Been thinking about this a long time, finally decided to give it a shot. I am starting a thread for several reasons - in case anybody else is thinking about trying something like this, to show some parts that I haven't seen used very often, and to keep myself organized and motivated. My plan is to bolt together an entire '32 chassis, and leave it bolted together through the roller stage and until the body and steering have been fitted. Once I am happy with everything, I am planning to replace the bolts in the side of the rails with rivets and have the front and rear crossmembers welded in place. I am considering leaving the K-member & K-member legs bolted & riveted - no welds - so that they could be removed & reused in the future. Parts for the first round: ASC Rails Shadow Rods front crossmember Original '32 K-member K-member legs from Industrial Chassis So-Cal lowered rear crossmember ('40 style straight spring) P&J spreader bars Rest of the chassis: Undropped '33-36 axle Split wishbones ('35-36) F100 Steering F100 drums on squareback spindles 283 with Hurst mount, adapted to '39 transmission Industrial Chassis '32 pedals for hydraulic brakes Either a '47 or '39 rear end... 16 x 4.5 steelies from Wheel Smith with Firestone 6.00s and 7.00s Panhard bars front and rear I am taking my time with this project, don't expect updates to come too quickly. But I am just about done collecting parts to make the frame a roller. Not sure about the body yet, still mulling it over - most likely a '30-31 Model A of some sort or a '33-34 truck cab. As background, I build mandolins for a living and am very good with wood. I've built up three cars from parts (two bangers and one flathead V8 on a '32 frame) and have been rebuilding flathead transmissions for 4 or 5 years. So I know a fair amount about '28-48 Fords, but I don't know how to weld. I would like to learn some day, but for now I have my hands full with my business and family. I am thankful for the hotrod community in Cincinnati, we have a bunch of great machinists, welders, fabricators, etc. Special thanks to Mike at Cornfield Customs and Steve at Thompson's Garage for helping me get going.
Here's a pic of the front and rear crossmembers, has anybody used one of these So-Cal pieces yet? Kinda looks like a flattened '35-40 crossmember to me. You can see that I had the mounting holes filled in the rear crossmember (there were 3 on each side) so I have fresh metal to drill into. Didn't need to do anything with the front crossmember. You can also see the pile of templates I made to locate the holes that were filled in the K-member and rear crossmember.
Here is a pic of the K-member, I had the vertical holes filled but for now have left the holes in the legs alone. I think these will be easy to drill from the inside out. Thanks again to Mike at Cornfield Customs for the clean work and excellent repair.
Sound like a great project, I did something similar for a customer several years ago and it ended up under a 32 Cabriolet. Buy a good mig welder, get some scrap metal and teach yourself how to weld. I'm sure you had to learn how to work wood so learning to weld should pose no big problems. I have used the So-Cal pieces several times.
And here is the blueprint I am working from, makes me happy to see the "Old Car Store" logo on there...
Finally, I want to thank Ed Lloyd for his brilliant & inspiring thread about riveting a '32 frame together. Check it out here if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/lets-build-an-authentic-1932-frame.610718/
I have done a couple of these but did not fill the holes like you did. I used the stock holes to drill the holes in the new frame rails. Easy project. Keep us posted.
I have been thinking about something similar for a more custom chassis concept using deuce rails and incorporating a unibody floor, firewall, toeboard, and rear bulkhead for an 28-29 body on Deuce rails. Layout the design in CAD in 14ga CRS, laser cutting and then bend, fold and weld using a concept that Welder-Series Brackets use leaving some stitches of steel aid bending and fixturing. Using multiple fastening surfaces, and spreading the loads to maximize strength you could bolt, spot weld, or rivet a neat chassis together that uses construction techniques similar to bridge building or WWII aircraft construction. Done right you can get some interior space, weight savings, cool look and a free belly pan. I know what you are thinking will be a little more simple, but i'm excited to see the process.
It's funny when you read projects when others plan to do something exactly the same as you are planning I'm also planing a "bolt together"32 chassis for my next build. Will be,,,, ASC 32 rails with no C notch 39 X member cut down to fit inside the pinched in for 30 rails. 39 rear pancaked crossmember I plan to fit plates inside the rails, bolt them in and then weld the X rails to the plates. I don't usually like to weld structural parts, I only have a flux core welder so tack weld things up and pass onto someone who can weld up with professional skills and equipment. Building like this means I can just unbolt the crossmember and take it out for final welding and fitting small gussets. Maybe constructing like this is a option?
Oh, if running F1 steering it can be bent to fit a 33 to 36 stock axle, I even are running a F1 drag link Obviously my is RHD but can be done the other way
Don't know if this would work on all of your parts but it sounds like you've got a TON of drilling to do. Find someone with an "ironworker". Hydraulic machine that punches holes in metal. It'll punch a 3/4" hole in 1/2 steel like butter. With some planning you could save yourself a lot of time. BTW cool project and great ideas. I love riveted things. Scotch man, Edwards, piranha, and others make these machines. They also shear flat and round stock. Good luck!!!
When I get to my 29 CC pickup on a 32 frame I will be riveting it all together including any boxing plates that will have lightening holes in them. It will look like a factory job, the idea of bolting it together first is cool.
A thoughtful approach but when you weld on that chassis with any degree of penetration for dtrenngth, it will move.
I assume he'd be taking t to someone to weld. If that's the case, finding someone with a chassis jig to set it in would handle that issue.
Looking at your first pic of the front and rear crossmembers, the spring pocket on the rear one looks better than the front one. Make sure the front spring will sit completely flat inside crossmember, as the spring might hit the big radius and not seat properly. The rear crossmember stamping has a nice tight radius and looks good and flat where the spring sits. There are new repro stamped front crossmembers out there where the spring will not clamp up completely because the spring hits on the big radius before pulling up tight to the flat area.
Sorry Malcolm, took me a little while to see this. Unfortunately no updates, this project has fizzled out for me. I do have some nice parts if anybody wants to take this on - including pedals and K-member legs from Industrial Chassis. By the way, the major sticking point on this for me was the rearend - I don't have the skill or tools to shorten my '39 torque tube & driveshaft to fit. And whenever I thought about hiring it out I got the heebie-jeebies... Kinda like the AV8 where I always get cold feet when it comes to the steering! I am still fooling around with a Model A frame, Model B engine and '27 touring body but it is slow going. Just too busy building mandolins and playing with the kiddos.
Any bolting always use snug fit shoulder bolts. I would drill the holes a 64th under and cut the extra threads off the cap screws.
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