I'm getting to the point on my Dodge Brothers Modified where my next step will be to build my frame. Being that I've never built a frame before, I'm a bit leary to just jump in & start cutting & welding without some input on my plan. I'm more than willing to listen to the advise you guys might have for me. Here's what I was thinking, The pic below is the plans for the front framerails, which will be cut at a 45* angle, then the frame will be built with the loose pieces laying on top of the frame, overlaping by 4". Now for the question, is that 4" of overlapping frame enough, strenght-wise? I though about drilling a hole in the pointed ends of the frame & making some rosette welds, in addition to welding the edges & adding some gusseting. If that 4" isn't deemed as enough, I could add more material under the top piece, running forward. Just FYI... the frame material is 2x3x.120 wall tubing and I'm going to be running a Caddy 500. I want the frame plenty strong and have a tendancy to overbuild. Thoughts? Here's what the rest of the parts are starting to look like. Everything is just mocked up, so the grill will sit lower once it's done.
I didn't over lap mine either. This frame is 2x3 like your stuff. As you can see its the rear section but the same deal. Worked out great
ok..think I got it...reverse your cut line ( the one in the pic...)provided thats the cowl in the corner of the pic...(you want the rail to be longer on the bottom)ok...using that as your starting point for your z...I'd fab up some sleeves to go in the rail...4 inches long should cover it nicely...slide them in 2" in the rail, the other 2 will be in the other half...drill some holes to rosette weld them in place..I usually got 2-3 on each side, and 2 on the top and bottom...and be sure to properly chamfer the rail for good penetration when you weld them together...now after determining how much z you want, make the next piece, and repeat the process(reversing your angles so you end up with a z) I just explained, and finish it off with your horizontal rail to the frontend....hope this is understandable..I can see it in my head, and have done it...hard to put in words though...
dont overlap them, there is a much nicer looking way to do this. Figure out the angle you want the kickup to be at, in this case 45*. Cut your rails at the desired location at HALF of that angle, in this case 22.5*. You are also going to cut the piece that makes the kickup at that angle. When you put them together you now have your 45* you wanted. Now, your not done there. You need to make 4 backing plates to go inside the rails. They are going to be a "V" shape, with a 45* angle in the middle to match your joint angle made of either 1/8 or 3/16". Make them as wide as you can with them still being able to lay flat inside the tube. Drill 3 holes for rosette welds on each side of the tube. Tack the plates in one of the tubes, then slide the other one on. Tack in place. Weld the top and bottom first, because they dont have a backing, and are kinda a bitch to weld once everything is hot, then the rosette welds, then the sides. The heat from the rosettes will help the sides to lay in real nice. grind and call it done I know that is probably kinda hard to understand, so I'll try to get some pics of my frame up later tonight.
Gotcha, that would look much cleaner. I'm going to Z the rear just like you guys have mentioned, I just thought laying the framerails on top of each other would be simple.
Pie-cut for a zig-zag: http://www.directimagehost.com/is.php?i=112926&img=DSC01301.JPG Not crude like the other method IMO. It take's a very small piece of pie to get it,and the result was the height of the rail, at this point 4" step down. http://www.directimagehost.com/is.php?i=112928&img=DSC01308.JPG
laying one on top of the other when you only want to Z the height of the framerail is both the easiest and strongest way to do it. look at the big V you'll have for welding. want a little extra strength? add an inch or so to your plates that will cover up the holes in the end of your tubing, bend at the proper angle and weld all around. all this talk of 22 1/2 degrees and making a bunch more welds than you need to seems silly to me.
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