Body Bracing

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Joeb

Active member
Joined
Aug 26, 2007
Messages
42
Location
Australia
I want to brace the cab of my truck before I take it off the chassis so it all stays square. I also don't want to go cutting out my bracing and welding in all new stuff when it comes time for sectioning, chopping and channeling. I understand I wont really be able to brace it once and get it all done, but every weld and cut is more paint on the car which is something I would prefer to stay away from. I like the way it looks now, and it will take me another 50 years on a farm to get the same effect :)

Does anyone have any pictures of the bracing they have done on their body to stop it twisting while doing body work and messing with its integrity?
 
How solid are the floors? You could probably do an "X" from the dash to the back of the and that would keep it from moving especially if you leave the doors on.
 
How solid are the floors? You could probably do an "X" from the dash to the back of the and that would keep it from moving especially if you leave the doors on.

thats what i'm thinking. i think there are some good photos in the build section that are pretty recent and should give you a good idea of what to do. I would at least put two in a big x in the middle of the cab so it stays out of your way for floor and roof work.
 
Heres how we braced my '39 cab for chopping. However, it still should be bolted squarely to the frame or a frame jig to maintain alignment.

Don
 

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Don: I love that truck, when will I see more progress pics of it? it looks like you used the wheels on that T bucket???

My floor is non existent, although I think it was a wooden floor and the wood is gone. in the corners there is some swiss cheese looking floor, and the bracing is all there, but a joint right across the back of the cab has rusted the bottom off the cab.

I was thinking 20x20x2ish box section with a bar across the front in the foot wells, and one across the back about half way up the cab, and an X up the top to hold the top together when I chop it. Then bracing from top rear left of the cab, just beneath where I'm going to chop, to the right hand side of the front bar. Then from just under the dash to the right hand side of the rear bar. So an X on an angle that doesn't meet in the middle... you know what I mean?

heres a pic of my floor and the rust across the back.
 

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Thanks Joeb. I am getting the itch to start on it, but man it feels so good to not be working on something and spending money right now. Don and I are both burned out a little (especially his bank account :eek:) so we are licking our wounds and resting. Dan on the other hand is hitting on his '29 pretty hard. He spent about 10 hours at the shop yesterday and I haven't been there yet but I bet his frame is coming along pretty well.

As for your subframe, most people just use some mild square or rectangular tubing of like 1 x 1 or 1 x 2 inch size and build a new subframe structure to square up the body and give you new places to bolt it to the frame. Here are a couple of pictures of Dan's '29 subframe, and also the subframe he built for my '39. He used 1 x 2 on both cars, and put spacers inside the tubing at the spots where bolts go into the frame so that the tubing won't collapse when you tighten down the bolts. Then all we have to do is skin them with some 18 gauge sheet metal and spot weld it to the subframe. Makes a very strong floor this way.

Don
 

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the value of bracing

Pic #1 shows simple and effective bracing used last year while choping the top. Pic # 2 shows what happens with doors on and both open at same time and no bracing,sporting a little sag. Will post how we corrected that in my Ratzilla updates thread
 

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Don: the workmanship on those frames is beautifull, a little off topic, but that is sexy! how do you bend those arches like that? or do you buy them like that?

LFE: I think that is pretty much what I'm going to do (not the sagging, the bracing) I have been talking to some mates and I'm thinking just an X in the moddle, brace the door jambs and across the front and back.
 
Yeah mate keep it simple as possible as long as it works. If you look at my sag pic down in the front corner there is a vert plate welded to the frame . this is how I bolt my cab to the frame the bolt runs horizontal instead of up and down makes it easier to bolt and unbolt the cab as you dont have to fish for a hole that is out of view under the cab and frame. It also makes lining the cab up much easier. Maby Im stupid but I had my cab off too many times to count during the build and this sure made bolting and lining it up easy. attached pic shows it better.With hood on it is hidden and with hood off it just adds to the idea of being different
 

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Don: the workmanship on those frames is beautifull, a little off topic, but that is sexy! how do you bend those arches like that? or do you buy them like that?

Thanks. To bend them like that you make a bunch of cuts in three sides of the rectangular tubing, but not going through the forth side. You space these cuts about a half inch apart and it makes the tubing bendable enough to shape it in a half circle or whatever shape you want. The hard part is welding up all those slits and grinding them smooth so it looks like it was bent smoothly on some machine.

Side story: The subframe in my '39 was done by my Son Dan. A couple of Christmas' ago he was low on cash and for a present for me he snuck into the shop about four nights until 3 or 4 in the morning and built this for me. It blew me away and was one of the best gifts ever, thinking he would do that much for me. Sure saved me a lot of work too. :)

Don
 

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