My dad was lookin at some subframe connectors for my 3rd gen, and he was wondering if anybody has ever made them their selves?? he's a pipe fitter, very good with metal..but he wants to know what and where they connect...does anybody have any detailed pictures of the install...and do you think homemade ones can be done, or should i just spend the money and buy some???

 

Mine were made by a local chassis shop. There's some pictures on my web site that show roughly where they are. All you need is some 2" x 2" square tubing (not heavy walled pipe). Weld them anywhere to the front subframe and rear subframe. Mine run roughly right under the seats. They don't have to run along the rocker panels.

 

anybody else got some pics??? i couldn't really tell by those pics...i could prolly figure it out if i went out in the garage and looked it at, but pictures always help!

 

How will you make the necessary bends? By the time you consider materials and all the effort, I doubt it would be worth it. My alston racing (www.alstonracing.com) SFCs can be viewed on their page. They cost me $300 and that included them welding it for me.

 

http://para.noid.org/~thresher/images/albums/033101/

Here are the pics of my dad's SFC's he made and installed on his 92 Camaro. He also put a set of the same type on his 90 Trans Am.

 

That looks similar to mine but mine aren't mounted as far forward. The front subframe goes back to the side of the tranny. Mounting it anywhere to the subframe will work. My rear mount is almost in the identical position.

You don't have to bend the SFC anywhere. Straight tubing works fine if you keep it along the floor lines. Like in the above pictures, a slash cut and gussets can be done to make them fit better.

 

OK. I routed through all my pictures and have found these. The underside of the car is dirty plus things like the TH400 and homemade crossmember are gone now but the SFC are still the same.

www.hardtail.com/pics/temp/sfc-front.jpg
www.hardtail.com/pics/temp/sfc-rear.jpg

 

awesome!! those helped out a bunch...so 2x2" square material is good right??? my dad gets it all from work for free, and we are ognna weld it on ourselves..so i'm pretty sure its gonna be worth it aklim...and for 300 bucks, i think i'll give the homemade way a shot!

 

There's always the pride of doing something yourself even if it ends up costing more than a commercially available item.

 

Where would you take your car to have sfc's made and put into your car? and how much on average do they charge?

 

Mine were done by a local chassis shop but just about any good welding shop should be able to do it once they understand where they have to go. Mine were done 5-6 years ago so I can't remember how much it was. You can guess at 2-3 hours shop rate plus materials. Since they're welded to the floor, if the carpet needs to be taken out, that's going to cost even more unless you do it yourself.

 

Only if it works as good. I have seen the Alston ones and they bolt up real easy or you can weld them. Nicely bent too. Not sure you can do it yourself without the jigs and benders. Or at least not as well.

 

the way i see it is...for free, i'm thinking the outcome is gonna be good enuf!!!

 

Where can you get the Alston ones? And for how much?

 

They don't HAVE to, but they should be for several reasons:

1. Perimeter type frames are much more rigid.
2. The style that fits up under the floopans creates ground clearance issues.
3. The factory provided a nice place for you to tuck them up in along the rocker panels, so why not use it?
4. The perimeter style SFC allow you to stitch weld to the rockers themselves, in addition to the subframes for greater rigidity.
5. The perimeter style also makes lifting the car so much easier.

I bought my SSM (now out of business) SFCs for just over $100, and had them welded up properly on a suspension lift at a local 4x4 and speed shop for $100.

BTW - the difference is amazing. You won't believe its the same vehicle!