Art Morrison Enterprises Chassis Install

Chevrolet Chevelle Project Shipping Crate

The first thing we did was unwrap the new Art Morrison Enterprises chassis from its shipping crate. This is AME's newest creation, ready to bolt underneath any '68-72 Chevelle, and it features an all-new AME front suspension design. The frame itself boasts six times more rigidity than a stock A-body frame.

The first thing we did was unwrap the new Art Morrison Enterprises chassis from its shippi

In the last installment of Project XS Chevelle, we took care of repairing the toe boards and our rusty front body mounts. Thanks to Goodmark Industries, the fabrication work on this repair was kept to a minimum, with most of the custom work needed being getting the body mounts back up to snuff.

In part three, we can finally get our front and rear Goodmark one-piece floorpan assemblies set in place, and make sure they fit right with the Chevelle's new Art Morrison Enterprises chassis. With the growing popularity of the '68-72 Chevelle with builders, the need for a full aftermarket chassis capable of handling the high horsepower of today's engines has become critical. Even the newest factory Chevelle frame is almost 40 years old. Under heavy torque and extreme handling, the stock frame is prone to cracking and twisting in certain areas because of the sharp angles and bends GM designed into the chassis. Add to that a lack of lateral bracing and a factory '68-72 frame can only take so much.

AME stepped in, using the design skills and knowledge from its other lines of full chassis to build a completely new A-body structure. Out back is Morrison's triangulated four-bar rear suspension.

Chevrolet Chevelle Project Fixture Table

To make sure everything was lined up precisely, a fixture table was set underneath the body and leveled before the AME chassis was set in place. This is a very critical part of the build. If anything were out of alignment by even a fraction of an inch, it would throw off every other repair on the car, including the quarter-panel and door replacement.

To make sure everything was lined up precisely, a fixture table was set underneath the bod

This design provides a more stable and lower roll center than the stock Chevelle four-link system, with the benefit of very predictable handling traits. A new 9-inch rear housing is used, with AME's own DOM axle tubes welded on, along with CNC-machined housing ends and bracketry. An optional back brace can be added for cars intended for very high horsepower. An adjustable anti-roll bar and adjustable coilovers let the customer fine tune the car to the level of desired performance.

Up front, AME created an all-new suspension design. Eight different designs were tried before this one was chosen. To package the suspension around the engine placement, a new set of control arms, crossmember, and steering arm were configured just for this application, resulting in a great performance handling suspension. With tubular upper and lower control arms designed for strength and to maximize the available room for tire clearance, it sets the C6 Corvette spindle at 5.5 degrees of caster and features a static 0.5 of positive camber. This leads to an aggressive camber gain as the suspension goes through its range of motion. With it being a C6 spindle, numerous aftermarket brake options are available. As part of all AME chassis, a new tubular, adjustable anti-roll bar and adjustable shocks allow for the customer to fine-tune the level of performance to their comfort level and driving style. A power rack-and-pinion rounds out the front suspension package.

The crew at Classic Automotive Restoration Specialists had their tetanus boosters before diving into our rusty A-body again, and this time we managed not to spill any blood. Follow along as we get the car's foundation solidified, and show you some of the things involved with mating a new chassis to a new floor, to a car in less than stellar condition.

Once the chassis was set in place, it was leveled on the table, then the Goodmark one-piece floor was dropped in to check fitment of the floor to the frame, then the body on top of that.
Once the chassis was set in place, it was leveled on the table, then the Goodmark one-piec
After noticing some of the body mounts on the floor weren't lining up properly, the frame and floor were measured and compared with the factory specs to determine what was up. In the end it turned out to be nothing more than natural metal tendencies with stamped parts. After using a big ratchet strap to gently "squeeze" the floorpan, everything lined up just fine.
After noticing some of the body mounts on the floor weren't lining up properly, the frame
With the alignment set, the body was dropped back down to mark out any areas where more rusty metal needed to be cut away. For any build like this, at home or in a shop, following the old adage "measure twice, cut once" is a smart move. Though in our case, we measured three or four times to be absolutely certain.
With the alignment set, the body was dropped back down to mark out any areas where more ru

