My new project 1951 Buick

Cool. So, the shape of that cut increases the length of the weld joint. Is that right?

 

Yes Brerhair that is correct there is more strength in a repair like this over a butt joint . Theres more of an area that is welded .A friend of mines uncle told us quite some time ago to never cut and butt weld a frame together . Always try to V it or in his case a Z pattern . He welded heavy equipment as a living and did it for 40 years . I would think that he knows what he is talking about .
I did it on my 1986 F-150 and the frame never gave me a problem . He also said if at all possible always weld frame with frame if you have access to old pieces.

 

You can make that splice even stronger by welding in some fish-plate or even a couple of lengths of heavy 2" angle-whatever you have laying around.
Nice work so far. Really looking forward to seeing the Buick body dropped onto the Caprice chassis!

 

Yes, Hot Rods Ta Hell . I am looking forward to it as well .Hopefully I will get some time in tonight and tomorrow morning as well . If I do ,The body should be over the frame by tomorrow . ( Early Christmas present to me ) That is a major corner turner in the build of any project . I still have a very long way to go but at least the rebuilding will begin .

 

Well I almost got the other side done . I ran out of wire and it was 10:00 PM anyway . I told the cheif I would be in at 10:00 . Funny how that works . Anyway pretty much a duplicate of the Left side . As far as the pictures goes . If I can steal away for about another 3 hours tomorrow I may be able to get the body down and placed on the frame . We'll see . Stay Tuned . LOL!!!

 

I'm a member of that club!!

 

Just a Christmas eve update . I stole away a few hours this AM and finished up what I started last night . I am back to having a roller again , but 5.5 inches longer . Be a few days I am sure before I am back at this again . Anyway , Merry Christmas to all .
PS I received a christmas gift today as well . I had ordered some interior side window trim from Wheatbelt Buick in Oklahoma on the 14th of Dec. and it arrived today . Very good stuff. Thanks Wheatbelt !!!

 

Hello All
I have a few more pics here , not to much accomplished other than the lowering of the 51 onto the caprice frame . A few obsevations. I see that I need to lower the front frame mounts a few inches and I also have to continue to remove the rest of the floor ( trunk ) all the way to the tailpan . That way I can lower the body down over the frame as far as I want and then start the reconstruction of the floorpans and body frame mounts . This is all in good time , after all it is a long winter . A few hours a week and it will be a roller by the spring . Have a look .
Sorry the pics are out of sequence a bit but all from this evening .

 

Very interesting build. I been seeing more and more of us on the east coast of Canada build projects from very rusty cars. maybe the guys down south might realize that if a car is good from the door handles up!! It worth saving. I`ll be keeping a eye on this.

 

I hear ya fitzee . I have your thread already on my watchlist . There are som guys out there that would not dare try the things us Atlantic Canadians do . But when we have nothing but this to start with what is a guy to do ?
Building these cars builds your confidence as well and I feel after tackling something like this I am up for just about anything. Stay tuned this should get interesting LOL !!

 

Looking good ! Its a great incentive booster (for me anyways!) when the rotten old body rolls around on a solid frame once again! So we will see it at the Nats in July right

 

Steve your a bugger for putting pressure on people.lol

 

Ill say . I see he was layin it on you as well fitzee. I think Nats 2012 maybe more like it LOL How about you Steve ? We gonna see a chopped coupe in Moncton this year ?

 

Nice work. Can't wait for more pics....

 

Great save of what most would not take on, are you going to channel it a little?

 

A daring project to take on, I'm watching this one. I'm not a big fan of whole frame swaps, but I'm interested to see how this takes shape.

If anything, the craftsmanship is admirable.

 

Yes you got it 296 moon . I am not sure how much yet . I am guessing maybe 5 inches . That frame is 5 inches thick and I dont want any of it poking out from under the Buick body . Stay tuned . Later !!
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Thanks for the compliment strange agent . I will take as much tech pics I can . Time consuming but easy enough . This is the kind of stuff I love to do . I just wish there was enough bussiness around here to make a living at it . I'd be in , definitely
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Thanks Billy . Stay tuned . Where on a roll . Later !!!

 

Lol it would be nice....I am gonna try ! If it dont happen it will be from lack of money not lack of effort !

 

Thats cause in Texas you dont have to try and replace frames that are rusted into several sections ! We have to fix stuff that wouldnt even be considered a parts car down south ....its even hard to find a newer donor frame cause they are usually pretty rotten as well

 

Kool Kemp ,A-men on that brother

 

Just another short note . I began to sink the body into the frame . You can see where the frame has been cut . On these GM frames the frame kicks up at this point . You need it to be flat for the buick body support to lay . As you can see I cut the body support and will section what I need out of it when I determine the amount I am going to channel the body over the frame. The third picture is the original main body A piller support that is currently supporting the body . I will section this piece as well . Its nice to see that it rest right on top of the frame . These two sectioned body supports will be what will hold the body to frame . This will mimic the 1951 body to frame mounting points . Thats it for now will post more as progress continues .

 

is the caprice the same width as the olds? looks wider

 

Wow! You're certainly ambitious! I'm always awed by what you guys up there will take on. Where I live, that would certainly be a parts car that would have been stripped and sent to the scrapper. Great work and good for you for taking it on. I'm anxious to see how this comes out. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Merc o I dont know the width of a Olds but I do know that the caprice is 57 1/2 outsid of frame to outside of frame above / below the trans crossmember . The frame of the caprice tapers back as you go from front to back . I think overall 3 inches but dont hold me to it !!!
Saxman, ambitious? up here we dont have much option unless you have lots of $$$ to have somethng shipped up from the US south .Yup I am ambitious , ambitious out of desperation . LOL .This would be scrapper material for a lot of people around here as well . I on the other hand am drawn to the challenge to take a pile of crap and turn it into something of beauty.Thanks for your feedback and subscribe as this is going to get interesting within a few weeks . Later

 

Man, you Canadians are some tough motherfuckers.

Below The 50th: "Sure looks like a rusted out POS."

Canadian: "Oh yea, I can see how you might think that, but really she's not too bad!"

Below The 50th: "Too much fucking work if you ask me."

Canadian: "Oh no, this one's in pretty good shape. You shoulda seen the one my Uncle Darryl finished last year."

Below The 50th: "Brrrr. Goddamn, it's cold !!"

Canadian: "Oh you shoulda been here last week! We were just saying as how this has been a mild winter so far, ya know?"

 

Lol that pretty much sums it up sometimes

 

Thats pretty funny brerhair. You must have done some time in the great white north . On the ends of the canadian comments you needed the odd EH! or two to make it really authentic canadian lingo . LOL!!!!

 

This all looks very familiar. Check out my pics. I used a 79 Pontiac frame. Same thing, had to stretch 5.5 inches

http://photobucket.com/fiddy3Buick