sfbd?

there are some sheets on mazdascene i thin it is that has all of the measurements.. i'd put the rails in the stock front clip, no zing them (personally i dont see the need), then lower your body mounts down for a full 2 and whatever drop you need.. then flatten sections of the floor pan where the frame hits, or raise that those little areas slightly.. hell for that amount of bodydrop, you could channel the cab and never notice it.

Originally posted by potter



there are some sheets on mazdascene i thin it is that has all of the measurements.. i'd put the rails in the stock front clip, no zing them (personally i dont see the need), then lower your body mounts down for a full 2 and whatever drop you need.. then flatten sections of the floor pan where the frame hits, or raise that those little areas slightly.. hell for that amount of bodydrop, you could channel the cab and never notice it.

Why not Z? You are already in there building the new rails anyways which makes setting the Z up really easy anyways. Just set your new rails even with the front x member(about 1/2 inch for a mazda) and remember to add the extra 1/2" into the amount you lower the bumper/core support mount and you're done. Your motor will still clear the hood if you lower the body mounts 2 1/4" to lay a shaved or rolled pinch weld. You will need to drop the engine mounts down a bit which is easy to do anyways since you already have a welder and sawzall handy for doing the stockfloor anyways. Z ing it will get rid of the slight runout you will have front to back otherwise and it makes it so you drag a full rail as opposed to just the front x member and the rear bit behind the cab equaling more sparks for your inner dragger(I think we all have one, lol)

turns out I'm going to flat rocker, my engine x-member is 1/2" off the ground, and there is no engine or mounts in right now, so thats not a problem. I'm just gonna go to the flat part of the rockers right under the door an inch down or whatever it is. So I am going with a channel as well as the stock floor. Would I just cut the rockers at the hard line and then weld in a piece of flatstock or somethign along that line?

If you do a channel job along with your stockfloor you will have no room left underneath to run your exhaust. You will probably be better off doing a traditional BD instead of a channel in your case. You can cut your rocker off along the line about an inch or so under the door and weld a flat plate in place tying it into both the inner and outer rocker. You can have a small return bent into the front edge and slip it behind what remains of the outer rocker. This will give you a nice crisp edge and give the rocker a little bit of extra strength. Try and use cold rolled stock for the new rocker bottom as it will be cleaner and easier to do body work on. 1/8 or 3/16 should be plenty thick to make the new bottom out of.