Best easy to find junkyard chassis

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jpswino

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2007
Messages
80
Location
Bay City, Michigan
Getting parts together for a build and was wondering whats the easiest junkyard chassis that can be found to build off of for a fenderless ride?

I really cannot devote the time and space to building a chassis this year so I am hoping to find a viable option in the junkyard. No, i don't want the S-10 headaches. Whats better, if it exists? I'm concerned with parts availability, money needed to invest, looks of the front end with no fenders, having plenty of length to the overall ride and ride height.

I can weld. I plan to focus on all the other portions of this build as far as fabrication. Having more bolt up ready to roll in the chassis department would make things much easier this year.
 
dodge d-50 are good and cheap as hell to get... theres others out there but thats what i know of at the moment... some of the pros here will tell ya some otheres
 
IMO you are going about it backwards. The body should be your first purchase because it sets the tone for the rest of the build. It doesn't make sense to build a chassis without knowing what car you are building it for.

The normal way to do it is to pick a look you like and buy a body to fit that style. Then you start accumulating major parts like the engine and transmission so you can prop those up against the mocked up body. Now you know what the frame needs to look like to give you the stance and shape you need.

If you start off with the frame you are going to end up with something that looks like you just plopped a body on any old frame. This is what separates a cool car from one that isn't.

Don
 
Big Block Chevy and TH400 Trans, already have done.
The look I am after is a longer lower no frills unpainted rod.
Chopped top most likely.
I'd prefer a sedan body if one can be had. No pickups as I need room for wife and child.
Gonna tow a trailer with it from time to time with bikes on it.

With all this said I'd like to keep it as simple as possible.
I understand your thinking of this going backwards.
I have no body as of yet.
 
IMO you are going about it backwards. The body should be your first purchase because it sets the tone for the rest of the build. It doesn't make sense to build a chassis without knowing what car you are building it for.

The normal way to do it is to pick a look you like and buy a body to fit that style. Then you start accumulating major parts like the engine and transmission so you can prop those up against the mocked up body. Now you know what the frame needs to look like to give you the stance and shape you need.

If you start off with the frame you are going to end up with something that looks like you just plopped a body on any old frame. This is what separates a cool car from one that isn't.

Don

Sage advice right there. Don't put the cart in front of the horse!
 
So now we know the cart is in front of the horse.

Can anyone else suggest what chassis are out there that meet my simple requirements? I'd still like to know what the best options are when the time comes so that I may look around my area. I'm not buying the chassis just yet.
 
To keep it cheap, you're pretty limited to small trucks: Nisson, Toyota, S-10 Ranger etc. Larger turcks are too wide and, of course, most of today's cars don't have frames. Older cars with frames are valuable for the complete car. All the frames that I have seen will need to be modified to make the work with any old body.

When you find the body you want, it may already have a chassis which could be boxed or otherwise strengthened (modified).

My experience is that it is easier to buy some retangular box tube and build a chassis to fit the look you want, than to cobble something out of an existing chassis.
 
I don't understand why you think the cart is already before the horse.........you haven't bought the frame yet, all you have is the motor and transmission so far.:confused: You also say you want it "longer and lower". You aren't going to get lower with a truck frame, the way you do that is with a Z'd custom built frame.

I think you have locked yourself into this mindset that by using an existing frame you get all the running gear all set up and with minor mods all you have to do is set the body on it. While that can be done it doesn't usually get you the final look you are after.

The very first step in building ANY car is to find a make, model, and look you really want to build. You may see one in a magazine or car show that really turns your crank and you know THAT is the one you want. Then you start accumulating the parts to end up with one that looks like that. You will make changes along the way, but you will stay pretty true to the original idea.

I also agree that it is far better to buy some 2 x 3 or 2 x 4 rectangular tubing and build your own custom frame. It isn't as hard as it seems, and you say you can handle the welding. But you should still have the body in hand before you do anything else. The only exception to this is where you know you are going to build lets say a 32 Ford so you buy a repro or original 32 frame first. That would make sense, but to build a unique custom rod from scratch you make it hard on yourself by doing it the way you are going at it.

We're just trying to steer you in the right direction bud.:):)

Don
 
jpswino - Don is absolutely right. Your so lucky to have Don's input on this. The man has the experience and knows his way around a build - no doubt about it!! A custom made frame is the best option here. Your much better off to build the frame to fit the body than trying to fit a body to an existing frame unless you find a vintage 32 frame for a 32 body or a reproduction your wasting your time. Even then it would still need lots of boxing and and bracing etc.. Custom is the way to go. Look around and find the car you want then worry about the frame afterwards. You'll be glad you did.
 
Thanks for the imput guys. I completely understand. Maybe you guys have answered my question now.

What I wanted to know was what frame or frames could be had at a junkyard to make for a quick and easy rat? Perhaps the answer is none?

I was hoping there was an easy way now that could afford me the luxury of having this thing on the road by spring. Yeah, it may not be perfect, or even considered cool by the skilled guys here on this site but it would put me on the road right away, having some fun.

What you all are saying I have read over and over on this site and on many others so I get it. I think maybe yall think I disagree? I don't. I'm just looking for an easy alternative. I have a hidden agenda. My Dad is getting up there in age and I was hoping to do something we could screw around with and actually drive in the next few months. Looks like its gonna be a long term, made from scratch project or nothing at all.

