removable front clip?

[Siqx20]

I want to pull the whole front clip off my truck. From the firewall up. Its gonna make it easier to work on shit and such and It would just be nice. Has anyone ever done this? Or know how?

[bonvo]

if i remember correctly the inner fenders are welded to the firewall making the core support part of the cab

[Siqx20]

i kno iwant to change that

[Slixon]

I've done it a couple times and about to do it again...fml, if memory serves its mostly spot welds. Just replace with rivetes. Whole thing isn't hard tho.

[Siqx20]

Have u done it on a 620 before I was planning on just drilling them out and making it removable like welding a nut one one side then a bold on the other. Im just not where all the spot welds are.

[datzenmike]

Even if it was removable what about the harness? The plugs are inside the cab. Only the horns, lamps, side markers and turn signals stay wired. Alt, tranny wires, starter, oil pressure sender, choke heater, idle cut, dizzy, temp sender, fuel and return line, fuel tank vent line, hood release cable rad hoses (auto trans cooler lines)... all need to be disconnected

[Sealik]

Done it on a 720.

'Just' have to find all the factory spot welds and drill them out...etc...etc.

Before you weld it back on... make sure the clip is square to the cab and the truck is sitting level

I used a come-a-long to pull the new clip hard up to the firewall for alignment/welding.

I then put a nice bead of urethane on all the seams...came out rather well :D

[pharouh]

It'll take some work,but you can go this way. I did years ago. wish I still had this one.

 

 

 

[Slixon]

I would like some info on your tilt front end Pharouh.

[pharouh]

It really wasn't all that hard to do. I did it in the parking space of the apartment where I used to live. :thumbup:

Take the front fenders,hood,bumper w/brackets,valance off. Then remove the radiator,and unplug the wiring,washer bottle,and anything that mounts to the fenderwells and core support. It's probably a good idea to unplug the wiring harness where it comes through the firewall. You can drill out the welds,but I used a jigsaw. I used some heavy duty gate hinges and mounted them to the core support and the frame where the mounts were.The radiator mounts to a pair of L brackets on the frame and threaded rod at the top.You'll have to drill holes through the bolt holes in your fenderwells and into the hood. Basically you'll bolt the the hood,fenderwells,and fender together in one piece. The fenders will have to be cut at the bottom like I did,unless you figure out a better way.The wiring was the worst part. You'll have to extend some sections of the harness,and reroute it along the frame. The battery will have to mount in the bed. I would do things differently today if I was doing this again. maybe use a Chevy LUV hood release mounted on the firewall.We used dzus fasteners to hold the fenders on the sides. Kind of awkward to undo 6 fasteners just to open the hood. And you will need fenderwells. I didn't use them at first,but the first time out a sudden shower came up,and it got wet and died. :angry:

Sorry I don't have pics of the construction,but if you need any help let me know.

 

 

[Slixon]

It has a great look.. Im redoing my front clip anyway so I might do this.

[pharouh]

It makes doing major engine work easier too. A few bolts.unplug a couple of things ,and the whole front comes off. It's not real heavy either. I used to do it myself.

You might want to look for another harness.It makes it easier to extend it in a couple of places.Use an inline fuel filter or mount the original one to the firewall like I did.

 

I had to redo my front clip too. :(

 

[]2eDeYe]

Ouch :(

[Slixon]

Yeah I did my whole front clip i.e. fenders hood center support like 2 years ago. Well cruising a couple of weeks ago 2 cars wrecked a third stopped and I slid 20 ft to kiss it. I wasn't running a bumper so the damage was pretty good. Now I have the constant feeling of dejavu. Fml. I think the removable front clip would be cool and since I'm doing it again might as well give it a shot.