48Dodger Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Yah, your stands turned out better than mine!lol Glad you asked how I'd make mine better, cuz you certainly have a nice set now. I did the boxing of the frame similar to how you did. I clamped 12 guage down the length of the frame, plasma cut it, angle ground it, and than welded it. I didn't want pretty, I wanted soild, so I didn't get agressive with the grinding. 4 years later, a ton of racing, its still doing the job. 48D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Yea the stands work pretty well, they're at a perfect height so i dont need to be all hunched over while working. Also they're plenty strong to hold up the frame with the added weight its going to get from the boxing plates. That's exactly how i have been boxing my frame and it seems to work out well. I agree with the weld grinding i want it to be strong not pretty, plus no one will see it once its done unless you go snooping around under the truck . I think on the front portion where the engine and tranny will go im not going to grind the welds. The look of the weld beads is kinda cool and no reason to be removing material. Im happy to hear about your success with the frame boxing, i think mine will hold up just as well... i hope -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Here's a few pics again......not sure if I posted them on this thread already. lol You can see a bunch of my "big" welds. 48D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Sorta went through and reread your thread. When I see what you guys do, the shops, and tools you have then I'm not in the same camp and humbled to be a small part of this forum. My skills are minuscule in comparison and my workmanship amateur at best. Yet, I'm having a lot of fun and my vehicles when road worthy will be all clean and ready for some one who wants to do a frame off restoration of them in later years. So I just make certain that replace what I take off, hard to go wrong doing that and does not require a lot of skill. Your pictures, above, confuse me. Two frames? one black one white? Two vehicles at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave72dt Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 same frame, in primer and in paint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 What's with the white frame along the fence in picture # 2.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave72dt Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Oh, that frame. Sure, more than one at a time isn't uncommon. I've got four going in various stages. One is almost finished. The one in the foreground in each pic is the same frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apittslife Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Here's a few pics again......not sure if I posted them on this thread already. lol You can see a bunch of my "big" welds. 48D These are two differnt frames. One has a torsion bar suspension up front & the other is Ford I think? Looks like both are running T-bird or cobra mustang rear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Close ups are of the same frame (mine) and the one along the fence is a one I did (indentical) for Bryan's truck. Personally I love the way it rides. 1985 Dodge Diplomat Front End (pick and pull: 150 bucks) 1997 Ford T-Bird IRS (pick and pull 1/2 price day: 150 bucks) 48D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Sorta went through and reread your thread. When I see what you guys do, the shops, and tools you have then I'm not in the same camp and humbled to be a small part of this forum. My skills are minuscule in comparison and my workmanship amateur at best. Yet, I'm having a lot of fun and my vehicles when road worthy will be all clean and ready for some one who wants to do a frame off restoration of them in later years. So I just make certain that replace what I take off, hard to go wrong doing that and does not require a lot of skill. Your pictures, above, confuse me. Two frames? one black one white? Two vehicles at the same time? Thanks for the compliments Paul Im sure you do one hell of a job on your project cars. I love the way your pilothouse came out, that patina and its slightly lower stance are great! Tools are by far one of my most favorite things to have and im lucky enough to have a garage dedicated as my shop where i can do all my work with little interruption. This is the first custom truck that i am working on and its a big learning experience but i know that if i take my time and ask plenty of questions from the more experienced folks i shouldn't have a problem finishing it. -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Finished up the frame boxing over the rear axle humps, looks pretty good. I also received the front suspension frame mounts that the shackles thread into from Tim aka 48dodger. These were one of the major missing links to my front suspension and without them id be in big trouble, thanks again Tim! I test fit the shackle bushings in them and they are nice and tight unlike my old worn out set. Next step is to start boxing in the front portion of the frame now that i have the mounts, stay tuned. -Chris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted October 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Wow i cant believe my last post was back in July... been really busy with other things that life has thrown my way so haven't been able to get to much done on the swap. I have been working on the front section of the frame cleaning things up and getting ready to box that in, i'll post up some pics of that once its done. One major thing that i did do was ditched the industrial 4bt that i was going to use for an "on-road" use motor. Ive done a ton of reading over on the 4btswaps forum and the basic consensus there is to stay away from the industrial motors. Due to different governors used in the injection pump than what is used in on road applications. Also a big thing is that this motor is EPA rated which should save me some grief when i go to register the truck. I picked up a 1993 4bt out of and Oshkosh truck (approx. 180,000 miles) with a borg warner t19 transmission (4 speed). I plan on selling off the T 19 and the associated parts that go with it as i wanna use the Getrag G360 cause its a 5 speed with overdrive so i will get much better cruising and MPGs out of it. I think i got a decent deal on the motor and tranny combo considering i also did get a bunch of other parts with it like, intercooler, intercooler plumbing, radiator, air box, hydraulic fluid filled motor mounts, motor mounts that went in the frame. The motor runs pretty well the only problem (right now) is the injection pump is leaking but i plan on having that rebuilt and swapping out the fuel pin and governor spring so i can get a little more power out of the old girl. I will post up some pics of the new motor when i get a chance. -Chris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 Well the two good things are 1. You're still working at it...and 2. You're still posting the build! Sounds like you've been reading up and doing some outside the box reading as well....to me that helps keep things fun. 48D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted October 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 I've been working at it that's for sure