Would you weld this? There's an 1/8" gap around it. The bottom part is up tight against the bottom of the frame. Its a TCI crossmember in my 53 GMC suburban. If I shim it with 1/8" plate or something is it gonna throw off the tophats or will it make that much difference? Sent from my iPhone using TJJ
You could weld it as it is, but the weld will pull the gap closed. That pulling or movement may or may not be an issue. Shim the gap a few places with 1/8 welding rod (on the 4 corners of each connection) to keep it where it is , then weld it up. You could also clamp it tight, check dimensions and then weld it.
Thats for the MII suspension? Those are front steer right? Are you sure you have it in the right place? Looks kinda far back to me. And there cannot be a gap, it should fit tight to the existing frame rails without any filler pieces, there is another crossmember infront if it and then the radiator support/crossmember? is that what i am looking at? and what do the instructions say about the existing crossmember between the radiator crossmember and the new MII crossmember - is that one to be removed? Looks to me it should be removed and the MII unit would come ahead until nearly at that location. Even if i am wrong about teh location you cannot have a gap or the weld will pull it closed when it cools and your frame will go wonkers. At the very least you need to drive some tight shim plate in to take up the gap.
What's keeping the frame spread - manufacturing tolerances? Wear and tear? It'll probably still be fine, but...if in doubt, what I would do is to shim it as you intend to, tack it in place, tack the hats on, bolt everything up and mock it up to your intended ride height, verify your static camber, other alignment settings, and component fits/clearances before you do the final welding.
No I would not weld it, I would take that Mustang shit and throw it at my neighbours. Why you ask? Why the fuck not, they piss me off AND it would make me feel better. Then I would start to bolt in my dropped I beam front end, once that was done I would have a beer and then start to build my 401 Nailhead because no Chev shit shall EVER reside in one of my vehicles! Or I would just make it fit right without a gap then weld it in.............um..........no I wouldn't. Doc.
Interesting thing here. Put a straight edge on the outside of your frame rails to see if they are bowed out. I have built and installed hundreds of kits in my time. One of the things that I found is the welding the boxing plates shrinks the inside of the rail bowing them out! So a pipe clamp across the top and bottom will pull the rails in to mate up to the crossmember you have there.
Weld it ,get it tac in GOOD I mean good so it does not move ,then start at the top and get a good puddle going and half moon the bead back and forth as you move down it will be just fine.And you will like the set up it is the best way to go with some air on it you can lay it on the ground.Now if it was a model A or 32 3 4 and a high boy fenderless then an axle is the only way to go.And Chevy motors are still King
It looks about like the T C I frame and chassis I bought. They told me my body would bolt right on their frame. When I tried to mount it it fit like a saddle on a sow. I called them [they kept me on hold for 40 minutes, not an 800 number] then ask me who built the body. when I told them henry did they laughed and said how many frames do you think we would sell for original cars, our frames are built for glass cars.
looks to me you have partial boxed the rails and they have bowed out a touch....... you need to pull in the rails together ..as el polacko says with pipe clamps etc , then remeasure to get it sitting exactly where its supposed to be Steve in Oz
x3. This is exactly what I had to do with my TCI MII installation in my Chevy truck. NO. BIG. DEAL. What I DON'T dig is the welds that have been ground "pretty" on the boxing plates. How much weld strength is left? No one knows.
Thanks guys. I cut out the transmission mount and pulled the rails in. They came right together. Now I'll install my new trans mount and everything should be good. Thanks again. Sent from my iPhone using TJJ
""What I DON'T dig is the welds that have been ground "pretty" on the boxing plates. How much weld strength is left? No one knows."" If one does the proper weld prep then one knows what is left after grinding..
square it as said above, if already square I would notch the frame the width of the tophat metal (1/8") to sink in the tophats to where they belong otherwise there will be a discrepancy between the upper "A" frames and the lower "A" frame for camber adjustment. measure twice, cut and weld once. sometimes you just need to do a walkaway and work on something else until the lightbulb comes on and all the pieces fall into place and make sence.
So ya want the guy to run a vertical down on this frontend component? A vert. down is not cosidered a very strong weld....jmho...
Strength really shouldn't matter he is putting a frontend orginally designed to hold up a Pinto with a banger under a big assed heavy brick of a truck. There is the general assumption that the cross member is correct and that the truck frame is a little out of whack. Probably a pretty good assumption in that the truck is 58 years old. The poor old truck has probably been bounced up and down wash board rutted out old roads, jumped a ditch or two cruised out across a field to a favorite fishing hole or camping spot. Something that altough the MustangII is considered to be an upgrade it will never survive with the late model front end no matter how well it is installed. Considering that the cross member is no doubt as close to a fit that a one size fits all is going to be, your best bet is to pull the chassis to fit the crossmember. It does not have to jam up tight just close, a small gap is a good setup for your root. Some of us just don't seem to get it, it is a truck. It will never be a Lexus or a Fox Body Ford and handle and ride like one no matter how much we try. All said and done at the end of the day it will still be a truck.
Sorry Beaner, I'm going to have to politely disagree. It really isn't a truck anymore, its a hotrod. As far as weight and all that is concerned they aren't that much heavier than the stock pintos they came from. A pintos factory weight was slightly over 2,000 pounds and could haul another 500 pounds in passengers and cargo. I built a 46 Chevy pickup, did the mustang II thing, with a small block chevy, turbo 350, 10 bolt rear. My weight road ready across a scale was 2200 Lbs. These old trucks, without all the federally mandated safety crap, just aren't as heavy as you may think. When I was building my pickup, 2 guys could easily lift off the cab with everything on it except the doors. I tried the same thing with a 71 chevy pickup. We had 4 guys and ended up renting a forklift after we almost killed ourselves taking it off. A "Hotrod" pickup isn't used for hauling, towing heavy stuff etc. These front ends work really well and in fact my little pickup DID handle like a car. It cornered awesome and had very little body roll. Watch the video in my signature. EDIT... I will say though that a 53 burban is a shitload heavier than my little pickup. I would be curious what it weighs all built. Thanks, Scot
Good to see that you got the rails pulled in and fitted it up. One thing though, do you have it located in the correct spot? It almost looks like it is setting too far back in the chassis.
Scott take the weight of your '46 and double it stock on the curb without anything in it but gas and oil. The AD was a heavy old cow. I like them don't misunderstand what I am trying to say here. But they are still a big old brick. Your '46 was a modern model of my '41, they didn't weigh much. They were heavier than say an A bone but light as a feather compaired to an AD. here is the deal, as far as modern suspension is concerned the Pinto suspension is on its way out. Sure it will be around for awhile because it is cheap and everyone is tooled up and advertised. But the street rodders and high zoot guys that have it going on are using corvette suspension. It is a suspension that was originally designed for a heavier car and to handle well. Not like the econo box that the ford suspension was designed for. I like him too, he leaves a whole lot of neat old chebby chit for me to play with.
Man dont get caught up in all the bull shit,weld it in ,it will be just fine,are you using original style struts? I prefer them over the extra wide lower control arms
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