Thread: custom frame rear kick up!!!

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I have a 1940 ford cab and it is the first rod i am building. I have been looking all around trying to find out how to set up my frame. I want to build it custom out of 2 by 4 box tubing and I want my car utterly low. So i guess my question is how do i know how high to kick it up in the rear? any replies would be greatly apriceated. Thanks Luke

Check out this thread http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23618

Luke, welcome to the forum. The 40 Fords are very popular and there should be a wealth of info available on building them. Lot of experience here at this site and very friendly members who will be more than willing to share their knowledge and experience. When you get a chance, post some photos of the 40 now and along the way as you build. We love photos here, they help the old people here see and understand what you are doing.

The size of the kick up is directly proportional to the diameter of the wheel and tire. Or is it the angle of the dangle is directly proportional to the beat of the meat. I can never remember which. If you want to lay frame on 22" then expect 10" or more.

Welcome to the forum. From the sounds of it you are planning to build the cab into one of the fenderless, so called "bobber" trucks. Is that right? If so, what you need to do is mockup the cab with some blocks under it to get it sitting at the height and attitude you want, then slide your rear axle up behind it, using the tires you will be running. Then place your engine in front of the cab in what looks like a reasonable spot, and finally put your front axle and tires in front of that in a position that allows for radiator clearance and a good appearance.

Now sit back in a chair, open a cold one, and take a long look at the truck to see if you like it. Shift things around to get it perfect, and then you can determine how much kickup you need front and back to get it all put together. There is no other way to properly calculate kickup and frame length IMO.

Don

Yes, and after about the 6Th cold one it starts looking pretty neat

Don't forget to allow for spring compression. If you set it up with the springs relaxed, then when you put weight on them, the cab will likely be on the deck.

Thanks for all the help and support i will be shure to get picks of the cab sometime soon.

Yep, pictures would help. To give you some idea, here is my '39 Dodge truck. The kickup in the rear is 12 inches and 4 in front. It sits about 8 inches off the deck. I didn't want to go too low because I plan on driving this one a lot and it is no fun doing the lowrider crawl out of every parking lot or over speedbumps.

Don

Thats exactly about how far i want mine to sit off of the ground nice truck! I was going to build mine with no bed and a big old beer keg in between the rear tires to try and fill in some of the space. I will add pictures of my cab sometime today.

If you look at the taped line on the rocker panel, I cut the body off there later on. It was cosmetically too big, and also too close to the ground. I had pictures of it after it was cut off, but my computer crash lost a lot of my pictures. I cut off about 4 inches.

I know those cars you see sitting on the ground look cool, but in the real world they are not fun to drive sometimes. My T is low, but the light weight and short wheelbase (100 inches) seem to keep it from bottoming. Plus, I mounted the engine and other stuff really high. You have to decide how you intend on using your car when done to figure out if real low is going to be ok or not.

Don

Guess I should have checked this thread before my questions.
I want to build a low T...is it possible to get a TP chassis, then modify w/ kick-ups fr & back or better to just build my own?

Not a lot of reason to pay $$$$$ for a chassis then cut the front and rear off of it....

BZNSRAT - I believe it would be more prudent for you to build your own. Dave is right; why pay for someone else's labor just to cut it up. Do what Don told 1940tipster; mock your parts up in position, move them around, etc. Then take measurements and build it. I find that graph paper is handy for sketching things to scale and transferring measurements. I sometimes transfer the diagram, full size, to my garage floor to use as a guide (see the coupe build pics in my gallery).

If you aren't confident with your fabricating skills, cut and tack the pieces together and take them to a competent welder.

Don, you are giving me some inspiration by your post and pictures, pretty soon your going to drive me to take the 39 Chevy off the frame. Keep them coming.

Richard