but it's a very slow going process for me. I'll certainly keep posting up the build, this is what gives me inspiration and helps me solve problems (thanks guys). -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Heres a couple of pictures of the "new" 4bt i just got for your viewing pleasure. Thats a borg-warner T19 4 speed transmission attached to it. -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted December 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Small Update: Ive been working on the "new" 4bt i got, i decided to remove the exhaust manifold so i could better clean the engine and prep it for paint. Well when i went to remove the bolts 5 of 8 snapped off and the other 3 i had to cut off to remove the manifold. So i decided to drill out the broken studs and tap them for 3/8-16 bolts. This went half way decently but took much longer than i expected, im glad that its done. Since its winter now im going to wait till spring to paint the engine so ill set that aside for now. I got a chance to do some work on the frame today. I am planning to box the frame rails so i went ahead and welded nuts on the inside of it where the brackets for the running boards attach. That way after its all boxed in i will be able to install/remove the brackets easily. I am also working on setting my front suspension back up. I made some reinforcement plates for the frame mount that the shackle threads into. I took a couple of pics of the leaf spring and shackle mocked up. It looks like things will go together pretty well. This area will also be boxed in so you can see the nuts welded to the reinforcement plate so i can easily install/remove the cab mount. The frame boxing plate will have a small rectangular portion cut out of it in order to access the shackle frame mount and the shackle so either of them can easily be changed out. More work to be done on the frame hopefully tomorrow. -Chris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Balazs Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Hey Chris; Congrats on your progress. Bit by bit ..... and every little bit is often how we all have to measure progress on our projects. It always seems to take longer than you will expect it to .... and there will be items that don't quite go according to plan. I look forward to seeing your finished product. Love the concept. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted December 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Thanks a lot Jeff I'm glad that you enjoy watching my project come together. I've sure loved watching your truck that things a beauty! The smallest amounts of progress give me so much motivation. It fuels the fire to get this thing done. -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Balazs Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Chris; Thanks. I do enjoy seeing you ..... and all the others..... make progress on your projects. I got tons of help and encouragement from lots of people here. And I will tell you right here that they made a huge difference in how my project went. There are times in a major project like you are taking on when you will have to measure your progress almost like grains of sand. It is just the way it is with some aspects of these projects. All I can say is if you keep after it......it will come together. And I am certain yours will be very cool. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted December 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 I agree Jeff, this forum is a huge help in so many different ways. I like seeing that people take interest in the build cause it gives me added motivation to get out there and work on it. Even the smallest amounts of progress help to keep morale high. Yesterday i was able to wrap up the location of the shackle frame mount on the passengers side so that made me pretty happy, now i can get started on the drivers side. I'll post up some pics of the completed side when i get home. I cant wait to get this thing back into a rolling chassis, that will be a huge milestone for me. Thanks for looking, -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 (edited) So when you saw my homemade frame roto, I shared the good and the bad.....then you built yours! How's it working??? Do you like the way it works?....if so, maybe you could post the "plans" on how you built it, cuz honestly I'm ready to redo mine. lol 48D Edited December 4, 2013 by 48dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 The attached pic is of the completed shackle frame mount on the passenger side. I am using Grade 9 flange head 3/8-16 frame bolts that i got from McMaster-Carr with grade 8 nuts to temporarily bolt it together. When i go to final assembly i'll swap out the grade 8 nuts for stover nuts that are a distortion fit that will protect against coming lose under vibration. I also added a piece of 1/8" thick steel with two clearance holes for the 3/8 bolts that go through the bottom flange on the frame (see second pic). This will help to distribute the bolt load better, acting like a big washer. If any one is interested in the part numbers for the hardware im using ill dig them out and post it up, i think i posted them a few pages back in this thread, not sure though. -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 (edited) So when you saw my homemade frame roto, I shared the good and the bad.....then you built yours! How's it working??? Do you like the way it works?....if so, maybe you could post the "plans" on how you built it, cuz honestly I'm ready to redon mine. lol 48D They work pretty well and are very heavy duty! Heres a couple things id do different if i made them again: 1. The casters that i used are a mixture of swivel ones and fixed casters. I would definitely use four swivel casters maybe even get the ones with the brakes. Its a pain to move it around because it doesn't move side to side easily do to two of the casters not swiveling. 2. In my setup i drilled a horizontal hole through both of the pieces of pipes that act as the rotating mechanism on each of the stands. In the next generation of stand i would also drill another set of holes 90 degrees to the horizontal ones so that i can lock the frame in a vertical position not just horizontal. Those are the two biggest changes that i would make, if i think of any others ill post them up. Also ill get some dimensions on them and put up a set of plans when i get a chance. I must say i somehow got a damn near perfect height on them because its very comfortable to work on the frame for me, im 5'11" tall. -Chris Edited December 3, 2013 by 1952B3b23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave72dt Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 For something as long as a frame roto, definitely get the swivels for each end and at least one on each end with a brake. I don't have brakes on my body cart and am constantly chasing it across the floor unless I chock them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 For something as long as a frame roto, definitely get the swivels for each end and at least one on each end with a brake. I don't have brakes on my body cart and am constantly chasing it across the floor unless I chock them. that explains a few things...... I KEED, I KEED! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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