1951 Ford Woodie - A Quick & Easy Ifs Upgrade

Remember that car we started out with? Well, here's how it looks after the original front frame section has been removed. It's almost ready for reassembly.

Once the front frame assembly is out of the way, and some time has been taken to clean up the carnage, the next step is to smooth and square off the frame stubs. Just hit 'em lightly-all you want is a nice mating area for the new stub 'rails to match up to.

Each framerail is drilled from the factory in four matching spots (two on each 'rail). The holes on the left side were where the original steering box was located, and if I remember correctly, the right side holes mounted the idler arm. It's these four holes that initially mount and correctly locate the new SRE stub assembly.

Here you can see the new SRE frame stub ready to be hefted into place. The flat plates located just to the rear of the coil spring pockets locate the assembly on the remains of the original frame. The holes in the plates match up with the aforementioned factory drilled holes in the frame with bolts provided in the SRE stub kit.

The next step is to lift the stub into place. Richard and Matt handled the job while I performed all the heavy looking on. For those of us who either prefer or are forced to work alone, a floor jack can be used to position the stub for the initial bolt-up.

With the new stub in place and snugged up via the four mounting bolts, recheck the measurements that were recorded at the outset of the install-both the framerail height and that it's level from side to side.

When all the measurements are deemed correct, tack-weld the subframe to the original frame in several places on each 'rail, then go ahead and recheck your measurements to make sure nothing has shifted.

If everything is in order after tack welding, the next step is to finish weld each 'rail. Remember to skip around from side to side welding a little at a time to prevent warpage from overheating the steel.

And there ya go-all the hard work is behind and it's time for the bolt-on phase of the job. I told ya it was easier than you might expect!

The bolt-on phase may differ a bit according to how you order your Street Rod Engineering stub kit. Richards Wheel & Chassis always opts for the optional tubular control arms and big-brake setups, but coilover setups are available as well.

Next, bolt up the upper and lower control arms.