I was wonderin if I could get away with mounting an early 331 hemi with a Ford 3 speed in a stock 32 frame without boxing it? I know the motor weighs like a freightliner, but I was hoping to not have to box the frame.Has anyone got any insight on this? I'm sure it has been done before,I just wonder if it will fuck up the frame. I'm gonna run a 39 3 speed, so I won't be hammering it to bad,(34 rear). Just thought I would ask before I screw somethin up. Thanx, Larry Oh,yeah, the body will basically be a small box around driver compartment, so it will be light.
I've run a smaller hemi in my roadster for years. The weight and torque are no promlem. The roadster shakes due to the low torsional stiffness ofthe open body style. Removing the fenders actually makes it a lot worse. The fenders are found cracked because they were stressed and helped keep the frame stiff. I would not worry about it with a closed car. If it is open, I would use the X cross member from Chassis Engineering. It's the best as far as I know. Often boxing warps the frame and is terrible to get straight again. My $.02
"the body will basically be a small box around driver compartment, so it will be light" Going with what Andy says, make use of this. Strong firewall and dash to box the cowl, seat riser made as a stout welded box, if there are no doors connect everything that way. Strong welded floor, reinforced by welding in any hump. Body becomes a three dimensional crossmember stiffening middle of frame, and indirectly stiffening ends by making twisty bits shorter. Anything else added, like a gas tank mount, can also be engineered as a reinforcement. Use the original front and rear tube pieces, not flimsy streetrod ones. They add an X member and slightly increase overall stiffness by shortening spans between bracings. Bridge engine mounts across frame.
[ QUOTE ] I've run a smaller hemi in my roadster for years. The weight and torque are no promlem. The roadster shakes due to the low torsional stiffness ofthe open body style. Removing the fenders actually makes it a lot worse. The fenders are found cracked because they were stressed and helped keep the frame stiff. I would not worry about it with a closed car. If it is open, I would use the X cross member from Chassis Engineering. It's the best as far as I know. Often boxing warps the frame and is terrible to get straight again. My $.02 [/ QUOTE ] boxing warps the frame? isnt that so when you box the frame w/o proper proceedure? measuring, measuring and measuring? a stock A frame had a 2 digit horsepower engine... a stock 331 can be 250-300hp... thats a pretty big difference in torque/weight. boxing the length of the rail might not be necessary, but some reinforcment is a good idea, ie the X member suggested.. another .02, ya dun got .04 now larry
Thanx for the info guy's. I was thinkin of maybe gettin rid of the Hemi because of the weight, but I really didn't want to. I'm lookin for a 34 X member, or one similar too put in the frame. that should do pretty good, or better than the K member. Someone cut the top of my K member off because they were runnin a small Chevy with a muncie, so I figured I would go for the bigger X member. I was concerned that the Hemi would sag the rails because of the weight, but it sounds like it will be alright. Killer! Cause Hemi's are pretty dam cool lookin! I already have the adapter for the trans and all the drivetrain parts, so I should be good to go. THANX
Larry, when I was in High School a friend of mine put a 331" into his 32 roadster pu, if I recall correct he boxed the front of the frame back to the K member and left the rest alone. He didn't have any problems, but he was running fenders and I'm sure that makes a big difference.Thought this might help.--TV
I would sure recommend boxing at least from the firewall (front of the X member) to the front crossmember. Frank
box it ! unless you put a hurst style mount in it your going to be putting tons of stress on those poor rails, 32s and As had problems with the frame bellying where the steering box hole is anyway ...and thats stock with fenders,i hauled a complete 331 hemi in the back of my 87 chevy pick-up for 100 miles it pushed the whole floor down about 2"!!! whats that tell ya? i argue all the time with my boss about boxing ...why is everyone so against it???, unless your building a period correct car there is no reason not to do it... and yes i have experianced frame warpage in a jig when i didnt have it nailed down good enough it bowed it up about 1/4 inch before i caught it..
If your runnin' a '39 box, don't bother boxing the frame. The hemi will tear the piece of crap apart in a heart beat. Those trannies are very limited, very............ Why worry about twist when the gears will strip ten fold?????? Me dos pennies........
Ok, now thats the kinda info I was wanting. I'm not against boxing the frame for period reasons, I can't afford to build a correct one anyways. I just didn't want to have to weld a bunch on the frame. I was thinking of putting a flathead in it if the Hemi was gonna be too heavy. Thanx thirtytwo for the info. I figured the thing would probably handle like a dumptruck with that much weight on the front anyways. Who knows,with my ADD I will prolly end up putting my Chevy 4 banger in it with the 5 speed,Pooh. Thanx for the info guys..........anyone want to trade a 59AB for a Hemi? Creeper
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