Ok made a little more progress today.
Phazer II skid is in and moving freely. Had to wrestle it around all the rivets inside the tunnel up front which was a pain in the... Yeah.
Sooo continuing on the front end,
Step five; strip the receiving sled down in prep for its new front end.
-remove the seat, plastic "knee panels", gas tank and air box
-remove the hood
-remove the carb and oil tank
-remove the clutch guard and primary clutch
-pull the motor. This step is necessary to change the tie rods unless you decide to cut and extend the SS tie rods. Chances are your tie rod ends are sloppy anyways and need to be replaced so just do the dirty deed and pull the motor.
-remove the cdi as well as anything else that shouldn't get wet pending step six.
Step six is also optional but worth the time.
-Wheel the thing outside, degrease the engine bay and pressure wash it
Step seven; bring it back in and finish disassembly.
-remove the hood hinges and hold down straps for the rear
-remove the front bumper. **There is a rivet holding the bumper to the support bracket welded to the ends of the cross member** drill it out on both sides.
-loosen up the ski spindle on both sides. You will need to remove them to get the BP sides off.
-remove the belly pan sides. One side at a time with the sled tipped on its side. There are three rivets up the back by the foot wells and a dozen or so along the bottom of the belly pan. Remove the nut from the top of the spindle and pull it out. Pull the side off and slide the spindle/ski assembly back in. Reinstall the nut finger tight to hold it in. The reason for this is the sled wont stay up on its side without the ski to hold it.
-set the front of the sled up on something sturdy. I use a milk crate
-pull the spindle/ski assembly out of both sides
When you are done, you will be left with this
At this point it is a good idea to measure and mark out a center line on the crossmember tube.
Step eight; cut the stub ends off the frame. Same process as step 4. The only real difference between the SRV, SS and XLV bulkhead is the crossmember tube.
Step 9; you need to pound a sleeve into the cross member. The inside diameter of the crossmember is 2.18" or 2 3/16". For this I use 2.25" or 2 1/4" tube and cut a .25" slit up the side, squeeze the seam shut and weld it back up. This reduces the outside diameter of the tube to 2.18" and should be a fairly tight fit inside the crossmember.
You can also have some .25" wall, 2.25 OD tubing turned down to 2.18" at a machine shop. I've never had luck finding anything with a 2.18" OD at my steel suppliers. Maybe a piece of schedule 40 pipe will be close
You can also drill .375" or 3/8" holes through the cross member and srv stubs for plug welds but I don't see it necessary.
Your sleeves should be approximately 4 inches long. 3 inches inside the cross member and 1 inch inside the stub. Tack the sleeve to the cross member.
Step nine; pound the stub on to the sleeve. Use a chunk of 2x4 to avoid damage to the strut assembly. **there are grease zerks on each side in very vulnerable spots. Remove these before pounding the stubs on**.
Do not tack the stub to the sleeve until you mock the belly pan sides up. There is a stud on the side of the strut can that goes through a hole in the bracket that attaches the two belly pan sides.
Step ten; mock up the belly pan sides.
-start with the front first
-pop a rivet through the holes next to the hinge bolt holes, then another as close to the strut opening as possible. Not all of the holes will line up but at least two will.
-with the rear of the pan side hanging loose, get the stud on the side of the strut can lined up with the hole in the bracket.
- now pop two rivets in the rear pan side piece. Again, not all holes will line up but at least two will.
-temporarily install the front bumper to add some rigidity. Two bolts up front and two at the rear by the foot wells.
-spin the nut onto the stud on the strut can hand tight
You should now have something like this except with both sides sleeved and ready to have caster/camber set. I've only got one done for now.
The next step will be on its way as soon as I get that far and have some pictures to accompany it. Get your angle finder out and blow the dust off!