedule for a first timer. Good luck. Keep us posted on your progress and post the pics as soon as you can. You can get 35MM pictures put on a CD when it's developed by a Kodak lab. They look better on a computer screen than a scanned photo. I used Rite-Aid drug store If you have one near you.

Hey guys, do me a favor. Either stop cutting Oldsmobiles apart, or offer up the spare parts. IE: What ya doing with the 307-and how many miles?

Originally posted by drg84
Hey guys, do me a favor. Either stop cutting Oldsmobiles apart, or offer up the spare parts. IE: What ya doing with the 307-and how many miles?

drg84 "she's going to a better place".... or " be proud of the fact that I'm just changing the cover "
And I'm pretty sure the motor has a "few!!!!!!" but I'll probably run it for a while.... drives real smooth ..... just like a big ol'boat.....
" still haven't found anything about the other motor either "

>>> pulled my Buick around with it the other day ! <<< still strong ! but if I decide to switch it out ..... You'll be first on the list !

My car has a 350. It's not as cool as a Chevy 350 but with just over 60,000 miles on it it's worth keeping it Olds powered. I didn't save much from the Olds that I wasn't going to use.

to much family coming by to visit !
probably won't get to do much till tuesday when they all go back to work !

With all the people coming by to visit , doc visits , RAIN ! AND LOTS OF WIND! , , MY 1951 buick has a new home !
I'm not finished yet , but she is now sitting on a new...er frame

don't have much room under the dash.....
But everything else is looking good .

Still cutting to fit and grinding so I don't have to patch a bunch of spots.
Shes going to have a pretty low stance ....
"I'll have to pick her up , with some air ride but ..... thats cool " <( yes ... I'm grin'N like a opossum " <<< and I'm still taking pixs to post so just give me a while " I don't stop in town much "
you guys will get to see my fugly mug in the convertible I had for a while .... Any way there is my update now I got to go get some cold water and sit and just look at her .