I am getting ready to bolt my 1927 Coupe body to my 1928 frame. I am curious about the body to frame gap. What is acceptable as a gap between the body and frame when the body is bolted to the frame on a hot rod build? Should there be a gap at all or is it ok to have a gap? The way mine will look, if I do not shave the body cross members, I will have a 1/4" gap. If I notch out the cross members to fit the frame, I will not have a gap. The wood block kits might be out of the question. I will be using 1/8" body to frame webbing, but of course, the body will still have a gap if I do not notch out the cross members. Are 1/4", 1/2" or 3/4" gaps acceptable?
Where's your 'gap' coming from? My '26/7 T roadster pickup body sits almost perfectly flat on the '30 frame I'm using. I'll be fabbing up some tabs on the frame so as to make use of the body subframe mounts, but don't forsee much more than a 1/8" gap. Will get some pics this afternoon or tomorrow...can you provide some pictures of your body/frame mounts?
I took the body back off of the frame. The gaps would be between the three cross members and to the front and rear of the cross members. I don't have a photo of the gap because I removed the body from the frame to do my weld nuts. I did draw a pic of what I am talking about. Hope it helps more.
Well,,,, There's supposed to be wood blocks for alignment, then aprons cover the blocks and the gap- supposed to be means how it's original design was. If you bolt it tight to the frame and have no wiggle room for alignment you could be in trouble. An acceptable gap? What is an acceptable gap to you is what becomes the acceptable amount.
Yup. I know about the blocks. So, any gap is okay as long as I like it? Cool. I didn't know if there was a certain gap that had to be maintained for safety. We certainly do not want a high gap. I guess 1/4" to 1/2" gap is good if someone wanted that. Okay, I'm tracking...
Hmm...the T did use wood blocks, but they didn't do much in the way of spacing the body off the frame. Instead, they kept the aprons in place and filled in the hat channels. Frame-to-body attachment points were metal to metal, unlike the A which used blocks and welting. I'd aim for as little gap as possible...could it be that your wood blocks are too thick? Here's a pic of the T cowl body mount...metal to metal. The block in this area does nothing other than keep the leading edge of the splash apron 'locked' into place.
Yup. The front mounts on my Coupe are taken off as they did not meet the needs of the build. If those mounts had been left on, there would have been a 3/4" gap between my frame and body. Good picture.
I used the wood block kit. They worked okay because I have the skirts to hind them> I also needed them to adjust the way the body sits and the doors shut and line up. Shims needed also. I think a tree landed on mine. It needed a new door and other things to straighten it out. I'm going to be putting a touring body on a A frame with no fenders. And was thinking of heavy rubber 3/8" or 1/2" thick.
That still seems like a huge gap...perhaps the roadster bodies are different/require less shimming. I'll grab a pic of mine tomorrow if that helps.
, The Roadster, Coupe, 28-29 PU and a couple of other cars used the same mounting technics in those days. Same frame. A lot of parts are interchangeable with in those cars including the mounts. If I use the wood block kits and do not shave the cross members, I will have a 7/8" gap. I have a couple of Roadster and PU parts on my Coupe.
On most of the chevy projects I have built. I have welded nuts into the frame top and made holes in the new floorboards that matchI use a 3/16th inch thick by frame wide industrial rubber strips the full length or wherever the body and frame meet. for the cushion. I don't have a gap at all and they all ride great, with no squeaks.
Only into the floorboards and not into the cross members or anything? What gauge are the floorboards?
I should have stated that my floorboards are all replacement items, that I build a sub floor beneath the actual floor metal which is 18 guage to 16 guage dependiong on strength areas. My sub flooring consists of a piece of rectangular shaped tubing that is 3/4 inch by 2 inch 16 guage and this sits directly on the frame front to back where needed, and the bolts go through the floor and this rectangular tubing into the keeper nuts that are welded into the frame.
Here are some pics of @rail job's 26 coupe on an A ch***is; no gap and he's kicked up the rear of the frame. Looks to me like the sub rail cross channels sit directly (or darn near) on the frame...some t******* was required because of the kick-up. Maybe he'll chime in.
Same as what I did except I used repop model t sub rail cross members and drilled through those for the mounting holes.
repurposing is a good thing in this hobby. It sounds like you are ready to mount the body. I would do away with the gap. Is your frame boxed.?
Here's the lay of the land under my late 26/early 27 RPU body on a May 1930 frame; Front body mount @ toe board; It and the subrail are sitting directly on the frame. Will end up welding a tab to the frame to tie into this mount. Welting will be used to provide a little cushion. #1 Body cross member under seat riser. This is sitting on the frame just a half inch or so behind the frame middle x-member. The unpainted area show where the wood blocks belong. Rearmost body/subrail cross member. There's no gap here either and it's never been trimmed.
, The Roadster, Coupe, 28-29 PU and a couple of other cars by Ford use the same frame, sub frame and most parts are interchangeable with each car. My frame is a new built frame from Cl***ic Street Rod MFG here in Ontario, Ca. They do great work and are great people to deal with. Two brothers own and operate the business. For me to do away with the gap completly, I will have to notch out the cross members and I will be drilling out the rivits on the front mounts which I have no problem doing. My trusty plasma cutter will do the trick. The blue tape is marking the spot for the cutting that I need to do, to do away with the gap to make the body flush with the frame. So, no wood blocks will be used. You are using the exact same cross members that I am using. My sub frame is too wide to fit the new frame unless I make side mounts for the frame and I won't do that. So I am going thru the cross members for mounting. That's why I was wondering about the gap space.
The Roadster, Coupe, 28-29 PU and a couple of other cars by Ford use the same frame, sub frame and most parts are interchangeable with each car. My frame is a new built frame from Cl***ic Street Rod MFG here in Ontario, Ca. They do great work and are great people to deal with. Two brothers own and operate the business. For me to do away with the gap completly, I will have to notch out the cross members and I will be drilling out the rivits on the front mounts which I have no problem doing. My trusty plasma cutter will do the trick. The blue tape is marking the spot for the cutting that I need to do, to do away with the gap to make the body flush with the frame. So, no wood blocks will be used. You are using the exact same cross members that I am using. My sub frame is too wide to fit the new frame unless I make side mounts for the frame and I won't do that. So I am going thru the cross members for mounting. That's why I was wondering about the gap space. Attached Files:
Do the vertical "legs" of the sub frame cross members sit lower than the body/rest of the sub frame? I ask because the front mount near the toe board does not appear factory. On mine, the sub frame is bent so as to accommodate the mount; the mount, the vertical part of the sub frame cross members, and the sub frame rails that run the length of the body are all on the same plane at their lowest points. Zero gap when slapped on a straight frame rail. I'm not clear whether your sub frame cross members are welded below plane of the sub frame or if you're asking about how to take up the space between the top of the frame rail and the horizontal part of the cross members... Aside from the front 'tab' I'm going to weld to the frame for the forward most body mount, the remaining attachment points will be drilled through the sub frame cross members. I'll end up using wooden blocks to take up the space between the top of the frame rail and the horizontal surface of the sub frame cross member. Welting will be used for squeak prevention. As it currently sits, the doors function perfectly, so I'm not anticipating a need for thicker blocks or shimming.
My toe mount is factory. I am getting rid of it. It doesn't fit or work with my application. I am also mounting through the cross members.
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