Hopefully that translates to a good hookin/handlin car.......

Well done mate, it's looking great.

Thanks, guys. I hope it hooks as good as it looks, too. I'd like it to run like a 160 mph Cadillac.

Got the brackets for the trans crossmember welded in this weekend, although I might swap out the dropped crossmember for a straight bar, since the engine and trans are sitting higher than expected. Ladder bar diagonal link is finished, also. Got the majority of the X brace between the trans crossmember and the ladder bar done. One more section left. I also figured out my welding problems. Evidently, the AllStar tubing I have been buying through Summit is not only coated on the outside with oil, but I found out the tubes are coated on the inside. The oil on the inside has been boiling and steaming out through the gaps, giving me fits. A little brake clean and some air went a long way to fixing that problem.

Kenny, DO NOT use brake clean before welding anymore! When heated it will create phosgene gas and it can kill you! You need to stick around to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

POSITIVELY CAN'T BE EMPHASIZED ENOUGH !!!! please guys, DO NOT EVER use brake kleen to clean joints before welding !!!

OK. I'll make sure I don't forget this one. I'm so glad they changed the chemical composition of brake clean to help out the birds and the frogs. FYI, with the heat and humidity here, I wasn't doing any welding without everything being bone dry. How about cleaning out the tubing with rubbing alcohol?

What to use them?

Acetone

I can use acetone even if I don't have nail polish on that day?
All kidding aside, I appreciate the valuable input from you guys, once again. The outside is easy enough to clean with soap and water, but the inside of the tubing is coated in oil as well.

Well, X brace is in, but I mounted it flush to the top of the frame rails, and I think I am going to have an interference issue with the driveshaft. I meant to mount it low, but forgot. Will probably end up cutting it out and putting a new X brace in lower in the frame. Added doubler tabs on the trans member mounts. Changed to a straight tube for the trans and still have to add a mounting pad. Painted the ladder bars and axle housing. Cut the front cross braces out from the frame to the rocker bars, so that I can fit in bent tubes to clear the headers. Man, that C/M tubing is tough stuff. Went through 3 Dewalt SawZall blades before I broke out the grinder with a cutoff wheel. Right side header fits better than I could ever build. Left side fits like crap. Touching the frame rail, seriously pointed down. Not sure yet if I am going to modify it or just build my own left side header.

Lookin great man.......

Haven't made too much progress. Head not on straight lately, bunch of crap at work. Got the pinion gear installed. Brought home wrong tool kit for spool bearing shims. Put Strange cover on to see how it looks. Got rear suspension painted up and put back in frame. Now to figure out all of the driveshaft angles.

Looks great man and can`t wait to see the end result............

Lookin good!

Thinking about a set of side exit headers. Probably exit through the lower fender in back of the front wheel. Does anyone have any experience with them? Do the exhaust rings really work as far as keeping the fiberglass from burning? Do those collector exhaust cones help keep the noise down without sacrificing too much power?

I run my exhaust through the fiberglass hood. I use a ring I made out of aluminum. No issues

Trying to get back on track. Set the tranny height to get my driveshaft angle close. Adjusted the ladder bars to get the pinion angle in line, too. Mounted the body back on, ran some jigs to keep the steering column and pedals in line. Then I unbolted the assembly from the firewall and weighed it. Another 35 pounds. Will probably mount a race steering column kit and pedals to the cage. I like the idea of the reverse mounted master cylinder, too. Just make an access panel on top of the new dash for fluid fill.

Not much to report lately. Slowly, getting back on track. Finally got the nose at least dropped onto the new frame. Need to come up with some ideas to make it quick take off and reinstall.
Heat and humidity is killer today. Internet says 94 degrees, feels like 105. To me, it feels at least 100 degrees hotter.