Hey all, need more advice here......... I'm planning my 32 frame, finally have the cash to get this going and was hit with the question of if I wanted to stretch it 2 inches. Is this considered traditional? They would mount the front crossmember forward 2 inches and set the 32 grille shell lower 2 inches as well. I don't want it if it's not traditional. This will be an unpinched frame for my 29 A Sedan. Other question: I understand step-boxing is not traditional. Is flat-boxing? I'm running a 4 cyl engine, but that could change as well....... Thanks, John
Tradition be damned--would it look good? What does that translate from the cowl to the top of the grill shell? Would it give people the heebie jeebies when looking at it?
Folks did move the crossmember forward. It was NOT real common ... but sometimes it was done so well that nobody noticed. Lowering the 32 grille is the same thing. If you want to do it ... GO FOR IT ... Boxing was not all that popular before WWII ... the engines of the day did not require it. Only after WWII did home welders, electric drills and tools like that become more common. A lot of the WWII veterans took the skills they had learned and procedures they had seen during the war and bought them home to help work on their cars.
In my opinion step boxing the frame looks more traditional and original, than flat boxing it. HemiDeuce
If you are going to stretch it, then 2" is the maximum you can slide the front x-member forward in the stock ch***is before you change the camber due to the front x-member rolling froward with the frame horns. 2" plus a flat firewall = room for a stovebolt 6!!!. Go for it
i stretched the wheelbase on my frame 1.25" it was one rivet hole forward and then i made a plate to move the center of the K-member to match so i could still use the stock wishbone it gave me all the room i'd ever need for a flathead V8 and i thought it helped the car proportionally....but it really doesnt look any better or worse then if i had left it alone i just liked the slightly longer hood i made my grill match my cowl....its a tough call on the hood side edges to get them straight...you have to actually make them wrong to look right due to the sweep in the frame creating an optical illusion that the hood runs up or down hill i spent hours and hours figuring the angle moving it 1/8" at a time i think it came out "ok" i guess?
. Is this considered traditional? Hell yes its a hot rod Its about being creative, different , Making it slicker tricker and faster ,doing the best with what you have.
Who are you building this car for? If it makes you happy and you like it, piss on everybody else! That's traditional.
That really is the right answer, isnt it? I guess I'll do it then! I had never really noticed the stretching before, but from what I see, it looks good! I am building the car for me, and it's a keeper. It was a gift from my wife for my 40th birthday. SOHR, thats a remarkable car there. I had admired that before on here, it came out perfect! Thanks for all the advice, I'll tell them I want it stretched tomorrow when I get there with some money
SUHRsc's roadster looks pretty darned good with a minimal moving forward of the crossmember. The added hood length looks good as well. Moving the front crossmember forward can be a tricky thing . . . too far and it starts looking like a steam locomotive. You'll find that if you're doing an A on 32 rails you'll end up with a hood length longer than the A's and in some cases the same length or slightly longer than the 32 on 32 rails cars. Measured down the middle of the hood top. Stock hood lengths are: 28-29 = 27 3/4" 30-31 = 31 5/8" 32 = 32" I have a flat firewall in my 32. The 462" Buick engine fits just fine without a firewall recess and it runs a mechanical fan. A few extra things were required to get the mechanical fan in, but it wasn't a big deal, just a little extra time. One thing to pay attention to is the flow of the hood line between cowl and grille shell. It should match the angle of the cowl when viewed from the side. We want to get our cars down low - within reason - but it's worth giving up an inch or so of front end drop to make setting up 'hood flow' easy. Instead of welding the crossmember - in the stock fore & aft location - even with the top of the frame rails, slide it down an inch or so. That will bring the radiator and grille shell down along with setting the hood line up for a good visual flow. Make a point not to buy the radiator until you get the hood line set. Reason being, you can buy 32 radiators from Walker that are standard 32 height, 1" chopped and 2" chopped. Those would be for the 32 or 31 on 32 rails cars. The 29 on 32 rails requires a radiator chopped about 4". The 31's will go on an un-pinched 32 frame, but the 29 on 32 frame cars are a different story. Take a look at the Wescott web site and check out their frame blueprints. They have several stock frame prints as well as a 29 on 32 frame print. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUHRsc, I note in your comments that fitting the hood sides took a bit of doing. I ended up making sure the front and rear vertical of the hood sides were parallel on my 31 on 32 rails roadster. Same deal with the cowl hood recess and grille shell recess. Came out looking pretty good on my 31 on 32 rails car, but perhaps it's different with the 29 on 32 rails cars.
...seems to me, the only reason for stretching a frame is to gain room in the engine compartment. You say you're running a 4 banger, so why stretch it? Or better yet, why spend the extra $$$ doing it? my .02 cents
When we did the 04 NSRA giveaway (30 roadster PU on deuce rails) we slid the crossmember ahead 2 inchs and used a 2 inch shortened Walker radiator with a deuce shell. Installed a SBC with no firewall mods, and lots of fan room. Hood line was perfect. Also when we move the crossmember ahead sometimes we will use a V'd spreader bar moved forward to the front edge of the horns, tends to make the horns look a little longer.
the thing i was having trouble with was the "line" of the bottom edge of the hood....top edge of hood side...the 28/29's dont have a body line to keep paralell like the 30-32's do so you have to imagine it looking right i saw an AWFUL LOT of cars that the hood line went up or down hill...i tried every conceivable angle untill i came to the conclusion that it had to be wrong to be right...my hood line actually goes up hill slightly....but with the upswept frame its a give and take untill you find the happy medium between that angle and the angle of the top of the hood i have a 3" chopped radiator with the upper 2 center mounts for the grill hammered flat and the shell pulled down as far as it'd go....but i also have my body lower then most 28/9's on 32 rails as i pie cut the cowl to make it sit flat rather then put a spacer under the body....so my measurements may be off from most people i was putting an A crossmember in the front so i bolted it in one hole farther front to try it out...i liked it there so i stuck with it....wasnt really any extra effort to move it for me at the poiint...just making the K-member modification was the only slight bit more effort Zach
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