Subframe connectors for a driver/cruiser, necessary to weld to floor?

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moparmat2000 said:
I have heard that they dont fit well to the ribbing in the floor because every car is a little different, requiring a lot of weld to fill gaps. USCT IS Definitely not a project to be done unless the car upside down on a rotisserie. I did both of mine with 2x3 steel box tube layed on its side, and slotting the rear foot wells.
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It does look like they require more fitting. That’s not hard. I can weld overhead. So that’s not an issue either.
 
Heres mine. Slotted at the rear and overlapping the framerail. E brake cable rerouted inboard of the connector so it runs parallel to it. I have seen people make big gaping slots in the connectors for cables. It kills the strength and looks like ***. I fitted this with a 4 speed setup. It clears the Zee bar well. Note the homemade torque boxes.

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i welded 1 x 2 x .100 req tube "Under" the stub frames @ front and back creating a box with the body. about 12-16 inches of overlap allows plenty of welding space on both sides. 67 Barracuda runs 12.6's 2 the track, leaves straight, no noticeable flex.
 
I didn't cut the floor on my 67 barracuda. I just bumped it up a little and plug welded the floor to the connector at that point.
 
Rat Bastid said:
I’ve been looking closer at sub frame connectors since I’m going to need them. What about the USCT connectors was it you weren’t fond of? I don’t mind fitting them. Was it you don’t like the way they weld to the floor?

I also need to duplicate your slider brackets. That’s a fall project.
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The USCT subframes are just a ton more labor intensive. The fitting isn’t terrible, or at least it wasn’t on my Dart that I installed them on. I did have to do some grinding and fitting but I expected that part. The welding overhead thing sucks, I did mine with the car elevated on 12 ton jackstands so it really wasn’t high enough to be comfortable. Slag falling on you etc. Plus the welding isn’t super easy, it’s just sheet metal and there’s a pretty substantial difference in thickness between the USCT subframes and the floor pan. And some of that was how I was doing it, I didn’t fully strip the car I just wire wheeled the weld area, my welder is a Millermatic 15 from 1972 so it doesn’t have all the automatic settings etc.

I made my own 1.5”x3” connectors for my Duster, even building them myself it was less work than the USCT ones. And the Duster still had a noticeable improvement in body stiffness. I’m not gonna say one style of connector is better, you’d need a full on finite element analysis or destructive testing to know the answer to that question, from my perspective both styles work well. I know for me I wouldn’t do the USCT ones again unless the car was fully blasted and on a rotisserie.
 
I have factory Torque Boxes on my 360 Duster with a mild 360 works perfect with a factory look
 
Fwiw I really like the hotchkiss subframe connectors although they are normally a bit expensive (I got them on a clearance sale a while ago) compared to making them yourself. They are great for someone who doesn't have the desire (like me/ limited time and lazy lol) to fab their own, they fit great with no floor issues.
 
Depends how there bolted in
Design right a bolted connection can be as strong as welded.
 
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