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here is the spacer welded in place. if you dont have this in there the notch plates will bow in when you weld the frame to the inside of the notch plates. if it bows in, the top cap will not fit properly.

 

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the top of the frame is then welded to the step notch plates.

 

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next, the bottom of the plates is welded to the frame.

 

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now that the frame is solid in the notch area, we can cut the frame out thats in the center of the notch. again, cut off disks rule. you have more control over a hand grinder than a sawzall. a sawzall will work great too.

 

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the center has exited the premisis and was chucked across the shop.

 

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when using a cut off disk, wear a face shield and gloves. sometimes they catch and explode. you can lose an eye or get disk debris stuck in your face. not good.

 

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it is now time to fit the top cap. since the frame is not square, it has to be trimmed to fit. we made a template out of poster board and transfered the shape to the cap. then zipped it with the plasma.

 

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when the top cap fits like you want it to, tack it in place.

 

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on the drivers side you have the tail light wiring to deal with. here we cut an access hole to run the wires inside the notch. it will shorten the overall length of the wires some, so you may have to add a few inches to get reconnected. we havnt made it that far yet. if we have to lengthen the wires its no biggie.

 

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here is the access hole. you will need one on both sides of the drivers side notch. make sure to smoothen the jagged edges.

 

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the top cap is now being fully welded in place. this pic doesnt do justice to how smooth my bro's beads are. im jealous.

 

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here is another pic of the top cap and the outide plates getting fully welded.

 

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the top cap is now finished. the inside cap has been trimmed to fit and tack welded into place.

 

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after the inside cap is tacked and checked over, it is fully welded.

 

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here they are. all done... almost. they still need to be coated with either some good paint or undercoating to keep them from rusting.

this frame will now lay out on 20's easily. i think it might even lay on 22's. i'd have to re-measure to see.

now you dont have to go through all the bull crap we did to install a step notch. it just depends on how much time you have and if you want to move around inside the frame. it does make the install go alot smoother and cleaner.

last pic........