I'm attempting to create a frame for my 31 Tudor and I'm trying to keep it cheap. I do not have the skills to weld this thing myself so I'll have to "pay-to-play". I want to create a frame from 2"x4" 1/8" tubing with very minimal welds to keep the costs down. I want to get a low stance, mount the radiator in front of spring, and the perches to the bones. More importantly, I want to make sure it is SAFE! This is where you guys come into play. I've done alot of research and think I've gotten it right, but since my son and daughter will accompany me in this from time to time I need to be absolutely sure. The most important question I have is about my front crossmember behind my radiator, but I also have a couple more since this is my first build. 1. Is it safe to mount the spring inside a 2"x2" or is something better suggested, I already have a suicide mount for 3" pipe but I think this is actually easier for my radiator mount. 2. How thick of metal should be used to mount the swivel perches to my bones? A wrap around mount not through the bone. Anything else you guys may have will surely help me out! Thanks!
I've seen those cars that mount the springs to the split bones, and to say the least, I'm not a huge fan of that setup. With a little work and planning, you can get an A frame very, very low with the spring in the stock location, so it would seem that appearance is the only reason to go with a suicide setup of any kind. I have seen several T roadsters that have nice looking and safe front suspension setups that place the spring mount on the batwing, and use either a four bar or tubular hairpins, and at least that would be safer than running the spring mounts through a tube that was never meant for such things. I can understand wanting to do this as inexpensively as possible, and I'm glad to see that you're thinking of your kids' safety on this project, but please try to understand that you can only get the frame rails so low on a truly streetable chassis. I assume you're gonna channel the body, so why not leave a little room for things like suspension travel and oil pan clearance and get the low look by dropping the body? It's still gonna be impractical as far as leg and headroom, but by having room for the suspension and steering to work, at least it'll be safe. Don't build a car with an intentionally shabby-looking chassis, either. Crude work and rust is not going to cut it, cost be damned. I've built several low-dollar A chassis, and while they weren't show car material, at least they were safe and failure-free. Take a class, learn to weld and plan every single cut and weld as if your kids' lives depend on it, because they do.
Thanks for the reply and dont worry; I'm definitely not going ratrod with this! The reason why I'm not doing the batwings with the spring mount is that I prefer the look of a split bone setup over hairpins and four bars. The reason I am not going with the stock cross member is that I want to mount the radiator in between the spring and the axle. If someone knows of another way to do this please let me know. I have a 46 axle with no drop, so I want it low and I figured designing it with an 11" ride height would compensate for suspension components and engine weight. I dont know how much I should compensate for spring travel or how high a uncompressed/compressed spring is to mock up. The spring is my next purchase. I want to achieve a stance that will be similar to Skratch's Headskratcher http://image.automotive.com/f/featu...0733_01_z+1930_model_a_hot_rod+front_view.jpg Although his rails look a little too low for me, his body height is just about what I want. Basically I want it a little low and to have the axle in front of the bottom of the grille. It will have a 3" channel and a 4" chop. I will not be welding this. However, I will weld up the non-structural/non-safety things!
http://www.wescottsauto.com/WebCatalog/FR-2.pdf Heres some reference if you need any, good luck on your frame. I really am considering building one myself.
Skratch is a master at stance, that's for sure. But to see how low his chassis really is, take a close look at the area above the axle: it's plenty low, but not so low he had to notch it. The past few chassis I've done all needed a notch for the spring, and while there's nothing to use for reference in this pic, I'd sure like to see a tape measure on that frame horn up front. I suspect the full fendered A sedan in my avatar has it's chassis just as low as the one in your pic, if not lower. That's kinda what I meant, get the body low, but make the chassis safe. I'd love to see more of Skratch's work, since he's one of my heroes, and his car is obviously safe and extremely well built. I think you've picked a great car to emulate.
After a closer look, perhaps the coupe in your pic is notched, it's so hard to tell. Either way, most of the lowness of the chassis comes from the rear being dropped so much, not the front. You can mount your grille and radiator in front of the crossmember with no problem as well. Just fab up some mounts between the front frame horns and put it where you think it looks best and where the lower hose will clear. As for the 'bones, I love 'em as well, but like hairpins for their adjustablity. If you choose split wishbones, better get the caster right on the first try, because unless you build an adjustable mount, it is what it is once you weld it. You also hada question on caster angle. I use between 6 and 9 degrees, and have never had any problems. less than 6 degrees will cause it to wander a bit on the freeway.
Im pretty sure the drop in his chassis is attributed to the front sweep of his rails which I was trying to get by making the Z in the front of mine. But how much will get me the proper stance is the million dollar question???
Check out this link I think most would consider this a rolling bones style front end. He's running the grille over the axle but all you would different is put your's over the crossmember. As for being as safe set up the rolling bones drive these cars cross country constantly. The blue 32 roadster has been on the road since the early eighties. Mat http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=317988&highlight=rolling+bones+front+end Here's another one to check out. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315835&highlight=more+pics+32+roadster
Bianchi's blue '32 basically has the setup that I'm trying to achieve. I think of this as a "blue dot scraper" as my pops calls em. How many inches off the ground do you think the ride height is?
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