Customs Studebaker PU Rear Suspension (Dream Truck Inspired Custom)

Outstanding work Joe.

 

OK, this bit took way too long. Lots of welding and grinding. It's not perfect, but it's waaaaay better than the rear bit of the studebaker frame. When I got the truck it had some frame damage behind the axle. I welded in a piece of 2x4 tube and cut off the damaged part. At the time it seemed like a "good enough" solution - I was in a rush to get on to chopping and sectioning the body. In retrospect, well, it sucks.

I used the "frame curves" from Welder Series to make this. They worked out great, although the walls of the 2x4 tube I had were less than perfect. So there was a lot of screwing around to get everything to fit and blend decently. I made the new frame section longer so I have room for a gas tank.

So, I have one more small bit to fabricate before I can't put off the inevitable any longer and it will be time to rip all the old stuff off and narrow the axle.

 

Wow, not sure how I missed this - I remember thinking that I needed to search this out when you ordered the parts but I lost track of it. Very impressive.
A few posts back you mentioned that once in a while, you'll get a flare up while welding. This may not be "it", but it's something that's happened to me so I figured I'd write it down... the parts look sand (or bead) blasted to me. If that's accurate, what may be blowing up is tiny particles of the blasting media that get lodged in creases or tiny scratches in the metal. Anyways, thanks for sharing your pictures, and for giving us the opportunity to help with your project.
DW Horton

 

Wow, somebody would think that you're an engineer.

I won't tell them what you really do

Rich

 

Chalk another one up for the worlds slowest moving project. Job and family stuff have been conspiring against me, but I finally got moving again.

This weekend I made the main part of the brace for the rear end. It’s not done, I need to make the top and bottom fill plates and silver braze the letters - they are just pin tacked. But this was the hard part. To get the letters in the right spot I printed the layout, then super glued them in place, scribed around them, cleaned everything and tacked them back in place.

I updated the cad model to reflect the new driveshaft loop and rear frame shape.

Next I need to buy some rectangular tube and make a temporary frame jig that is attached to the stude frame so I have a way to hold stuff in position, then I can finally rip the old junk out.











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