[oilcan henry]

I'm doin' a front end clip on a 48 plymouth 4 dr. sedan. Plannin' on usin' a Volare front end. I heard that this can be done without cutting off my original frame. Is this true? If so, how??

[willys36@aol.com]

Wow, that's a blast from the past! Haven't heard of using one of those for 10 or 15 years. Volare clips are old tech and not very sanitary, but far be it from me to dissuade you from installing something different than a belly-button MII. The main attraction of the Volare front clip is that it unbolts from the donor car in one unit and can be bolted into the ne own the same way. Only need to make sure your brackets are welded to the new frame to yield the proper ride height. In a full fendered fat car they can be made to work OK.

[Pony]

I put an 1980 Chrysler K-member on my 53 Ford Sedan, but I cut the old frame off about a foot in front of the firewall and installed a rectangular tube frame with mounting pads. The coil spring towers on the stock frame were right where the back pads needed to be. The end result was well worth the effort. The car has been on the road as a daily driver for about 1 1/2 years now and handles/rides great. I think there's a couple pics of the frame in my gallery, I'll look and see if I have any others and post them.