monster step and c question?

[Tim]

hey guys,

randomly thinking about doing large C's and steps in the rear half of the frame of a car for clearnce when they get drasticly low.

when you do a C its preety straight forward but doing a step your taking a decent chunk out and putting it all back togehter

i was wondering if you could preety much weld in the new peice on top of the frame and the cut the notch out and finish weld it, that way everything stays straight?

kinda hard to explain ill do a pic quick

[Unkl Ian]

Yes.

[OGNC]

That desogn is dated. As anyone who has ever experienced a saggy rear frame section can tell you, side plates are the secret to the strength of a step-notch. There are a lot of companies (mostly for truck stuff) that offer lazer cut step-notch kits that come with stout side plates, a top plate and inside plate.

Installation:

First, the frame rails are ground down and the side plates are welded into place WITHOUT CUTTING THE FRAME!

Then the top plate is welded into place.

Once the sides and top are welded into place, then you cut the frame out of the center and weld in the bottom plate.

Be sure that the frame is properly supported by jackstands in front and behind the section of frame you're working on to keep it from sagging.

Check out these sites:

www.deviouscustoms.com (http://www.deviouscustoms.com)

www.masterimagecustoms.com (http://www.masterimagecustoms.com)

www.the-hack-shack.com (http://www.the-hack-shack.com)

http://www.suicidedoors.com/index2.html

[41ChevyTrucker]

good stuff. OGNC when you weld the side plate on to the uncut frame do you just weld at the edges or would it be necessary to do rosette welding (I think that is what it is called where you filler weld through a hole in the new plate?)

[OGNC]

You actually just end up welding the bottoms and outside edges on step one. I don't think that you would want to drill any holes in the side plates since they are going to take the brunt of the force. In most cases there is more then enough frame rail there to hold everything in place whole you put the other plates on. Some guys go one step further and even box the inside of the frame rail as well (most truck frames are built out of channel, and the inside is left open).

[Morrisman]

I just checked out some of the "Wall of shame" shots in the 'Devious Customs' site http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Man, do people really pump that sort of stuff out of shops, or is that some crazed individuals work, with a death wish???? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[OGNC]

Yeah, the wall of shame is pretty bad. Some of that stuff was done at shops but a lot of it was done by guys in the comfort of their own garages.
I'm not sure if you know it or not, but over here in America a lot of young guys cut their customizing teeth on mini-trucks. They're relatively cheap and reliable. So most guys can drive them daily as they work on them (because it is tough to afford a $10,000 toy while you're still in school). So you will see a lot of really nice minis and a bunch of scary ones. But we all have to start somewhere, right?

[lulabelle]

That's how I built my frame.

[lulabelle]

I'll try that again??

[kyle paul]

yep thats how i did mine also .weld the side plates on then cut the center out .

[old beet]

Did my F-1 that way, driven 104K since....OLDBEET

[J Man]

Damn Court, I see things from you all over the place.