a bone- thanks for the lead on JW. I did a search before posting, wanted to see how the rails compared to the other parts.
I have a real 32 frame, but bought JW flat front crossmember. It is a very high quality piece, would recommend them!
They had some in their booth at Back to the '50s this year. They "looked" like '32 rails (no C-notch like JW) and the price with a front cross-member for show stock was pretty low; no idea of accuracy or what kind of Chinese mystery metal they were stamped from. Best idea: spend your money on JW or ASC rails.
I have bought a few things from them and have been satisfied with my purchases.. I guess my standards are lower then most...
I've bought a lot of stuff from them too; but always name brand parts. Mostly Chassis Eng & Vintique on ebay. They don't usually mention the manufacturer; but it can be gleaned from the pictures; I have also asked and they responded with the manufacturer. They do have a lot of unbranded import stuff; most of that kind of stuff I avoid, especially suspension stuff.
I've got a pair of the Gearhead rails in my frame jig right now. Took about 5 or 6 hours to jig in place which is not bad which included some changes to the jig over the last frame I did. I tacked the front cross member in place tonight. It pretty much fell onto all the stations in the jig. This one will be for a pals street rod highboy tupperware car. It will take a little tweak here and there as I go. All the supplied parts look good. I have no idea who they buy from but they look pretty good. We picked this "kit" and a set of rails and a front cross member up at Nats North. The pair of rails and a front cross member were $450. I will be doing a frame for a '29 roadster pick-up high boy using a lot of left over stuff from inventory.
Just the rails and front 1" drop front crossmember. The last rails I bought were Dearborn's and they were just rails for $650 or $700. I usually do my own boxing plates in sections.
How are the top and bottom flanges? Are the dead straight, or do they need some or a lot of tweaking, like most do? Hope you are going to post some build pic's.
I think something like this might be great for a guy building a T or A that would need a lot of re-curving anyway. Just as long as both sides match each other. But before I'd use one on a '32 I'd need some more confirmation that the dimensions are correct. How's the radius of the top/bottom flanges to the side? That's one of the easy giveaways to a repro frame.
Radius top and bottom look okay but I don't have any radius gauges to check with. Both rails were the same length. Spreader bar holes were the right size and places. The top flanges aren't dead straight but it won't be hard to fix the portion where the engine sets. Bottom looks pretty good. Look at a set the next show you go to. I deem them acceptable but I'm not building a restored dead-nuts Henry Ford "perfect" car nor is my pal. The rails fit my jig with an acceptable amount of push and pull. The front cross member went in place with about 7 degrees of caster. I'm good to go. I'll take a couple prints this weekend when I get back out there. The last time I sighted a great set of Henry '32 rails at any price in this part of my world was in my youth - admittedly a good number of years ago. Charlie
I've got a set of them that I haven't used yet and they look just like the ASC rails that I have under a couple of my cars. I've got a 30 coupe body now that I am planning to build next and I've got a good stock 32 frame or I could use the Gearhead rails. I haven't decided which ones to use.
With there reputation I do not think I would want to put them under my car, the frame is the foundation for everything else. They may be good- but with so many bad reviews I would have to worry that they found someone who gave them a cheaper price to supply them, and then who would be responsible?
Look a lot like ASC rails..... Maybe they cut a deal with them. I agree, probably work out good on a T or A.
WTF - did I get on conspiracies or wussies.com? I'll see if I can find out their source next week. Do you guys get metallurgical certifications on everything you buy? How do we know where any of this shit comes from anyway?
The packaging on the rails at the '50's indicated they were imported. Charlie Chops; thanks for the info on your experience with the rails. Answers the questions on the accuracy, appearance, etc.
Thanks RICH B, I took a look today when I got back from travel and there is a label on the crate which shows "Joint International Supply" which is a Chinese Company. They have an informative web site and are located in mainland China. All I can say is that the components that came in the kit appear to be of similar quality to other hot rod parts suppliers. I'm not jumping up and down about the fact that this stuff is offshore but I have come to the conclusion that I can not single-highhandedly do much to change that. Charlie
My concern would be less of the general aesthetic but more about material content. in the past I have seen issues with durability of steel china vs USA , it seems the Chinese don't seem to care what they put in their melting pot Chinese spindles, axles and a-arms worry me a little also, but Charlie is right , it's almost to the point of no choice anymore :-/
I have heard discussions about the weldability of Chinese 'metal.' This whatever goes into the melting pot situation seems to be a large part of it. And that whatever goes in would be whatever is cheap. This also applies to steel suppliers who source material off-shore for price competitive reasons.
So I guess the big question is, how well do these weld up? It seems that is the only question that remains. Short of getting a metallurgical analysis to assess the contents. If you buy rails that are stamped in the US, do they guarantee the origin of the steel as well?
I tacked the front cross-member in the other day with MIG and it seemed normal. I will be doing more fitting and tacking this week and will shoot a few pics to post. Charlie
For all the time, effort, money, your going to spend on a project it doesn't make any sense to start out with suspect metal from Chinese scrap pile. two hundred bucks more will get you Asc or JW garage rails which are quality material. I have seen these rails and they are definitely not in the same category appearance wise,says China rite on the box, top fwd flange looks like crap. Harbor freight quality at best. You won't be happy with results.
So, I finished the perimeter frame using the Gearhead rails and parts. In general it fit my jig well. The steel welded fine with no snap, crackle or pops. Dimensionally it had a few minor problems - the pass rear rail was about 1/8" high at the very end and was corrected with a slice down through the kick-up and a re-weld - a few of the body mount holes on the passenger side had to be moved in about 3/16" - the drivers side upper rail was about 1/4" wide over most of it's length and that was corrected with a reciprocating saw and a grinder. Maybe an hour tops. The draw marks on the top of the rails dressed off with a 36 grit disc - no big deal. I stuck my rails in and they were fine on width of the upper and lower rails and I had to correct the same high end on the passenger side. Not withstanding the concerns some have over the possible metallurgy I would use them again unless some sort of proof presents itself. I wasn't able to post pictures just now. I will try another day.
The Jalopy Journal
