Placing the outer suspension console, Seeking advice from those that have! Options

[Gudhjem]

Well, I discovered this past weekend that I need to replace the diagonal section of the passenger outer long. This is the part to the rear of the hell hole, inside the wheel well, that the outer suspension console attaches to. I found a pocket of rust in the ribbed portion of the inner layer of the outer long piece right next to the outer suspension console (water/battery acid must have seeped in from the engine compartment – the surrounding area, next to the rib, looks ok). It looks like I can cut away the rust to clean metal without removing the console, but that would mean welding my replacement part from RD, both layers of it, onto the existing long without having a piece tying them together. I don’t want to do that in such a critical load bearing spot, right where the long absorbs the suspension load. Therefore, I need to replace the diagonal long that sits behind the outer suspension console. I’m still holding out hope that the inner long in this area is okay…

I’d really been hoping, and planning, to not have to remove the outer suspension console. It’s not that it’s such a big deal to remove it, but I am worried about getting back on in exactly the right place. The inner console, which I will also be removing, should be pretty easy to place, even without the outer to help locate it. Although I’ve never done it, a few who have say the inner console can really only fit in one place.

But the outer? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

I see three options:

1. Take careful measurements, from firewall and vertical relative to the long, and use those to reattach.

2. Buy a tram gauge. This would be accurate for the lateral location, but I’m not really worried about lateral, especially if I get to keep the inner long part in place. The existing inner long half will dictate where the outer long goes laterally, which will determine where the outer console goes laterally.

3. Make a jig.

I think I like option 3 the best, but I’m not sure even use of a jig will give me enough accuracy. If I make a jig that reaches to the driver’s side as well, at least to the driver’s side inner console, that may be accurate enough. Wes Vann shows a jig (linked at Performanceforum.com) but he also is using a platform. My tub is on a rotisserie, though if I’d known how much metal I’d be removing, I might have gone with a platform as well (and yes, I have the car supported by 3 leveling jacks in addition to the 4 rotisserie attachment points, and also have 4 bars running across the door openings in an effort to keep things straight).

I’m hoping those of you that have had to locate the outer suspension console on a new RD outer long piece can offer insight as to how you did it, especially anyone that did it without a celette bench or a solid work platform under the car.

--Steve