Did I miss the writing or do I not understand the question I don't see anything just a picture. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Me also? What frame and build?Engine/trans combo,suspension.I would box then re-mount the steering box.More info needed.
Messed up on the photo sorry about that! I am installing a 327 with a 2sp power glide. Going strickly for a daily driver with original look. Moving the original steering box to allow for the boxing , the steering arm is a issue. looking for thoughts there.
Pick up some plate steel and start cutting out filler pieces. Frame rails look mostly straight so it shouldn't be a big deal. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
When putting two pieces of metal together 90 degrees to each other put them where both pieces are 1/2 the thickness of each one that way it leaves a "VEE" for the weld to go into & when you grind it the weld material is still there unlike the way "MOST"people do it they put the plate going up flush with the top then when they grind all they grind is the weld they just made them shortly after it cracks
Looks like early 30s Chev chassis going by leave springs and lever actions? Do it one, do it right, box it properly and add a decent x-member to take the load and torsional twist.
The frame is very straight. The car was being restored as original when I bought it. The frame section of the car had already been gone through on the restoration. The body still had to be tacked on to the new wood interior. While I had the body off that is when I decided the drive trane needs to be v8. I am boxing in the frame with 3/8" and the concern I had was that I wanted to keep as much as I could to the original but the steering box cannot be moved the distance of the boxed frame in order to reach the steering arm. I will have to change the steering box to another type and make adjustments to that one. Was not sure if I could box the section around the steering box and still keep strength.
3/8" boxing plates sound might hefty to me, like 3 times as thick as they need to be. As well as being excessive it'll be harder to work with and will probably require too much heat to weld properly and thereby increase the likelihood of warping problems. You should try and box the steering box mount because if you omit boxing in that area (which is possible) you're arguably creating a weak spot. But you can inset the box or possibly just double up the chassis rail (ie thicken it) around the steering box, possibly with thicker material (say 1/4 if you were boxing throughout with 1/8) and bend the main boxing plates in to tie into the thickened area. Inset, or so called step boxing, can provide additional clearance for fuel lines etc and insetting the boxing plate gives a good corner to weld into which you won't grind off. Lots of ways of skinning the proverbial cat. Chris
Fwiw, here's my take on boxing. You box the frame to increase the strength. Normally the torsional strength is where things are lacking. The frame is almost strong enough as it is, you just want to improve it a bit. A better way to do it is to add a carefully designed x-member setup in the middle of the frame. This may be one from a later frame, cut and modified to suit. If I were boxing a frame by adding a fourth side, though, I would be thinking "how can I strengthen this section of frame yet add minimum weight?" The answer would not be to add 3/16" plate the whole length of the inner frame. Personally I would ass some plate of around 2mm thickness, and only weld one inch in 3. I would also have plenty of holes in it. Remember we only want to improve the strength, not double or quadruple it. The single head on shot shown is not very much to go on, without seeing how deep the side rails are, it's hard to judge how strong it is. It foes show a woeful lack of intermediate crossmembers, though and obviously no x-bracing. Mart.
I made cardboard templates of the "box plates" that I would need on my A chassis. Took them to a local welding shop and they cut them out for me. Cost was minimal and the cuts were nice and straight.
I only did one a few years back and the frame was pretty well used and crooked as a dogs hind leg. Keep in mind I had just retired so I had more time than good sense. I made a frame jig based on original Ford drawings to straighten the thing and used solid plate to run the length of both legs front to back. As for the weight I may have added 75 pound to a chassis designed to run 65 HP. The engine we worked out was in the 400+ HP neighborhood. I tried to share a couple of images but the files seem a bit larger than works here.
Almost the same as your Chevy, for my '31 Pontiac I modified and installed an 'X' made by Chassis Engineering to fit a '32 Ford. I also boxed the frame using 1/8" steel from the 'X' front and back. Big improvement in frame strength and stiffness.
Boxing went well! Thanks for all the info to all. Any comments out there about using (speedway) small block Chevy engine mount kit (2") bar! I am running a 327 under 300hp.
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