Chassis and Body - First Fitting

Further hole honing was facilitated by a rat-tail metal file.

Kevin temporarily installed the shifter plate. We didn't use any liquid gasket sealer, because we would need to remove the shift plate again before the final assembly of the trans hump cover.

In order to move to the next step, we had to remove the body from the chassis. Once we took the 4x4s from in between the cab floor and frame, we wheeled the chassis out of the garage. Kevin and I took the body off the chassis and put the body on the shipping palette/body buck Dad and I saved from the initial shipment of the SAR roadster pickup cab.

Now that the opening in the floor pan clears the Tremec trans, the roadster pickup body was flat on the SAC Hot Rod Products chassis. We could finally determine how well the body's boltholes line up with the chassis.

After putting the body back up on 4x4s, Kevin started to hog out the body mount holes within the cab. Proving the most expensive tool doesn't always work the best, the shiny honing bit shown here kept coming out of the keyless electric drill. We later bought a honing bit at the local ACE Hardware store for $2.99 that stayed in the drill. Procured at an arcane exotic tool shop from a rather surly proprietor, the shiny bit cost $21.50!

After cutting and installing the webbing on the passenger side, we wheeled the chassis onto the driveway.

Once we'd wheeled the SAC Hot Rod Products chassis back in the garage, Kevin used a 3/8-inch tap to clean the threads of the body mount nuts welded in the framerails. Performing this step will help prevent stripping the threads of the body bolts and or nuts.

While Dad held the other end of the frame webbing, Kevin cut it the correct length for the driver side. We bought the frame webbing from a vintage Ford parts house. It's available in various widths, and can be purchased with or without the adhesive backing. We selected 1.5 inches wide with the taped backing.

Originally, we bought a vulcanized rubber trans-isolation mount from an auto parts store-the only Chevy-compatible component we're using in the '34 Ford build (to date). Rather than go with a rubber isolation mount, we purchased this sweet polyurethane mount from SAC Hot Rod Products. It costs twice what the other mount did, but works four times better. After holding the trans in place with a floor jack, Kevin swapped out the mounts. Meanwhile, I hogged out the two-firewall-located body-to-chassis mount holes.

Kevin cut holes in the frame webbing using an X-Acto knife.

We placed the SAR '34 Ford roadster pickup body on the chassis. Presto, a perfect fit! Dad, Kev, and I put fender washers, lock washers, and tightened the 3/8-inch nuts on the eight studs.

Knowing how sharp KIT CAR's readership is, we haven't explicitly pointed out all the automotive improvisation going on during this tech story. We'll denote this one, as it's very helpful. We bought some 3/8-inch steel studs and screwed them into the chassis. The studs showed us where to cut holes in the frame webbing, which Kevin marked, while Dad held the other end of the webbing tight. The studs will also hold the webbing in place, when we put the cab back on the chassis.

We installed the driver-side frame webbing. We won't be taping the webbing on the frame for a while since we'll be having the frame powdercoated and the body will be taken on and off the chassis many more times.