Topic: Measurement request

[jmlay]

I am doing a it of front end work on my 69 & would like to verify a measurement I made before dis-assembly, preferably from an original "untouched" car. Would someone be willing to measure from the cowl to the front of the radiator support. THis would be just above the pich wels & right beside the bracket that attaches the apron to the cowl. I attempted to depict the measurement I am looking for in the picture below but pint & I did not get along very well.

Thanks,

[Brian Conway]

     43 and 3/16's "   Brian

[jmlay]

Brian,

Thanks for the quick response. MY original was 43.5" but had been previously repaired, clipped between the shock towers & the front aprons. I am now fixing this properly by replacing everything from the firewall forward.

[suskeenwiske]

To make sure that everything is square, make diagonal measurements as well.

Ray

[cobrajetchris]

The one measurement you requested will do you little good if you are replacing everything from the cowl forward. Before you start cutting the front end off, I have a few questions. The front end was clipped between the shock towers and the apron?? Are the original shock towers still on the car and in good condition with no major rust or obvious damage? The best way to tell if your shock towers are in the correct position is to install a original export brace. This works very well and if it bolts up correctly you know your shock towers are In the correct position at least with the upper body. To measure the lower unibody you will need to do X type measurements from a control point. There are several holes in the frame rails and measure several of them and they should all be symmetrical. Let me know exactly what the situation is on why you feel the entire front end from the cowl forward needs to be replaced and I may be able save you a lot of work.  Chris

[J_Speegle]

There are factory frame measurements posted in the library for these cars under

1969 MUSTANG  RELATED

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

- 67-71 Frame Alignment Diagrams Scans of frame alignment diagrams from various sources.

Not sure if you've already looked at those or if they apply - but they should help in replacing and realigning those front panels

[jmlay]

Chris,

Thanks for your interest. I certainly understand your reasoning. The decision to replace all of the metal, firewall forward, was not an easy decision. In short prior to my owning the car it was "clipped", front of another car grafted onto the front of this car. While all of the measurements are within the specs of the chassis diagram the quality of work is extremely poor. As an example the welds were not fully penetrating & they frame rails were hammered in with 1/4" plates welded on the outside for structural support. Also the aprons between the shock tower & firewall had been replaced & both shock towers had be hacked up. No accident damage to the firewall just damage from all of the poor repairs prior to my purchase, firewall is int he unmodified OEM location. I worked this area over a few years ago but was never happy with the frame rails. I began working on the car again & found more damage in front of the shock towers, this was the last straw. I chose to replace rather than keep hacking together this car, it deserves better. Yes, it is a 428 Ram air car but it will never be a concourse car. After 20 years of owning & only being drive twice it is time to get it back on the road. The rest  of the care will be as close to original as possible with a few tasteful modifications, nothing that can not be returned easily.

More to the story here, http://www.428cobrajet.org/forum/index.php?topic=204.0.

Please do not assume I blatantly chopped the front of the car off & now trying to recover. I built a "table" to stabilize the body so that quality measurements could be obtained. Once the table was completed & the body mounted I verified the measurement per the chassis dimensions sheets available online. Additionally I made several of my own measurements. After all of this was documented I remove & replaced the driver assembly, this required modifications in order to get to my measurements, shorted a 1/4" between the shock tower & the firewall. Prior to installing the driver TQ box I have chosen to remove & replace the passenger frame rail in case I needed to make adjustments, once the TQ box is installed it is virtually "permanent". Once I trial fit the passenger side I can see it there is 1/2" to much length between shock tower & the firewall. I do not have pictures handy but you can clearly see the by looking at the car the shock tower needs to go back toward the firewall a 1/2", the shock tower brace does not lineup & the "horn" for the engine mount is to far forward. I wanted input from others prior to making adjustments.

Jeff,

Thanks for the reference of the chassis diagram. I had previously downloaded them from another location but it is great information for this sites library.

Thanks,