Thanks for your comments guys. Much appreciated. If I decide to move forward, in any direction, I'll keep you posted.
 
Your attitude is great, and I fully understand your reasoning. I especially like the part about you and your Pop.....I'm getting up there too.

How about this option. Buy a 40's,50's, 60's car and get it running or buy one that is already running and make some changes to it. I always suggest a first time car builder start with one that is almost done or done and then make improvements to suit you. This way you are not spending months or years slaving over a car from scratch, spending way more money than if you bought someone elses car.

It is a fact than you can not duplicate any car you can buy for what the seller gets out of it. NONE of us get all of our money back when we sell a car. If you add up the car parts, the consumables you use (electric, mig gas, sandpaper, nuts, bolts, etc) you will find you spent 3 or 4 times what you anticipated in the first place. It took me 6 years to build my 27, a year and a half to build my 23 (working 7 days a week) and my Son Dan has 5 years so far in his RPU. It takes a lot of time starting from nothing.

I would also bet that for every 10 people who start out building a car from scratch only 1 or 2 cars ever hit the street. I've been playing with them for about 50 years and there are times I wonder why I do it. Starting with nothing but a drawing on the garage floor seems cool, but it is very hard work, discouraging at times, EXPENSIVE, and you cut and burn yourself a lot.:D

Make it easy on yourself bud, save up a few bucks and buy some neat old car and fix it up. Your goal of getting it on the road by spring would be more possible and you will learn a lot about old cars by making changes to suit you. It won't be your ultimate car, but they never are anyway....we are always looking forward to the next one.

Don
 
Thanks again. I'm no stranger to scratch fab work. I am more into vintage CB750 choppers actually. I actually go from scratch there and can imagine how much more simple it is compared to a car.

My Dad and I hopped up quite a few cars when I was a kid in the fashion you suggest here. We did several camaros, a cutlass, a mustang and an old dodge truck. I been figuring on doing one of those rust bucket POS open wheel rats for a while now with this motor thats been sitting around from the last project we were doing in 89' and never finished.

I'm not against buying something from someone, if I can get it cheap enough. My Dad has zero for spare cash so its up to me to make it happen. Hell, he won't even be able to help with the build much. He'll be there the whole time thinking he's helping though. And I promise it will make his day getting an old open wheel bucket/sedan on the road like the ones from when he was first learning.

Seems the running chassis' I have seen so far have not been cheap. Everyone wants to get rich on their sale. Go figure! Maybe a cheap ass S-10 chassis and running gear is the way to go? I can get one for a song and a dance around here I'm sure. Yeah I know the front is ugly. I guess I can say who cares? Its a rat. Maybe find some body to drop down over it and make it work. It can't be all that hard to weld in some extra braces in the frame, adjust motor mounts and shorten a drive shaft. I've got a posi 10-bolt from a leaf spring camaro laying around that could be put up in there, maybe.

I'm still working on whatever can work. If any of you guys know a Michigan guy that is willing to sell a roller to me then shout out. Obviously that would be great.

Here are some pics of some the bike I am finishing now so yall don't think I'm just blowing smoke. Its raked in the neck, stretched in the swing arm and lots of fab including the controls and pipes. I'll have this going to paint and body in a week or two. This is the first bobber looking bike I've done. I prefer long chops actually. Got several other builds going as well. You can browse around my photobucket account if you like. There is a pic of a delivery there I was trying to get but the owner never did budge. Some guy on this board works there.

 
dons advice is right on and i can't really add alot to it.

That's what i did with my T-Bucket. After figuring out what it was going to cost me to build it i decided finding an abandoned project was the way to go. After looking around awhile i decided buying a completed ready to go car was cheaper and i could drive it now instead of months (or years) down the road. Sure it's not exactly what i wanted but a few changes here and there and it's getting there.

Finding an abandoned project is still a viable option. If you shop around you can find some pretty good deals.

Didn't someone on here build a rat using a Suzuki Samurai frame?
 
Ya know I have barely any cash into my frame. I went and welded the IH frame into the '83 Olds frame, then cut out the outside of the Olds frame.

IMG_0001-3.jpg


Picture004.jpg


Them cars are cheap and plentiful
 
nice, what body are you going to use?

You still have the issue the other guys were upset about where the motor sits forward and the IFS but I bet you can make it look pretty good. Is this going to be a fenderless ride?

I wonder if I wouldn't beef that up even further if I use one.
 
I took an old 37 ford truck frame and modified it... no Z-ing. I just dropped it by the way I set up the suspension. Split the x member, boxed the frame replaced the front cross member with a round cross member and pushed it all the way out to the front giving me more room for my motor. I got it real cheap but I also took at least 2-3 months trying to find exactly what I wanted and spent another two years on the build... just took it out on the road for the first time yesterday.

original_chassis.jpg


frontBoxed.jpg


3_frame.jpg


4_fame.jpg
 
JP,

Have you checked out PA41's thread in the "Chassis" forum titled "Junkyard Frames?" He uses D-50/Mitsubishi minipickup chassis and they seem to work pretty nice, especially if you cut off the IFS and mount a suicide I-beam axle... IFS on those looks a little smaller (tidier package) than the S-truck, as well.

Lots of good advice here from many seasoned fabricators and builders, as well as "young upstarts:D) who are trying new stuff all the time. You've found the right forum, to be sure. Welcome to RRR!:)

Regards,
Shea:)
 

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