4.28.21 FRONT CROSSMEMBER IS BACK IN

We had another good day of progress and the truck didn't fight us.

I'm very pleased with the quality of the aftermarket hood hinges made by Switch Suspension and wouldn't hesitate to purchase more parts from them in the future. Good quality stuff and that's appreciated after the rear axle swap ordeal.

Having installed Switch's well-designed hood hinge pockets in the tops of the cowls on the driver and passenger sides, we can now move forward with putting the front clip back together. 

But first, we ha a bit more fabrication to do. 

The passenger-side drag link mount will need to have a plate made in order to raise it 1.5" to make up for the steering box being raised the same amount. IT will also be moving forward 1.0" to make up for the cross member being moved forward. 

Finally, we will be notching the underside of the passenger frame the same as the driver side to prevent any frame interference and keep the suspension geometry perfectly level. 

We also have the pancaked cross-member back up in position an inch forward of its original location which will perfectly center the wheels in the wells.

After taking some rudimentary measurements to make absolutely certain it's dead square, I'll finalize the redrilled holes in the frame and buy new grade-8 nuts and bolts to replace the old ones. Slight overkill but what the hell. These are key attachment points and aligning the cross member as perfectly as possible is worth the extra effort. 

With the new hinge pockets fabricated, I primered everything in black. My painter pal subsequently painted the section above the firewall in that same black as the firewall. 

In doing so, the underside of the wiper area will disappear when the wiper panel is reattached. 

Yes, friends, it was a good day in hot rodding hell. 

Onward!