to start off im a new guy at this so hold the laughter to a minimum. after boxing off the frame rail in my 30 model a chassis, i warped it. the driverside frame rail, from the middle crossmember to the front horn, curved about 1 5/8" toward the center. looking at it at eye level, you can see the bend starts in the middle and curves toward the front horn. should i try pulling it, or cut the plate off and see if it springs back to normal?
i did think of that, but i was wondering if someone had a similar expierience and was able to fix it on their own.
You could weld a beam from your bent frame rail/middle crossmembr intersection to the front of the not bent frame rail basically making a big tiangle=vey strong. Then setup a porta power from the long side of the triangle to your bent framerail. Essentualy you would be dong the same thing a frame shop would do without being tied to the floor. I've done several successful repairs to frames which were bent up real bad in front of the front crossmmber. It may be easier overall to undo the boxing plate on the bent rail before tweaking it back into shape. You'll find that you'll have to over exagerate the push/pull before the rail will relax back into shape.
ok, i had removed the original front x member to replace it with a new one. the new dosent bolt to the frame like the original, its narrower so it needs to be welded to the face of the inside of the rail. im thinking i just welded too fast and didnt let the heat dissapate. i made sure to weld in short distances and in different spots, but i think i just went too fast.
you could cut through the boxing plate ( top to bottom ) in several spots along where the curve begins forward. then tack weld a support on top of the rails side to side about 6 inches behind where the curve begins and at the front of the rails. next use a piece of at least 3/16 " thick steel ( say 2" x 3/16" and long enough to span the curved area) and tack this perpendicular on the outside of the good rail . it'll form a tee shape. from that point on you could use a come-along and bring the bad rail back into shape. do a small area at a time ( a foot or so ) and when you get that area where it's good tack another strip across side to side to hold it's shape. once you get everything where you want it weld up SLOWLY the cuts you made in the boxing plate. use air to cool as you go. leave the font support piece on until you get a cross member in. hope this helps.
I did frame work for 30 years, My suggestion is to cut the plate loose along the top, well past the start of the warp. Your rail should be easy to jack back into position. Now tack weld the plate, to the frame, every foot or so. Come back and tack weld in between. Now weld the plate to the rail, moving from one spot to another. The rail warped because of the heat from welding. Next time don't try to weld the whole rail at one time. Move to a different spot and let the previous area cool before continuing.
This is why you build yourself a frame table....simple I-beam can really be a life saver. I would suggest cut it on the top all the way back past the warpage area, maybe 10 inches past. Secure it to a frame table, and then lay tacks about 4-5 inches apart, all the way down.....then jump from one end to the other why doing 4-5 inches at a time to keep the heat down enough so it won't do that again.
ill end up making something like that for my next build. im 22, this is my first project, and im buying tools as i need them on top of buying parts for the car too on a limited budget. i am a very impatient person so when i run out of money between paychecks, i hate wiating and watching it sit with nothing to do to it.
i feel your pain. i'm impatient also,but being impatient has gotten you a warped frame. i would start over.cut it all loose and build you some type of jig to hold your frame.if you plan to build another frame,this is a good tool to have. sorry for raining on your parade,but someone has to do it. -danny
oh im well aware thats what caused it. but making the mistake is the best way to learn how not to do it again
Another option would be to tack a piece of scrap (angle iron, or something similar) between the rails and make a vertical cut through the box plates where it's bent. You can straighten it out, and add more scrap pieces as you go, making more vertical cuts as necessary. Once you get things back to datum (a cross measure between opposite frame rail, i.e. square) slowly weld up the verts. Make shure you move around, and keep the heat to a minimum. Then do the other rail and install the crossmembers you intend to use, before you untack your temporary braces (feild jig). Get someone to help hold things while you straighten and tack, and it'll come right back...
ok heres where im at: the bent rail is now straight, i have it tacked with the piece of angle iron holding the front apart. ill be able to weld it up and fit the new front x member in and then cut out the angle iron. as it stands now, the whole frame is square again. lets hope it stays. thanks again for the advice guys
PERFECT, as long as your X measurement is within 3mm, or .180 ( or 3/16" for you tape measure guys), you are good to rock! Use cross braces (top and bottom) to keep the width (and twist) the way you want it before you weld everything out. Another piece of scrap in the oposite diaginal would keep you on perfect square until you are done. Refrain from taking the long X braces out until you are FINISHED with all welding. Take your time, and take breaks in between large sections. (about one beer between) After a heat cycle, give the end of each frame rail some light taps with a mallet. The shockwaves through the steel will tend to aneal the structure, and semi stress releive the entire unit. After all, it is the stress created by the COOLING weld that creates the warpage...
Would you like to borrow my frame table? I'm only up the GSP a few exits. all you need is a small pick up truck shoot me a PM if you want too. Later Wayne
Dont worry about youth and patience,,,, time will help you with both. As you get older patience comes to most of us.
youve already learned a good lesson-dont finish weld 4-5 inches at a time.also,dont EVER finish weld till all crossmembers are in-evn bolt in ones! you can get away with it,but its definitely not the best method.you do seem to be doing a pretty darn good job of pulling yourself out of the mess you made tho.hope the project turns out to be everything you want (tho we all know theyre never really done,right?).im in the middle of my first early car project,and the only thing ive learned is i do it all myself-twice!i even eyeballed where i wanted my pedal bracket based from the firewall-with no thought of the toeboard.i wasnt off a quarter inch-i was off 6 full inches! building a car from nothing leaves much room for error!if it can be screwed up,i can do it better!
Are those vertical cuts along the frame? Careful, when you weld them they'll all want to shrink the rail in also. Re, frame tables, use the search function for that and chassis jigs. Many threads with pix. Good luck.
Yea, you need braces between each rail before you weld anything. Load it up and use the frame table, that way, you can clamp everything down nice and solid before you weld...
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