Camaro Ridetech 4 link cradle

[jblaine86]

What floor mods have people done to there Camaros to get the Ridetech 4 link cradle to fit? I have a 69 Camaro and have hammered the floor but the cradle still doesn’t sit flush on the frame rails.
Thanks
Jon

[srode1]

Depending on how much of a gap you have the bolts may pull it up in to place. Mine were about 1/8 of an inch maybe a bit more with the vertical fasteners slightly snugged. The fasteners pulled it in to place. If you need to, weld a piece of flat steel to the rail to fill the gap. It's a good idea to weld it to the frame rails and not rely on the fasteners too.

[dhutton]

When I installed one many years ago I had to weld in a couple of shims because no amount of BFH action on the trunk floor would get it flush.

Don

[68454RS]

I used a floor jack with a stack of 2x4's cut to fit the cradle as I used the jack to put upward pressure on the cradle. Mine was fairly close and simply bolted in but welded for peace of mind.
Resized_20201128_124649 by F G, on Flickr

[Tinker]

Mine also would not suck up tight to the rails on my 69 Firebird. I made some shims out of 1/8 inch aluminum to fill the gaps on the bottom side of the frame. In my subsequent teardown for the next chapter, I came across some loose screws. It seems the self tappers don't have much to bite into on a 50 year old frame that was thin to begin with. I have installed nutserts in the frame and use grade 8 bolts to be able to really snug it up now.

[Pro Touring Store]

Last one I did, also had to make shims to go between the bottom of the rail and the cradle; the bolts would not bring it up, neither would a floor jack. May have sacrificed 1/4" of ride height, but that wasn't a big deal.
It's also best to put some stitch welds in a few areas per side to help rigidity.

-Dale

[Vegas69]

Originally Posted by Pro Touring Store

Last one I did, also had to make shims to go between the bottom of the rail and the cradle; the bolts would not bring it up, neither would a floor jack. May have sacrificed 1/4" of ride height, but that wasn't a big deal.
It's also best to put some stitch welds in a few areas per side to help rigidity.

-Dale

I agree with this philosophy. Mine was fully welded into the frame and I ended up cracking the frame right where it was welded. Those rails are super thin.

[srode1]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

I agree with this philosophy. Mine was fully welded into the frame and I ended up cracking the frame right where it was welded. Those rails are super thin.

were those the original rails?

[Vegas69]

Correct, but they were in mint condtion.

[rickpaw]

Mine dropped right in. I used the provided screws to snug up the cradle, and stitched weld a few spots around the sides.