Detroit Speed Subframe Connector Kit Install - Project Gets Integrated Rails

Once the offending floorpan section is removed you should have a clean cut like this.

Be cautious when cutting out the floorpan; a tight fit will maximize the strength of the installation by retaining as much of the original floor's structure as possible and minimizing the gap needing to be welded. A&E Motorsports got ours incredibly snug all the way around.

Remember how we said stock Camaro subframe mounts flex the body? When properly placed on A&E's lift, there was 3/16ths of an inch of total flex measured at the front crossmember. A jack was used to split the difference before any final fitting or welding was done.

With the subframe in the hole, F73's stock rear subframe was used to position it vertically in the rear. In the front, the laser-cut DSE bracket that attaches the connector to the front subframe will help show where the connector needs to be located. We clamped the bracket down and made reference marks once everything was in place.

MIG or TIG is acceptable for welding the brackets, but either way, good penetration is a must for the connectors and floorpans to be strong. Lucky for us, A&E's Joe Walden is a master welder with decades of experience. His usual welding machine happened to be on the on the fritz, so he opted to Heliarc everything.

In addition to the side brackets, end caps need to be welded in to box the connectors.

Back under the car, we lined up all of our marks and positioned the connector using the stock subframe and the freshly welded bracket as guides. We had a hardy helping of rubberized undercoating to clear away before welding as well.

A wire feed style welder is the ideal choice for creating the long final welds to fuse the connectors and floors, but for the initial install Joe continued with the Heliarc. Doing this overhead is much harder, but his welds are still perfect.

This is perhaps the most critical weld for strength in the entire installation process, which anchors the front subframe to the new unibody structure and making the front subframe assembly a permanent fixture. If there's any doubt, now's the time to double check all measurements prior to making this weld.

At the rear of the connector, a small gap was cut to make sliding the connector in and out easier during the trial fitment. To increase the strength of this joint, Joe also formed the lip of the stock subframe flush to the body before the final welding.

When it's all said and done, the whole length of the connector will be welded like this with a wire feed style welder. It can be done with TIG or Heliarc as well-if you've got the patience.

Though they'll definitely make a bulge in the carpet, DSE designed the connectors not to interfere with the seats or the installation and removal of the rear leaf-spring pocket. Everything will be seam welded from the top side as well for maximum strength.

Now we have a truly rigid second-gen that will dramatically cut down the twist and flex in the chassis during hard cornering. For the ultimate strength, extremely aggressive purpose-built track cars could continue seam welding the stock rear subframe and even use strips of heavy gauge steel to completely box the DSE front subframe to the floors, but this will more than serve our purposes.