Im STILL in the planning phases of swapping out an OT front end out of my 34 for a solid axle. Im hoping to do that with the body on so I dont end up with mission creep and having it sit in the shed all apart for the duration. Ive know others have done this before but I cant get my head around how to find level so I can correctly weld in the front crossmember. Is there anywhere past the firewall I can use as a datum? Or is there another way such as matching the end of the crossmember to the bottom lip of the frame rail like the Pic below. My crossmember has 7 degrees already built into it so looking to set it up level with the frame if I have that right?
http://www.wescottsauto.com/Information/FrameDiagram1933-34.pdfhttps://www.rodplans.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1304&Itemid=716Could be the running board mounts.
and original spring and wishbone? IIRC, you've got an old hot rod with a later V8, so that precludes the wishbone. Hope someone who has experience with these has one they can compare to a known point and the crossmember. @flamedabone is doing one right now, maybe he will see this.
What do you mean by setting it up level ? The top of the crossmember follows the top of the frame rail. You have to be at ride height to set your caster. About 2-3 degrees down to the front would be about typical for rake, measured on the flat part of the frame where the body mounts.
Seven degrees from the level ground. It makes no difference what the car’s rake is. If you want the thing standing on its nose, you can do it as long as the center where the spring mounts is at seven degrees to the ground. If you like the rake that the car has now, put a degree wheel on the flat bottom of the frame below the door to see what it is. Then block up the car to that degree when you are ready to do the work. Could be four feet in the air, as long as the degree is the same.
34’s have the radiator mounts separate from the crossmember, and I’d recommend not messing with the original mounts. Modify the new crossmember to mate up to the original radiator mounts, which you know will put the grille in the proper spot.
Thanks. Thats the plan. Although in my case radiator is setting on tabs just welded to the frame by the previous builder. Will mark location of current radiator on frame and then work back from there when fitting the crossmember. Just didn't want to fuck this up.
If those radiator tabs fit good, use them. There’s a lot of weird angles in that area, and making new mounts to those exact specs could be hard. A quarter inch too far one direction or another, and the gorgeous hood and fenders won’t line up correctly.
I like to level the frame until the main part of the frame is level. ( the nice long flat section under the cabin area. You can put your angle finder on the bottom of the frame rail) Then set my front crossmember spring pad to 5-7 degrees down. Same with engine angle, 3-4 degrees down, rear end 3-4 degrees up. That is how I do it, may or may not be the same as other guys, your mileage may vary... -Abone.
The chassis jig at work had the rails at a 2.5-3 degree rake. I’ve got one in a jig now level. That’s how it’s gonna sit. Built one with a sub-frame graft with the subframe level and the chassis at 2-3 degrees. That way I kept all my caster. All depends on how you want to go about it. if 7* is the desired final caster angle and you built it with the chassis level and plan to raise the rear to have a hot rod rake then you lose 2-3 degrees when done. I’ve seen em built level with a couple degrees added. It’s all up to you. But ride height when built has the final say so on what the caster angle will be.
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