Due to the very specific space constraints on the driver side of my Celica I was wondering if notching the frame rail would be something to do or not to do. The area taking out might be a 3 inch by 3 in.² and maybe be a couple inches deep into the metal. The metal would be taken right at about where the firewall and frame rail meet. This chassis is a unibody
We do it on the V8 conversions. Put in a good solid gusset and you should be good.
Yeah, just reinforce that area and all will be well.
Shweet. Anyone got a pic of a gusset they've done to give me an idea?
The PDF for the V8 Miata swap on the flyinmiata site has some pics of the frame work one does to fit the pushrod beast in it.
That might tide you over until someone can provide some other pics :)
Thanks!
Where are you cutting?
I don't have any answers, I'm just curious.
In reply to Crackers:
I believe he's stuffing a Toyota V8 into his Celica and probably needs room for a header, bellhousing, pump, etc.
Bingo! Driver's side exhaust manifold has to clear the firewall, frame rail, and steering linkage.
I will admit that I have never notched a unibody "frame". I would be interested in this as well.
You can safely cut just about anything as long as you make sure you're not weakening the structure. If it's something heavily load bearing like a frame rail, you just need to reinforce around the cut area and/or provide a strong enough alternate load path (which can be easy sometimes on a unibody).
To the death wheel I go!
Make sure the car is uniformly supported before you cut so that it doesn't bend away when you cut it...
I meant more like where on the frame rail. Up near the tower, by the bulkhead, etc.
I'd imagine it would have an impact on the amount of added reinforcement needed.
If you're worried, you can reinforce the notched area of the frame with a "fish-plate". I just did something similar on my hot rod frame.
Also, here is unibody notch on a Honda, probably for a #stanced setup. Notice the extra thick piece he used to cover the notch.
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