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Old 03-03-2022, 09:02 PM
jblaine86 jblaine86 is offline
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Default Camaro Ridetech 4 link cradle

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.
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Jon
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Old 03-04-2022, 04:10 AM
srode1 srode1 is offline
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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.
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Old 03-04-2022, 07:42 AM
dhutton dhutton is offline
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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
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Old 03-04-2022, 07:58 AM
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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.
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Old 03-04-2022, 09:27 PM
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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.
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Old 03-05-2022, 08:25 PM
Pro Touring Store Pro Touring Store is offline
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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
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Old 03-11-2022, 03:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pro Touring Store View Post
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.
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Old 03-11-2022, 05:29 PM
srode1 srode1 is offline
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Quote:
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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?
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Old 03-11-2022, 09:59 PM
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Correct, but they were in mint condtion.
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Old 03-22-2022, 11:28 AM
rickpaw rickpaw is offline
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Mine dropped right in. I used the provided screws to snug up the cradle, and stitched weld a few spots around the sides.
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