Question, if I make my chopped 30 frame from aluminum, am I still HAMB worthy?

I think the better choice would be a tube frame. They were used quite a bit back in the day and present a unique aspect to a traditional rod. I am afraid that the aluminum frame will become somewhat of a nightmare and extremely difficult to build. The monocoque design would be the way to go but I'm not exactly sure how you would incorporate that into a "Traditional" look. However, it would make an awesome machine done correctly.

 

Would that be the inevitability of cracking??

Doc.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

 

So who is the official measure of a HAMB friendly build? Build it and drive it - that should be good enough.

 

Hey, you knew what i meant.

 

Kentz and Leslie had an aluminum framed twin flatty powered dragster around '53.

it was made from aluminum channel with a torsion bar suspension on the rear and everything steel was bolted on. IE cross members roll bar etc.

But they also built a land speed car chassis out of what appears to be exhaust pipe in the same era.

I'm not sure what you intend to use in the line a aluminum, but it is doable properly designed and executed. With aluminum you use thicker walls and it will need extra bracing but it can still come out lighter than a steel frame if that's what you are after. As for durablilty it probably won't hold up as well as a steel counterpart and I probably wouldn't build a ladder frame that way.

Just for information they were building some aluminum bird cage frames in the '60s for road racing etc. But they were using modern (for the time)slippery bodies also.

 

I'ma start out by saying this is a fucked up deal. It seems like when I have thoughts about something on my hour long drive to work the subject pops up here some way. Perfect topic for it. I was thinking about this whole traditional gig. What is, what isn't, etc. So you want to build a frame from aluminum. Why not? We aren't a bunch of bit players in a theme park here, we're hot rodders. Is it traditional if I chop a top and do all of my welding with a tig instead of O/A? I say yes. The foundation is the spirit of the build, the desire to make a vision come to life that one remembers from their formative years that a family member or a friend built, something in a magazine, that idea you heard when the old guys were talking. I don't think you have to ask. The practice of building ANYTHING from scratch, from one's imagination, is as traditional as it gets. Is Dean Jeffries a "hero" from our favorite era? He was building skeletons from tubing or conduit and skinning em for some of those fluid shapes. He wasn't the only one. What was "Big Daddy" doing? Fiberglass. No matter the execution or material I think what we're more about is build style. I don't think you have to "suffer through" a project in a 1 car garage with a dirt floor O/A welding and brazing shit together under a single light bulb to feel that satisfation. If that sounds like I've done that, well you got it, I have. Why would I go back? Why would I use junky old shit if I had access to good stuff. I was told a story about a guy who welded in rusted panels on a new Brookville body in an effort to make an "old car". Sure it was theirs to do as they please but that's so wrong in so many ways, dontcha think?

I applaud your feelings toward the craft of traditional hotrodding and the mere fact that you want to push the envelope by building an aluminum frame is as traditional as it gets. You wouldn't be the 1st. Keep us in the loop.

 

Roger Huntington built a project for Cars magazine, I'm guessing maybe 1963 or 4. Had an aluminum frame, Pontiac motor, house cast wheels, and I think cast crossmembers...the sixties were a long time ago, but I'll bet someone will remember that car.

 

Back in the mid 60's when I worked for Chuck Tanko at Fresno Speed Center. Someone brought an aluminum t-bucket frame in that they had made, for us to sell. I don't remember who it was or what became of it.

 

You would be h.a.m.b. worthy regardless of what you did bro.....

If any one should say other wise I would question THEM..


Build On.....

 

If you're still researching this and can give me some dimensions and specs on rail sizes and lengths and a basic draft of what your end product will be I am sure myself and the 75 aerospace design and stress engineers I work with might be able to help you out a tad..... I know some of the boys would be thrilled to help on a chassis hell they design shit for me all the time.

 

I think you need to decide whether its more important to you to have a "unique" car, or a HAMB-friendly one. No offense to anyone with a traditional car, but by definition, there isn't really anything unique about them. You can only do so much coloring within the lines!

 

+ 1 ..bravo!

 

On the right rod I think a Fabricated Aircraft type skeleton X frame rivited not welded would be quite unique. Be cool on a salt flat type car with a louvered belly pan... I might have to log that on my list of cool cars I will never have the time to build in my head file...

 

I think it would be cool if you pulled it off and I think sam1el should be your new best friend.

 

Just had a thought on your frame. What about stainless? You could get pretty close to the look you want and not have some of the structural issues.

