FRAME, basic frame fabrication condensed version

[Paul]

ok,
here is the condensed version
compiled from all previous threads in this series.
a step by step on how to build a Model A frame out of a bunch of tubing,
an aftermarket front cross member and stock rear cross member..

......................

earlier this week I picked up a couple sticks of 2x4x.120 rectangle steel tubing
with the intent of making a Model A frame
partly because I will be needing one soon
partly as an exercise and also to see if I wanted to try to make them for sale

I have a straight but crusty stock frame to use as reference
so I got started on it yesterday,
first I made a pattern of the frame horn..
because it makes sense to start at that end

and transfered that to the tubing
then shifted the pattern to layout the actual cut line
I will leave the rolled edge and make the weld on the flat

[Paul]

then using a snipped off blade in the sawsall
I first made the long straight cut along the bottom of the tube,
followed by the long curve

rolled it over and layed out and cut the opposite side

[Paul]

then I ground all edges clean to the scribe lines
clamped it to check fit and final shape with the pattern

took the clamps off
ground a bevel along the joint
clamped and tacked it to hold
reclamped it to the frame table to keep it straight
an welded the first side up

[Paul]

then after it had cooled

I rolled it over and clamped it with the opposite face up
tacked it
and weled it too

[Paul]

ground the welds down,
with the deep bevel and a good weld this makes a nice clean joint
with minimal weld material removed

[Paul]

next I trimmed the short curve at the top of the rail
beveled the edges
and clamped the soft part of the curve

[Paul]

checked the shape with the pattern again,
welded that up,

trimmed the excess strip at the bottom

rolled the top strip over the tip,
checked it's shape with the pattern again
and welded the end up

[Paul]

then I layed out the slice at the inside of the horn to look similar to the stock frame

trimmed it with the little grinder with a thin disc

and cleaned it all up

[Paul]

so
there is one frame rail horn with a shape very similar to the Stock Model A shape

[Paul]

need two rails to make an A frame

so,
following the same procedure

a twin was born..

that was yesterday,
today I will try to make them look more like a frame

[Paul]

ran out of grinder discs,

so while the welds cool and before i go get some more,
here's an update;

measured the stock frame again, this time for the rear taper,
I'll make the slice right in the middle of the side,
tapering both top and bottom trying to minimize warpage

so to end up with a two and a half inch tube height at the end I leave an inch and a quarter top and bottom, tapering to meet at the center 30" forward
with a small piecut towards the bottom leaving the bottom strip intact

again with the sawsall and grinder with the thin disc the cuts are made,

the edges beveled and the rail clamped to the frame table

and tacked

[Paul]

and welded,

then repeat with the other rail...

and sit down to post pictures on the hamb :)

more to follow.

[Paul]

last pictures for the night as I close shop

[Paul]

it doesn't get much more basic than this type of frame step or "Z"

today I stepped my new A frame that I started last week
I am going with a pretty minor step but the technique could be used for a more severe step
or for splicing a sub frame

first I cut two plates to be welded between the frame sections
cut them as wide as the frame and as deep as the frame plus the depth of step
I am going with a two inch step, so that plus the four inch of frame means 6 inches- less a shy eighth all the way around for room for weld

then layout and cut the frame,
I cut mine right at the firewall
so the step will not show

[Paul]

then with everything all clamped nice and solid,
tack,
and make the first welds

[Paul]

cut some gussets from the same dimension material as the frame,
mine are 45 degree wedges
with everything still clamped solid
weld the first two in,
let it cool,
roll it over
and weld the other two

before it's done
plate will be added to the sides to further strengthen the area

[Paul]

and finally another mockup

I will channel the body over the frame the depth of the frame,

measured at the bottom of body
the body should be about a foot lower than stock,
still have enough suspension travel to not bottom out,
even with a mild chop there should be plenty of head room
and with the frame six inches longer than stock between the firewall and front cross member,
I won't need to tunnel the firewall so leg room will not be compromised

[Paul]

another day,
put a few hours in on the A's rear suspension

it's all tacked,
need to make a minor adjustment or two
and it'll be ready to weld up.

[Paul]

more..

[Paul]

I did go at this one totally backwards,
I set the frame at ride height
mocked up the body over it
put the cross member where it didn't take up the whole trunk
stuck the spring in the cross member and measured everything up

then clamped the frame and rear cross member to the frame table

[Paul]

and filled in the gaps

[Paul]

I measured the spring when it was mocked up,
crossed my fingers and whittled out some hangers

[Paul]

hacked the bushed ends off some extra spring on top type hangers I had laying around

split the brackets to fit over the rear
and welded them together,

bolted the shackle in place
letting the bracket float on the axle

[Paul]

nothing to the ladders
just split to fit over the axle
weld them back together
position everything the way you like it and tack it all in place

they save some fab time,
but are not the cheapest way to go.

I am sure if I took the time to make up a jig
to position a tap square to the tube
-wouldn't even need a lathe-
I could have saved a hundred bucks easy.. maybe more..

[Paul]

next I put together a pair of motor mounts for the little Chevy in my Model A

this is again,
like most of my so called tech threads
very basic,
nothing strange or exciting, just something to get the job done

actually I'm only half done,
I still need to put together the brackets that will weld to the frame,
but I gotta buy a hole saw of the correct size first..

so I'll show this part now,
the rest later..

