Thread: My panel truck build.

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I finally decided to reattach the sub frame, i started on it last night and got it cut and fit. tonight i did some welding on it, and its begining to look like it will work! When i got it mocked up, i was a little scared that it was not going to be strong enough because there was very little support, but after i did some rigging, i think it will be fine. Then i feared the final appearance was going to be down right horrible, but after the work tonight, im pretty happy so far!! Once i get some more boxing in that area, i think it will be presentable.

And a few more, after i started getting it more presentable.

That does look a lot stronger. Good move John.

Don

thanks Don. Im still a little nervous about the thin area where i cut the frame rails to slide in the subframe, but once i box it all in, plus the supports i added inside, im hoping it will have a sandwich effect, and hold up at the critical area.

Think I would consider a fishplate on the outside of the frame rail as well.....

I am Dave, i ran out of metal, so this is as far as i got. After our talks on frame support, im gonna end up adding 3x the steel it started out with. Im gonna box the rail from the first crossmember to the subframe, and alot more gusset plates.

Yeah, think that would be a good plan... On a rig that size, a bit of extra weight in the right places can be nothing but good news.....

Sold a 48 Chevy to a friend and he subbed it with a Camaro. He said when he drove it over a bump it would swerve all over . After seeing posts like yours and others , Hotroddaddy i see he probably never reinforced it like it should have been done. This is great to see in progress and i get a good idea of whats really needed so maybe next car may not make me walk away if it needs one .

That`s funny you should say that,Bobby, the merc did the same thing, and no matter what i did to the front end, i could never get it to go away! Whoever did the clip on the merc did a bad job also. I put more reinforcments in, but it was still wrong!! This one should be strong enough when im done, but i would of liked to have done the original cutting of parts, now im just working with whats already been done, granted i could have left it alone, but i have to have em low!!

I finally got a sheet of 1/8" steel, WooHoo! Now i might get something done.

I bet you guys thought i gave up or something! Nope! Just have not had the cash for metal, but now i have a whole lot of it, and i can get back to work on this rig. I should get some progress in this weekend, i will post some more later, just thought i would post an update.

Yep figured you where stuck in here with alot of us and not getting to garage . Great your back on it , I'm staying up on this frame work your doing .

Unfortunatly work did not help in this one, but some hotrod buddies did though. I paid around 70 cents a pound for it, which is alot better than the home depot prices.

How did I miss this thread? DUH! Anyway, nice work so far. Keep the pics coming.

There used to be a steel fabrication shop near where I worked and they always had a dumpster full of scraps. They let me dig around for what I could use and charged me scrap price (at the time about $.04 per pound). Wish I could find another place like that...

I got a little bit of work done last night. I decided to take dave`s advice and add a fish plate to the outside subframe connection, im glad i did, cause this seems like it will help alot! I also got one section of frame rail boxed in. It`s sure is nice to be able too this in one piece, instead of scraps like i have been doing.

Well i figured i would post an update, been awhile!

I got my lazy behind out there tonight and got some more welding done on the frame connection. I almost have the passenger side done now, then i can finish boxing in the rest. I have not decided if im gonna do the whole frame or not, im thinking just the front halve, and some gussets at the rear. I think the parts i have started will be enough to keep the twist factor down, its not like im going road racing in the thing! But i think im gonna add one more plate to the c-notch area, just for more peace of mind.

Hopefully i can get in the shop more often, but life seems to get in the way sometimes. I really miss having a car to drive, but i think in the long run, ill like this one better, even if it takes five years! at the pace im going, its gonna take that long.