I seem to be getting different opinions on tubing thickness that is good for building a frame. I have more than enough 2X4X .125 to build one. However some say this needs to be 3/16" wall thickness. Any opinions?
1/8th wall is fine for tube if youre not running anything crazy. ill put it this way, the model A and 32 frames are both .125 (1/8th wall)
The frame under my OT '68 C10 is 2x4 .125. I designed it in inventor, and it p***ed all of the stress ****ysis just fine. It's been on the road a few times with a 355 in it, but my future plans involve a blown 454, and I'm not at all concerned with the strength of the ch***is.
1/8 is fine, we simply like 3/16 because it holds threads better for non structural things like line clamps and so on. Don
2 x 4 x 1/8 wall tube is many more times stronger than a Model A frame is ever going to be. Were the "A" frames rectangular or were they just "C" channel? I have built quite a few vehicles over the years with 2 x 3 and 2 x 4 1/8 wall tube and have never had a problem. If you want to mount things thru the frame, just make sure you weld a piece of appropriate round tubing thru the frame first, that way you wont crush the frame. I tubed a 80 Chev 1/2 ton with a blown 355 and I used 2 x 4 x 1/8 tube, and never had any problems at all with the tube. Oh and no, the truck didnt have a roll cage in it either. As a mater of fact, the car in the avitar has a 2 x 3 x1/8 wall frame, and it too had a blown small block Chev in it for a while too. Cheers, Roger
When I used 3/16th wall 2x4 tube, once, it was heavy and overkill. Jacking one corner, the whole side of the car went up!
New Chev trucks are less than .100''! You should be fine with .125 wall.I used 2x4 .125 wall on my Hemi Model A with no problems yet.
Look up the properties on your existing frame as well as the options and compare. I personally think the .125 wall tube would be fine. Go to 3/16" and the weight starts adding up. Bob
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