Hot Rod Photo Journal - Cboy-Two's Journal

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04-12-2007 05:29 PM

Assembling frame rails

I first weld up one complete side of the frame, grind off the welds, and then assemble and clamp the second frame rail directly on top of the first as shown in photo #1. This allows you to make sure the two sides of the frame will match up at the Z and for overall length.

Once the two side rails are welded I then cut the three main cross members. At this juncture I will only be installing the front and rear cross members to form the perimeter frame. Note in photo #2 that the front cross member has two holes drilled in it. These are for mounting the front leaf spring bracket which will be done at a later date. However, it is much easier to drill these holes at this point.

Photo #3 shows the perimeter frame clamped into place for welding of the front and rear cross member. It is critical at this point that the frame rails are exactly parallel and that the cross member are perfectly square to the frame rails.

(click photo to enlarge)

[Entry #13]

04-12-2007 04:38 PM

Assembling frame rails

The pieces of the frame rails should not simply be butt welded together because the joint can weaken or crack over time. To make the joints stronger hidden reinforcement tabs are installed on the inside of the frame tubing. Photo #1 shows these tabs in place. One end of the tab can be welded into place prior to assembly (Photo #2). It is nearly impossible to reach inside the tube with a mig welder so I use my stick welder to install the tabs. The other side of the tab is blind welded after assembly using holes drilled into the frame tubing as shown in photo #1. Photo #3 shows the shape of the 3/16" plate steel tabs that I used.

(click photo to enlarge)

[Entry #12]

04-12-2007 04:10 PM

Front frame horns

Here are the completed frame horns with the welds ground down and a coat of primer.

(click photo to enlarge)

[Entry #11]

04-12-2007 04:04 PM

Front frame horns

When I built the roadster chassis I was not real happy with the boxy look of the frame since it was just squared off and welded together at the corners. So on this build decided to make a little extra effort to dress up the front frame with a more tradition curved frame horn look.

Photo #1 shows the design I drew on paper and then traced onto the front of the frame rails.

I then used my 4 1/2" grinder with a cutting blade along with a 3" die grinder and my air saw to cut open the frame along the traced lines and remove the excess metal (photo #2)

After touching up the edges with a grinder I bent the top and bottom metal around the curve and tack welded everything in place. (Photo #3). I then also cut, bent and tack welded in place a small piece at the tip of the frame horn to cover the empty space shown in the picture.

(click photo to enlarge)

[Entry #10]

04-12-2007 03:51 PM

Chassis design

Building an underslung frame with the Twin I-Beam suspension is a bit of a challenge. There isn't a lot of room for error in terms of clearance issues, axle travel, and maintaining a safe scrub line. Photo #1 is a drawing I used to determine the specific installation
position for the axles. I posted this up in a a thread here on HR.Com where various members helped me troubleshoot the design.

Once I was fairly certain I could make everything fit (on paper at least), I began to cut out and assemble the frame rails. Photo #2 shows the basic frame rail pieces cut out and Photo #3 shows those pieces roughly in place.

(click photo to enlarge)

[Entry #9]

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