 

I've been considering an aluminum frame for a '27 roadster body lying around the shop.
It would be half channeled so only the front frame would be visible.
I was figuring that a welded bellypan could make it strong enough for a driver and not a show car.
I've got a little v8-60 though which is half the weight of your hemi!

TP

 

Already been discussing it with the guys and Rex Schimmer is right on the issue of when you weld it the 0 condition which we just call ought is kind of a hang up at the moment for us. we are trying to figure out structurally what would need to be done to reinforce this. Riveting the frame together really would be a more structurally sound option but that doesn't mean that the welded option will not work. We are gonna toss it around for a while and see what we can come up with. definitely throw me some info on the frame rails length and width and so on. I can say for sure you will want to use 1/4in thickness at a minimum. We have also discussed tubular vs square and gusseted frame rails and we lean towards the tubular but really won't know till I get some dimensions.

 

and it holds up to 500+ HP.

The frame is made in Hopkinsville, KY. I used to work there some....

 

Instead of riveting, they used to bolt the aluminum Kenworth truck frames together. Whenever a crack would develop, we would replace the whole rail.

 

Frank, maybe come by the shop and Kevin can offer some advice too. He was an aircraft fabricator in the USAF.

I think it would be pretty rad if done correctly.

 

If you are going for light weight, find an aluminum-blocked engine, like a Buick 215, and go REAL lightweight! Then you could do everything in Al. And if the Korean-War aircraft mechanic had gotten home with all that new-found knowledge, he'd build his own roadster body out of Al. How sweet would THAT be?!?!?!?!?

 

Why not just carve a frame from a solid block of aluminum? Billett.

 

I think a lot of you missed the quwstion. He didn't ask weather or not he could do it, he asked if it would be HAMB friendly

 

So, how come my 12yr old Featherlight trailer is in such good shape? I mean, aluminum is not for frames and structure, or so I'm reading here. Could it be the trailer's "faux" aluminum?

Like anything, the build design and material go hand in hand. The trailer has had 5-6000lb heavy American classics in it and has been all over the place since '99. Granted it's not been dragged down off road courses or been into any rock crawling competitions so I might be off base here. Considering the tonage and loads that Featherlight horse trailers endure for decades I'm wondering how far along you are already Francisco? Got any pics? Sketches? You goin Top Fuel? F/C? Pro Mod?

You're a stand up guy sharing your ideas here. There's enough info out there to do what you wanna do. It's a hot rod not the next Virgin Airlines space shuttle. Something else to consider, look at all the latest drag race stuff fabbed from various grades of aluminum that holds up under unique stresses without failure. Most of it welded too. I'll bet there's a couple dozen readers that are looking into doing it already just from this post.

 

build what you want, if the "people of the HAMB" happen to approve... all the better.
if not, and it means that much to you, slap a steel frame under it, and have the experience of doing it in your memory.

I frankly think it would be cool, and creative and say go for it, it will werk, you just need to figure out how

 

Bolting would work as well only reason they suggested rivets was in our experience with all sorts of aluminum in aero structures it holds up the best. We are working on a frame design for ya right now as a mock up for you to play with using the type of aluminum Rex Schimmer suggested I also found a base drawing of the frame with exact measurements and dimensions and we are basing it off of a normal steel frame using 1/4 and 5/16in thicknesses. also, one of the engineers here is a dirt track guy and has built the frames of all 3 of his rods. he suggested chomoly for weight and price being here n TX it looks to be cheaper than aluminum. just some more thoughts. I think it's an awesome idea

 

Same with my 15+ year old City 3 axle 42 ft flat bed. It has come out of flint with over 120,000 lbs on the deck(little hard to get on the Ohio turnpike). Its welded and riveted. The tri axle kenworth has and aluminum frame and is over 25 years old few crack but it also has had lots of twisting and bending with 100k loads.
Sound like a cool project.

 

Personally, i don't see anything wrong with your "how it might have been" approach. It can be made structurally sound, and when you get right down to it, even the most hardcore "trad nazis" appreciate good fabrication and execution.

Who's to say that some guy in west Wherever didn't build exactly what you have in mind "back in the day"...?

 

edit

 

Gordon Schroeder built a riveted ali/mag. framed Indy car back in 1950, complete with IFS and disc brakes to boot.

http://www.schroedersteering.com/History-BlakelySpcl.html