CHASSIS JIG... been waiting to show this off.

GMgrunt and myself were tapped for the daunting task of building a second ch***is jig the The Ionia Hot Rod Shop. Daunting because Denny is an insane (in a good way ) perfectionist and we knew it had to be good... and accurate!

well, 6 weeks or so (about 200 hours total) and $750 worth of materials later we finaly had it done. we may have gotten a little carried away with it in trying to impress our friend, but he got a big grin when he saw it and thats what we were shooting for.

at the moment it is set up to accept 32 Ford rails but we also started a set of "stations" that will bolt to the jig and accept 33/34 Ford rails as well (as soon as Denny finishes them). his original jig is set up for 32 and also A-V8 rails, so they pretty much have the bases covered now for those amazingly detailed and traditionaly themed ch***is IHRS is known for.

seeing as we built the jig in Jeff's shop (GMgrunt), which is about 40 or 50 miles from Ionia, we needed a way to get this heavy beast there and we prefered not to have to lift it. EVER! our solution: we narrowed up an old trailer axle and bolted it to the rear legs of the jig. then we took an old hitch i had laying around and modified it so that it also bolted on to the jig (at the front this time. obviously.). we also added a set of way oversized caster that can be bolted to the front legs so it can be moved around the shop. once it is set in place it can be jacked up and the axle, casters and hitch can be removed and set aside untill it needs moved again.

the I-beams Denny had laying outside at the shop. most of the rest of the steel Jeff and i ******ed up at the local s**** metal yard in their used metal department. we bought a 6'x14' frame work of 4x4 tubing that was fully welded together in a rectangle with cross pieces. it was only after we got it to the shop and started torching it apart that we realized it was 1/2" wall tubing. slightly overkill i'll admit, but what are ya gonna do? you use what you have. admitedly 1/4" wall would have been more than strong enough.

well in order to get the weight down we decided to drill 2 3/4" holes down each I-beam and then do the same in the horizontal 4x4 "stations". there are 36 holes in each I-beam and 14 in each station. you do the math (i would but it makes my head hurt). all those holes add up to a weight savings of about 10lbs, TOTAL!
how many hole saws do you suppose that took??? would you believe ZERO? thats right. i cut all them sons a *****es out with the gas ax! ...then spent several evenings grinding them smooth with a stone wheel on a die grinder. i did most of this type of "hack and slash" work while Jeff handled most of the precision work and machining.

when it was all painted and just about done we stood back and admired what we had done but were disgusted by the wheels and tires that came with the axle. since they were 6 lug wheels we could'nt just bolt on the pair of Torque Thrusts Jeff had laying around so i recomended we grind the white letters into wide whites and slap on some MOON discs. Jeff looked at me like i was from Mars when i said "grind the white letters into white walls" so i grabbed the grinder and showed him. one more afternoon of grinding tires and screwing on the new MOON caps Speedy Bill sent us and we was ready to go.

what do you think? kinda matches their ch***is with all the holes, does'nt it.


sorry for the darkness in some of the pics. Jeff apparently likes to work in the dark cause he only has 2 small light fixtures in the whole garage and one of them does'nt work . it was like fabrication for the blind in there. LOL... sorry Jeff. you know i can't help myself.

 

Neat.

 

Cheese and rice........that is really awesome!! Beatiful jig guys.

 

kustombuilder,
pat yourselves on the back very nice ch***is jig. and i just love those ionia guys ch***is.
Al.

 

Your jig looks better than half of the **** I see being built on here.

 

don't give me too much credit. if i'd been building it by myself it'd be at least 3 more years before it was done ...

 

thanks Mike!! Maybe this summer i will wire up some lights, it is a little on the dim side in there. just think what it coulda looked like if we could see what we were doing. hahahhaa!

 

Cool

 

looks fast!

 

Good golly, your frame jig has more miles on it this year than my car does...I gotta get going!

Looks good. I can't even imagine what it must weigh.

Tucker

 

Hey you said it Mike not me hahhhaa,

Actually that kicks ***, super nice job man, you should be proud of yourselfs.

Being able to move it is a big plus in Dennys shop thats for sure.

Again nice work.

 

Show-off! Now if I were actually needing a deuce ch***is built,
who do I start ****ing up too?

 

Very cool. I can see where you might be able to roast a steer on that baby when it's not in use. Where did that guy get that Elvis outfit. Man I could get some machining done if I had an outfit like that!

Just kidding! Great to see it.

 

why you cut all the holes in it for

 

That is one cool ch***is jig...nuff said.

 

"HOLY" **** that RULES!! Dude....Did you scribe Ozzy on it somewhere?

 

Duh,,,,It makes it waaaaaaay faster.

 

Impressive. And I like your mobility solution. The holes seme "right" for an Ionia Hot Rod Shop ch***is jig.

 

I wouldnt want to run up the *** of that on the road..........good job......Bert

 

I think it needs more holes in it,still looks too heavy.
Looks nice and hell for stout.

 

Kustombuilder- looks awesome man! You're in good company, Jeff is one of the best toolmakers around! He and Denny have a wealth of knowlege to learn from, so take notes!!!!

Jeff- '36 looks sweet, Looks like you have too much work, maybe I should take the 34 off your hands??

Matt

 

I think it's pretty!!

 

What an incredible ch***is jig.It's great when someone takes the initiative,to make a functional shop tool,into an artistic expression itself.The labelling and plaque sure give it that "old manufacturing co."look.Also thanks for the quote on your signature!

 

What they all said!!

 

Sweeet!

 

nice work

 

break out the check book if you want a ch***is. ****ing up will do you no good at all. i spent over 6 weeks of free time workin on this jig and i don't think it got me any closer to a ch***is. they can't pay the bills with lip stick marks on their ***es.
better get in line too. i hear they are getting ALOT of phone calls about ch***is.

if i have to explain it to you you would'nt understand.

 

Me likey!
Damn stout,stable setup!

Where did ya' find that blue hammer tone paint?

Looks to be the type you would see on some old machinery/equipment.

Neat!

 

Very well done guys.