Best Practices for Engman Kit Install, How to install without chassis warpage... Options

[ConeDodger]

I just picked up my car from McMark's shop today. Original Customs for the uninformed. I had him install the Engman Kit I got in the last group buy. I had heard the stories of door gaps shrinking and things not lining up and that is why I gave this job to Mark. My car is a 70K mile preservation and I am only the second owner. The door gaps were perfect going in and perfect coming out.

Nice work Mark! If you are thinking of doing this, I highly recommend Mark and if you are too far away, definitely ask how he did this. His method worked without any body warping...

Thanks! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[McMark]

Rob, I reworded you title slightly. Not that you were wrong, but I think mine is slightly clearer.

I installed the kit with no additional bracing or support, with the car sitting on its wheels. There was absolutely no warping and no change in the door gaps.

I 'dry fit' the kit to make sure everything looked and fit exactly how I wanted it. I then modified two drill bits to prepare each hole for the rosette weld. One drill bit passed through the hole to clear the paint from the long, the other cleared the E-Coat from the kit. I'll post pictures of those modified drill bits and pictures of the install on Tuesday. I also used self tapping sheet metal screws to secure and pull the kit into place.

I took my time doing the installation and prepped three or four holes at a time, welded them, waited a bit, then repeated. Took me about 15 hours to remove the interior, prep everything, weld, grind, paint, and reinstall the interior.

It's important for me to mention that the Engman Kit fits absolutely perfectly. I didn't have to tweak, modify, or otherwise manipulate his parts. They dropped right into place. And as long as you work SLOW and METHODICALLY you have no danger of warping the chassis. Rushing and welding too much, too fast are easy mistakes to make and WILL cause problems. Prepping all the welds ahead of time is a mistake that will encourage you to weld too fast. I also welded starting at one end and work consistently towards the other. I figure that jumping from one end to the other can 'trap' stress in the long. My thinking is that if you make a weld, and that heat distorts the metal, if you make another weld farther away while the original metal is in an 'altered state', your second weld will 'trap' and lock the metal into that 'altered state'. By keeping the welds together, I think you'll keep the 'trapping' to a minimum.

Pictures on Tuesday.