Hey fellas I want to know over what distance is common to create a nice looking tapered frame, I plane on not running frame horns. This is for a model t coupe body with stock wheel base and stock hood. I Plan to cut the rectangular tubing I bought and produce a 4" to 3" taper but am undecided on the length of the taper. 3 ft sound right. This is all cosmetics really. Should the taper end at the beginning of the cowl? For the t coupe it seems like 36" would work just wanted to know what others have done
Start at the cowl and taper it to 2 1/2"at the end. Some make their frames from heavy wall 2" by 3" but 4 or 5 by 2 is better imo as it will show off the taper more as well as being stronger.
I used 2X3 when I built the frame for my T. I tapered it from the cowl down to 2 inchs at the front, thats only an inch but you can really tell it tapers.
We're you running an aftermarket crossmember? Did you have to notch your frame rails for leafspring clearance.
I dont have any good pics at the time. When I built the car I was still using film in a 35 mm camara so all my build pictures are on film(damn I feel old)
You are absolutely on the right track, tapering from 4 to 3 over a 3 foot span is about right. That is what I did on my rpu project. First I marked out the wedge shaped area I wanted to cut out. Then I cut it out with a vertical bandsaw, and then we clamped it together for welding: You can sort of see the taper in these pictures below: Don
Get a few pieces of 2 x 4 studs (as in lumber..) and cut a few up until you're happy. It'll give you a good 1:1 vision of what you want.
T's always look good to me on "A" frames with a nice sweep in the front. You might want to consult the Wescott drawings for some inspiration.
Here's a 2x6 taper down to 2.5, to answer your question 2.5 does fit the crossmember. I like the look and didn't have to notch the rails for the spring. I'm****uming you ordered a deuce crossmember, if so it should clear fine at 2.5... I like the idea of 2x4 for a T though... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Start small with the taper, cut out the waste, bend it to fit and then study it to get the look you want. Not quite enough? Cut a little more until you get the look that you want and then weld it up. Study it from different angles until you like it. Weld it, grind it and move on to the next challenge.
He guys thought id share with you what I did. I removed 1.5" and tapered along 31" Two questions I have are: did you notice how much the surfaces bow after you made the cuts (most likely due to stresses induced at the manufacture through folding and seam welding) and did you do anything to correct this. I put a straight edge on the tapered surface and it rocked until I added a c-clamp also the bow is on the "straight surf along that 31" length. I calculated this to be 1/3 deg something I notice. I can live with it Heres some pics
Every time I've done This (more than 100) I cut it just past the radius (that part will curl away) then remove the wedge (Like in dons pic) clean up the cap, straighten and bevel for welding. The weld is about 3/8 to 1/2" off the bottom edge of the tube- Never had trouble. You can also do frame horns in this fashion because the cut cap will follow that curve very easily. I've also split tubes lengthwise to curve them and weld them back together. You'll want both front rails to match, if you can live with that little curl then leave it. You can straighten it easy enough, or move one rail to match the other.
you might consider getting a much heavier piece of stock, and somewhat longer, for the "straight edge". That should allow you to clamp it in position, as shown in your second pic, and eliminate that bow in the upper rail.
31vicky thanks, I understand my mistake. It's the induced stress that bowing the tube The difference is that in the process of "wedging" your method maintains a stiffer remaining beam than mine that is prior to welding. Thanks for the tip Should I try to correct the bow in the last picture. What is the best way. With a stiffer beam and heavy c clamps, little heat. Yikes!
With stiffer beam and sufficient clamps, heat shouldn't be necessary to straighten. However, welding heat will want to warp it...so I'd recommend welding in short stitches, maybe an inch or so at a time, skip around and let it cool after making a few welds, then more stitches, cool, etc. A bit time consuming, but should produce a better result.
Depends on how stiff you can get. If you can get stiff enough, pre-load it past straight and weld it. The weld will pull it back and should wind up straight when you let it loose. That's some heavy duty stuff you'll need You can heat it and shrink it, pretty easy actually. 4-6 spots about the size of a bandaid wrapped around the closed end should get you real close. That little bit won't hurt anything as long as the left matches the right. If you do the other the same way it should come out with the same camber. If you do the other side differently, you can be****ured the wont be the same.
On the ones I have built using 4"x2" .120 wall, the taper is 3" at the front, back to 4" at 35". To prevent getting an arch, I clamp the tube down and bow it backwards while welding up the taper. On the last 5, I had the tapers and bull-nose laser cut.
Laser cutting is cheating, Hell a plasma cutter and a chunk of angle is cheating too. I use the latter
last ones I did I welded back to back, then welded the taper a little at a time . if you get greedy they will warp. the warped ones looked good too....subtle curve that fit the look. still a bit of a suprise
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