I started boxing my frame awhile ago and kind of delayed what I wanted to do with the front portion of the frame. I didn't want to box in the front of the frame and lose access the the hardware that attaches the crossmember to the frame. So, I decided to fabricate some bolt-in forward strut tubes from the firewall to the frame - similar to the bolt-in front clip kits for the early Novas. I took some leftover 1 3/4", 0.120 wall roll bar tubing and bent them to match the downward break line on the inner fender, so the forward struts would blend a bit; I also fabricated plates for the firewall and frame mounts. I used existing bolts in the firewall to simplify the firewall attachment. Here are a couple of final mock up photos before I start welding the tubing to the plates. These are the prototypes for another set that I will fabricate for a friend's '65. After seeing what I was doing, he bugged me to the point that I agreed to build him a set just to get him to leave me alone.