I am using the Ford biscuit type mounts and the stock Chevy side bolt holes

first is to position the frame at ride height
and locate the motor where it will be in the frame

locate the pad position
and layout a pattern for the plate that will bolt to the block
I happened to have a left over stock mount from some forgotten project to use to layout the holes
but you could do it by careful measuring
cut the pattern out and transfer to the steel
I'm using 1/4" plate for overkill, 3/16" would work here too

[Paul]

drill the bolt holes

I didn't take pictures here
but I drilled one hole,
bolted the plates together
drilled the next hole and put a bolt in it too
drilled the last hole and put a bolt in it as well
that way both plates will be the same.

then with the big grinder with a course disc I cleaned the rough edges,
then on the cheapo disc/belt sander I squared the edges up

bolt the plate to the block
and fit the bearing plate and gusset pattern

[Paul]

transfer that to steel
cut, clean, square, drill
and tack in place

cut a gusset to help strengthen it

and repeat on the opposite side

[Paul]

then finally weld them up

and done,
two basic mounts to hold my motor up

...well not all the way done,
gotta put together the frame brackets...

I'll go get that hole saw now

[Paul]

ok,

more cardboard templates
more steel cut, cleaned, squared, drilled and tacked

not bad for a Wednesday afternoon

tomorrow maybe a transmission mount

[Paul]

yesterday I started putting together a transmission mount for the A

it needs to be removable and strong enough to act as a center cross member as well as hold up the transmission

I formed a simple plan and gathered up some materials

first was the tab that the mount itself will bolt to

so cut, grind, drill and bend

[Paul]

bolted the mount to the transmission
and bolted the tab to the mount

set a chunk of tube on the tab
with the ends cut to the proper angle
and made a pattern for the flanges

fabbed up four flanges out of 1/4" plate,
bolted them together with some 7/16" bolts
clamped it all to the table

and welded it all up

[Paul]

then trimmed the ends of the tubes to fit the rails

and clamped it to the mount tab

tacked the tube to both the frame and the tab

removed the center tube with tab attached
and welded it up

after it had cooled it was all bolted back together

and rolled outside for pictures

[Paul]

one month of a few hours here and there later...

and here it is for it's first rollout
suspension tacked and motor and transmission mounts in

[Paul]

today I made a new X member for the Model A frame I've been working on

I used 2-1/2 x 1-1/2 x .120 rectangle tubing
again probably over kill but I want this frame strong,
strong enough that I can count on it not flexing excessively
even if I put some real horse power to it

first is to lift the body off again,

it's been on and off a dozen times by now

here's the round tube from Pete and Jakes that will get replaced
and the new transmission mount that will get tied in to the new X member

the round tube gets replaced first,
so I layed out the rectangle piece that will replace it

[Paul]

then get busy and forget to pick up the camera till all the pieces are cut and tacked :rolleyes:

I ran two straight legs back almost to the rear kick,
parallel with the ladders

and two pieces straight forward, parallel with the centerline of the frame
that angle out to the rails just behind the forward kick
this should leave enough room for clutch linkage
and provide a solid structure for the floor to attach to

below the straight legs I ran two short pieces verticaly to tie the transmission cross member to the X member

then cut the tabs from the Pete and Jake tube and tacked them to the new rectangle cross piece

[Paul]

and there it is,

all tacked together

and body set back on

[Paul]

one more view..

it is starting to look like a damn street rod

maybe the next one will be made out of all stock frame parts,
cut and modified to look like they came that way...

..at least all this structural iron will get covered up with Ford steel

[Paul]

fwiw;

this car will get an Ansen swing set on the firewall
with Chevy truck master and slave

[Paul]

minor adjustment to the center cross piece today

it was looking like a tight fit for the forward U joint
so I fabbed up a little bump and tacked 'er in

first took the same 2-1/2 x 1-1/2 x .120 material the rest of the X member was made of

and sliced it on the chop saw through three sides every half inch for six or so inches

then it gets pinched with a pipe clamp

welded solid

and ground smooth

[Paul]

then it gets trimmed

the cross member gets layed out for hacking

and the new section gets tacked in

[Paul]

that looks better,

should be just enough room to clear the joint

[Paul]

I decided on the Vega box
and found Art Morrison carries them
they are right nearby so an hour later
I have one.

I didn't take any pictures of the first step
but..

I figured the best spot to mount the box,

it takes three bolts
one will go through the frame rail
and two will attach to a bracket
mounted below the frame

I drilled a 3/4" hole through both sides of the frame rail
stuck a length of tube through the rail,
protruding 1/2" on the inside
and welded it, both inside and out

and bolted the box to the rail

if you stand in the right spot you can hardly see it :rolleyes:

[Paul]

I heated both aftermarket steering arms
and pitman arm
and bent them to get everything where it needs to be

I want just enough clearance between the tie rod and wish bones
the drag link parallel with the tie rod
and none of it hanging down dangerously low..

you can see it needs a bracket to accept the two lower bolts

it gets layed it out on some 1/4" plate,
cut with the plasma cutter
cleaned up and
drilled
I also cut two 1/2" lengths of the same tube I stuck through the frame

which by the way was some left over F100 steering shaft
3/4 od and 7/16 id, perfect for the job
never throw anything away :)

[Paul]

bolted it to the box
and tacked it to the frame

[Paul]

the tab needs a brace

so I hacked a chunk of 2x tubing

and tacked it in place