Because the Chevelle's overall structure was so weakened, even with the reinforcement bracing installed in our first installment, some things still had moved around and needed to be massaged back in place. Saving a car this rusty isn't an impossible task, but obviously takes more time, patience, and research. Because this car is so rare (again, only just over 7,000 convertibles built out of almost 700,000 total Chevelles), it makes the effort worthwhile.
Because the Chevelle's overall structure was so weakened, even with the reinforcement brac
With everything set, we could start cutting away the rotten trunk floor to make way for the Goodmark one-piece trunk pan. Since the front floor's placement directly affects the alignment/placement of the trunk/rear floor, we could go ahead and set this part of the car up.
With everything set, we could start cutting away the rotten trunk floor to make way for th
This is the convertible rear seat brace and mounting plate for the top mechanicals. There are no replacements for this piece, so we had to be very careful in cutting it out from the rusted floor section. The repair and transfer of this part will be similar with what we had to do with the front body mounts in our last story, and we'll cover it in a future article.
This is the convertible rear seat brace and mounting plate for the top mechanicals. There

Since part of the trunk floor makes up the tail panel, we needed to go ahead and cut away part of this area too, being careful to save certain areas we'll need later for full restoration of the tail. When cutting with a torch around these sections, pay close attention to the joint areas, as they tend to have gobs of joining compound from the factory. Once this stuff starts burning, it'll smoke you out of your shop or garage, and it reeks like a tire fire.
Since part of the trunk floor makes up the tail panel, we needed to go ahead and cut away
In this section, there's a spot welded seam that has to be separated. To make things easy, Tommy Barber did an initial cut away from the seam to remove as much metal as possible.
In this section, there's a spot welded seam that has to be separated. To make things easy,
Tommy cut all the way across the tail to clean this area out. Since parts of the tail area aren't reproduced, we had to find a donor car in a local junkyard (oddly enough a wrecked SS396) for a graft.
Tommy cut all the way across the tail to clean this area out. Since parts of the tail area

With the rusted tail section cleaned away, we can get the trunk floor set in place. At some point, the car was hit a second time-hard-in the right rear quarter, and the shock went all the way through to the trunk latch area. Straightening this out will be fixed as a combo with our new Goodmark sheetmetal and the donor metal we have from the yard.
With the rusted tail section cleaned away, we can get the trunk floor set in place. At som
After buzzing the area with a clean-up disc to expose the factory spot welds,
Tommy used a special drill bit (shown) to drill out the factory welds.

All GM factory sheetmetal has a part number stamped into it someplace. If you're examining a car and wondering if it's ever had metal replacement surgery, not finding these numbers is a good sign something's been done. In a restoration, this section can be cut out and welded into new sheetmetal to maintain an original look for judging.
All GM factory sheetmetal has a part number stamped into it someplace. If you're examining
Since the metal in this area is a little fragile, Tommy used a special "can opener" bit in the air chisel to separate the seam instead of using an air chisel.
Since the metal in this area is a little fragile, Tommy used a special "can opener" bit in
Before setting the trunk floor in, a heavy-duty hole punch was used to, well, punch holes along the lip of the trunk floor for when we weld the front and rear floor pieces together.
Before setting the trunk floor in, a heavy-duty hole punch was used to, well, punch holes

Here's the Goodmark one-piece trunk/rear floor section ready to be set in place. We're in a really critical area here, because if the floor is out of alignment even slightly, it will throw everything else on the car off and make for some brutal headaches later on.
Here's the Goodmark one-piece trunk/rear floor section ready to be set in place. We're in
The area where the rear pan joins the front needed some tweaking, so Tommy got out the cutoff wheel and made a couple of slices so we could get all the lips and overhangs to fit right.
The area where the rear pan joins the front needed some tweaking, so Tommy got out the cut
After a little of trimming and moving around, the rear pan was in place and bolted in. Since the rear quarter and wheelwell fit is directly related to the trunk pan, making sure this part of the car is exactly lined up is critical. For the DIY guys, it can't be stressed enough: Make sure you've got everything lined up properly before even touching a welder. If you have any doubts, go back and remeasure to be 100 percent certain.
After a little of trimming and moving around, the rear pan was in place and bolted in. Sin

With all the positioning verified and the main pans clamped securely in, it's time to tack weld the floors in place. With the front and rear pans installed, the car's structure is more sound than ever, and in our next installments we can start on replacing the tail area, quarter-panels, and readying the rear wheelwells for enlargement. We'll also be going back to the front of the car and cover repairing the windshield and upper cowl area.
With all the positioning verified and the main pans clamped securely in, it's time to tack

SOURCES
Art Morrison Enterprises 5301 8th Street E. Fife WA 98424 800-929-7188 www.artmorrison.com	Classic Automotive Restoration Specialists Inc. 8235 Nautical Point Drive Belews Creek NC 27009 336-595-3900 www.classicautomotiverestoration .com
Goodmark Industries 625 Old Norcross Road Suite E Lawrenceville GA 30045 877-477-3577 www.goodmarkindustries.com	Totally Stainless 717-677-8811 www.totallystainless.com