Hi all, Anyone know how strong a stock Henry J chassis is? Looking at dumping the straight 6 and putting in an SBC or a Holden (Aussie version of the GM) V6 with auto trans. The diff has already been replaced and discs have been put on the front. Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Jo
As long as you are not racing it should be no problems. Check out this site lots of builds and information. Jim http://www.henryjcars.com/choose.html
I have been working on a henry j since the early 80's. It has a warmed up 351 windsor with alum heads and a pinto front end. We boxed the entire frame and added added a extra crossmember towards the rear. I know the car has over 200k on the clock without any frame issues so you should be fine. Good luck on your build!
My chassis is stock with some plating to reinforce certain areas. I'm running a 392 blown Hemi with no problems !
I ran my Henry J with stock frame that I had a Olds V8 J2 Rocket in her, just fine from 59 to 64{it got stolden then] I even had cut the top off and made it in to a full custom,doors always worked good too=no need to box or replace the thing if its in good stock shape,but if rusty yes.
Jo LQQK at swade41's car, as well as others here on the HAMB http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=517931&highlight=henry&page=61
Thanks everyone for replying. I have been madly trying to find any info since I bought the car so HAMB has really been my first point of call. It has been difficult as I am in Australia and I have only heard rumour of one other out here. My father and his mates have been Rodders sincerely the 50's and 60's and most have only seen pics of them. I am pretty well flying blind. I am trying to get full rego on it as is while I have a think about what to do and how far too go with it. Thanks again!
Plenty of guys running stock frames, just make sure it's not a rot box and you will be just fine. This one looks to be stock frame with a mustang ll crossmember up front.
The 1951 Henry J that I built in the 90's,had a stock frame, narrowed in the back, with a 455 Olds and Turbo 400. No problem with the frame strength. A little known fact, the front suspension uprights can be turned upside down, to lower the car about 3 inches. The upper and lower trunnions are the same size, uprights may need to be swapped side to side, can't remember. Bob
Ok - I had the car up on a hoist today and sadly there are some cracks in the chassis. It appears as though someone has done some running repairs a while ago and oxy welded some plates to the chassis, creating pressure points that in turn have created cracks. So it looks as though I will be starting from the ground up sooner rather than 2 years down the track. I think I will remove the body, clean the chassis up and take it back to bare metal so I know exactly what I have to work with. If I am doing all that I may as well put some extra reinforcement in as well. I might look at a front end graft but might just keep what is there and look at your suggestion, bob3757 - sounds like a good one to try (Love your car, by the way) Sorry if I appear a little vague on all this - I really am learning as I go. I have modified a 51 Stude before but had a great builder to hold my hand the entire way. I have been scrolling through all the links you guys have provided and getting some ideas - I really appreciate the help.
A lot of them get raced with the stock chassis some of them not even boxed. The little frame is flimsy and if it were mine I would want to beef it but a stock one should hold up well to your everyday small block just fine. A lot depends on how stout the small block is and if it hooks (big assesd steam roller tires) or doesn't hook up.
Might want to make sure the stock suspension is good too then, replacement parts are kinda hard to find.
My partner and I ran a '51 in A/GS from '65 to '67 with a stock frame and front suspension, 1/4 elliptics in the rear. No problems running a blown 486 cu.in. FE ford with a C-6 trans. Later went to a straight axle and lighter front clip for weight savings. Both worked just fine.
Kaiser engineers had an interesting theory of building cars. The strength of the body was calculated as part of the frame strength, almost like a unit construction car. You might think of it the same way. Make sure the body and frame are strong and not rusted out. If you want to build in extra strength think about a roll cage that will tie body and frame together
The Henry J chassis was used for the Kaiser Darrin sports car, is had a x crossmember installed like a first generation Corvette which I think also supported the transmission mounting. Being the chassis only has a 100" wheelbase and came with an independent front suspension it was used as a donor frame for many of the 50's-60's fiberglass sports cars(kit built). Most of the companies sold a body only. Since the the main chassis is a 2pc box, you need to check for rustout due to mud build up inside the frame. A tubular or channel style K member could be added for torsional strength. Check out this website: http://www.forgottenfiberglass.com/ John
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