I dunno...JHMO but if you finish bodywork it, blocking and all, and then swap frames and the gaps are off you may end up redoing some stuff. Worse yet if you painted it and then did the frame swap?
Just me, but I'd set it up with the new frame under it first OR do a limited amount of body work and then final when the new frame is under it.
I would also weld diagonal bracing in the door openings when moving the shell from one frame to the other.
When I did the frame off on my 57 Belair I was surprised to find that the door gaps etc were adjusted by placing shims under the body mounts. The instructions regarding where to place the shims were quite detailed. You might keep this idea in your back pocket if you find something can't be corrected otherwise.
Another Chevelle guy! I am doing a 71 right now. If you are doing the body work on your own you could get some of the rough body work done while waiting on the frame or saving up for one like I am doing. I am not going to get all the gaps done because I want to do that on the exact chassis that the car is going to be put together with. I did a W31 cutlass where I used to work and we did all the body work and the guy never told us that the chassis wasn't the original that he was going to be using. It made some difference in the way things lined up, but not too bad I guess. I am glad he told us before it was painted though because that wouldn't have been good! Good luck with the project.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
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