CJ - that wasn´t a good tip, I´ve been all over the place asking for advice, and that thread is buried way down now
- so it´s gotta be hard to find.
stag: - I only did one chassis leg, but both tie plates. Along the road, I found out the car had been in a crash, rendering most frontal parts more or less twisted, which made everything guesswork when it comes to alignment.
In any case, I´d recommend you to do a fair share of measurements with the car level - this way, you know your car is true to begin with.
You will need to do these before you start cutting things out, and with doors and wings still in place. The front/grille is better left off.
First, put your car into a level position (zero degree tilt in any plane). Then measure up the car as per the diagram in the workshop manual and also note down Alans measurements from this thread:
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/index.php?name=P ... t=geometry
(I couldn´t use the diagram, as I had no true untouched points in the chassis. Everything was either twisted or badly corrected and therefore unuseable as a ref. point.)
After these measurements you will know if your car is true. Once you know, things are easier. Keep the car level, and start making your own points of reference:
Find your engine room centerline. Measure distances, divide in 2 and mark up ( verify by diagonal measurements where possible), use firm and true points like the bumper pin thread ends, front crossmember/damper bolt fixtures. You will eventually find it. Use helper objects (masking tape stretched between chassis legs or a piece of wood held in place) if there is thin air where your centerline is. You will need this, so just do it, while the stuff is still not cut out. The more ref points you have, the better. Don´t forget to take pics of (and docoment in writing) these points - you will need to know where they were when stuff is cut out.
Do NOT cut out both chassis legs at once. Not even both tie plates.
You will need the cross references the remaining stuff will give.
And you will need the strength and whatever stiffness is still in the chassis.
Finally, Photoshop is your friend. And the engine mount holes are too - do some direct measurements between the holes in the chassis legs. Take some diagonals to a fixed point on the othe engine room side. Measure in three dimensions.
I couldn´t do much of this, since my car was twisted. I had to guess. Check this:
Photoshop rotated to be level, and then horiz. and vertical lines inserted to see if stuff lines up. It´s hard to see live, much easier here. And don´t forget to check if things are level, too. All too easy to miss on a rollover thingy. Roll it back to level now and then - just to keep your sanity. I didn´t have a rollover jig, but got semi-crazed anyway just by the slight slope in the garage.
Take your time. Measure twice or thrice. Hold your breath and THEN cut or weld.
= good bang for the buck.