I am in the process of building a notch over the rear end in my '53 Chevy....I have found some info and quite a few pics.....and here is what I came up with. Its 2inch square tubing...1/8 thick...the two pieces were cut to slip down over the frame rails with the top piece welded to them. My concern is that the area circled is too thin....its about 1/4inch tall.....I plan on boxing the area where the old frame is cut out and building a crossmember between both notches. What do you guys think....does it look ok....is it ****....any suggestions? Thanks, Ryan.
IMHO an arch is much stronger than a box. I would form an arched filler like an upside-down U to close off the cut ends of the frame and fit against the underside of your box then make filler pieces to fill in the upper corners. That should make it very strong in conjunction with the crossmember. Make short welds, no longer than 1" and skip around side to side front to back as far apart as possible allowing each to cool to the touch before welding on that side again to avoid warping the frame into a pretzel. Even then I'd tack or clamp a couple bars across the frame in front of and behind where you're working. IIRC Chevy frames had the bottom plate just spot welded on, I'd weld it solid for ~ 12" in front and back of the notch as well.
Seems like, Once you box it up it should be strong enough. I suggest making the rear part of the notch go all the way to the base of the frame. That way you can weld it up all the way around. Then cut out the center of the frame and box it up. Did you measure to make sure you have enough of a notch? If your trying to lay frame, doesn't look like you'll have a tall enough notch. I figure if your going throught the trouble of notching the frame might as well be happy with the stance.
Ryan, I would think that a solid C-shaped piece of perhaps 3/16" steel on each side of the frame would be stronger than what you propose. The fewer joints the better. A wrap around piece of 3/16" x 2" strap could then be wrapped over the C pieces and another of the same material wrapped on the under side and welded in. I would think the vertical cross section of the pieces should be the same as the frame it is replacing. Just some food for thought, since you asked. ~ Jim
That was another question of mine....with the body on and the amount of lowering block that I have, the frame rested on the axle housing. What is a good number for notch height? I do plan on putting air bags on in the future...so the abitlity to go as low as possible is a factor. Thanks for all of your input guys!!!
oops forgot to say. The notch kit I posted a pic of is made by Gambino Kustoms. Alex does incredible work.
the notch pic by 50chevy is actually a gambino kustoms 49-54 chevy notch.its made to fit the back seat brace angle and stil center the axle in the notch.(like most universal notchs dont cuz there to long.)these are made from 3/16 plate.
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