I am putting my 79 on a diet while I have everything apart to rebuild the engine, trans and susp. I just removed the front clip, bumper support/vaccum canister and headlights. I'm going with recessed lights to avoid vaccum gremlins and I also want to lighten up the frontend. It's going to be registered as a classic so inspection won't be a problem but I do want to get some occasional passes at the strip. I want to know if someone out there has made a custom support for the frontend and if they have pics of it. Right now I have taken some pics of mine and plan to do some photochoppin to get some ideas, but I'm also concerned about strength. Will the frontend twist from a powerfull engine or can I just fab something up to support the nose from dropping? I have seen some guys on here that weld in gussets between the frame rail and the front main crossmember to help with twisting and I think I can take care of that, but would like to see a proven layout that won't crack the front clip.
I also plan on getting a new nose section made of fiberglass because the old rubber one is too flexable for this. I think that with the right support and a tougher nose, it will sturdy up the frontend. I think I can re-use some of the original braces and just lighten them up then just fab the rest to re-mount the grills and running lights. what do you guys think?

 

Been there done that...



Here's my new front bumper...

Read more about it here:

http://c3-r.com/c3rimages/nps/nps1/cus/fro/index.htm

And my Radiator support:



Read more about it here:

http://c3-r.com/c3rimages/nps/nps1/cus/rad/index.htm

 

Well I was talking about totally removing the bumper and fabricating just a brace to hold up the body. That new bumper looks great and all but you still need the heavy front section on to mount it to. All in all those peices weigh about 150 lbs and I'm really not too worried about front impact with what I'm going to do with it. Nice peices though.

 

The upper control arm brace. VB&S sells it. I made my own, and it really strengthens the front end with a very small weight penalty. Losing the pop-up headlights is a significant savings, by the way, and it's weight all the way at the front in the worst spot. Radiator is also very far forward and an aluminum unit helps a bunch. Don't forget the alloy waterpump!

Hans

 

Not sure what heavy piece are you talking about. The copy I made of the original utterly heavy stock front bumper is now totally made out of aluminum, it's still strong and it's 80% lighter than the stock unit. So are the side supports. Everything still looks pretty much stock. Mine's no more than a support, it's very light aluminum, no real help in case of an impact...

 

[QUOTE=Wrencher Losing the pop-up headlights is a significant savings, by the way, and it's weight all the way at the front in the worst spot. Don't forget the alloy waterpump!

Hans[/QUOTE]

The popup headlights weigh 19 lbs each

the rubber and steel bumper= 43 lbs

the vaccum canister/ bumper support= 39 lbs

alluminum high flow water pump

 

I made the new radiator support with a couple of bolts that reach over to the frame extension. I went to home depot and bought a section of 3/8" steel pipe and cut it to fit in between the radiator support and the frame extension. It holds everything nice and tight like the original setup but is alot lighter. From the first pic it looks like the bolt is being hung down by weight but it's just the way I drilled the holes and cut the steel pipe. I had to angle the pipe to mate flush with the frame extension.



This next pic was taken from underneath on the passengers side



And the third one was taken from the passenger side wheel well