48 Anglia body welded to frame

Ok I just got this 1948 Anglia home. The question is the body is welded to the frame. Should I take it lose and build body mounts or just leave it. I'm just not sure what to do thanks

 

Depends on what your plan is, and welding a body to a frame means more road noise or vibration transferred, but many cars used to be bolted solid to the frame in the past, without cushion mounts. Plus a lot of unibody cars make the frame a part of the body.
My '46 British Austin was bolted solid to the frame from the factory, and it feels fine for a hotrod.

 

Yes the body of the Anglia is welded to the chassis from the factory ,i suppose it adds to the torsional strength ,,definitly not to counteract the torque reaction from the engine ,,,

 

Yeah, at about 30 hp originally, they aren't big torque monsters!

 

What are you planning for the car? That will dictate what is appropriate.

 

Thanks guys. I am planning on building a pro street drag/street car the car was started in the 80s and never finished I am just picking up at the point that it was left at.

 

A picture would help a ton but when I built my Gasser '48 from a bone stock original, I removed the rockers and cut the body loose. This being said, I built a fully custom 2x3 frame for it. Remember to brace the body before cutting or removing anything.

 

ok I will get some pics

 

For a street/strip car I wouldn't worry about it being mounted solid to the frame. I'd prefer the solid mounting to be bolted if it got a new frame built or rebuilt, but I wouldn't be concerned if it had rubber bushings or not. Welding is permanent, and if there was a time to change it to bolted mounting, now would be a good time for you. Maybe put some poly bushings in the mounts to keep it solid, but somewhat isolated without the movement of rubber mounts.

 

I have owned and built a number of Anglias and Thames panels and having done it both ways & after all is said and done I would recommend leaving the body attached (welded and riveted) to the original frame. This maintains the integrity and alignment of the body, doors and front end sheet metal and saves many hours of excess labor doing it the other way. The stock frames are small and light so I double box the frames (one plate in the center of the frame rail and one on the outside to box it in). The last Anglia (my avatar) I built this way and never had any door alignment &/or door sagging or any other issues for the 15 years I had it on the road.

 

My old Anglia, was a race car, had a custom built chassis. All bolted to the chassis without any rubber. I build street and or strip cars. All my strip cars are solid and some street, depends on the application. Most full size street cars will use rubber mounts, less vibration. In race cars, even your engine is mounted solid the the chassis.

 

I tabbed my cage to the body and left mounting stock ....