[Sam Powell]

Hi Guys, Still talking my old Dart here. I am kind of at loose ends on this project of improving the bottom of the car. I have finished the lower front, and now need to decide where to mover from here. I must keep in mind that this large cast iron engine produces a lot of heat that must be flushed out and down, and escape at the bottom of the car. I must leave the area under the engine and right behind it open. Right behind the engine is the torsion bar cross member. Further back by about 18" back is the trans cross member. I was going to close up the space between these two on each side which would probably smooth out the flow some. But the center must be left open for heat dissipation. There is a front sub frame which starts right at the Transmission cross member. I must leave this available for a jacking point, so cannot cover it on the bottom, but can fill between it and the side of the car. There is a very large pinch weld which extends down at the lower edge all along each side of the car. I can fasten things to this, but would like to use clips of some kind if possible, and not drill holes in this, primarily for rust consideration. I would rather not create open steel down where all the water and mud get thrown. So on to the topic of the thread:

As I stare at the bottom of the car, it seems maybe I should now start at the back and work my way forward, just to get the overlaps going in the right direction. So the live rear axle seems to be maybe the biggest obstruction under the car, and the one that might be the hardest to solve. Anything I do behind it must be coordinated with how I deal with the rear. It must be left free to move around. Is there any literature, or web information about how to handle this challenge? Any ideas floating around out there? Thanks for thinking about this. Am I just stuck with this liability?

Sam