Aluminum Frame

[ChevyMan&Sons]

So I have been working on my 1951 Dodge Pilothouse for several months now. I just finish the chop on the cab and I'm about to the point where I'm going to get working on the frame.

The Vice President of our car club contacted me the other day and said he talked to a fabrication guy in our area that builds aluminum boats and that sort of thing. Anyways he said that he would build me a frame for the Dodge for the same price that we were going to have to pay for 40 feet of steel. It is a good deal and the guy does amazing work.
My question for you guys is what you all think? Is the aluminum frame going to be strong enough for around 400hp? Will it hold together while running the RAT to shows and all that?

I would love you hear all your thoughts on this subject.....
Ben[

 

[deerchooper]

it costs me about 200 for 40' of steel. i think the aluminum has to be 2 times the size of steel to get the same streight (sp). might be wrong but that what i thought i heard.

200 for a built frame out of aluminum is stupid cheap. it would cost anywhere from 400 to 600 just for the material.

 

[WickedFast1]

Just a thought, we built a dirt late model out of aluminum once, that thing flexed like crazy, 2x2 car.

now I know why aluminum chassis were illegal, we were dumb as rocks.

 

[Sniper]

It's going to depend entirely on the alloy and structure design. An aluminum design can be just as strong, or more so than steel without the bulk and oversizing the componets. Check out the tensile, yield, compression, and fatigue characteristics of the various aluminum alloys compared to the mild steel you would likely use, you'll be surprised. All kinds of info on the internet on the subject.

 

[ChevyMan&Sons]

Thanks

Thanks all for the info it will help me work it out in my head.

thanks again....

 

[deerchooper]

so what route are you going?

 

[ironbandit]

I just picked up a rat rag and in the top 10 of 2010 there looks to be a kustom with a frame made out of ALM I beam, actually from the caption most of it is made from alm to help resist corrosion.

 

[VonHyde]

http://www.millerwelds.com/resource...t-Rod-Legend-Boyd-Coddington-Shares-Insights/ it can be done, if it was built right with a cage im sure it would be fine

 

[jfg455]

look at boyds aluma truck. Isnt that an entirely aluminum built car? I know all of the I beam and hair pins as well as the body were all aluminum. It can be done. The new Z06 vettes are aluminum framed. You just have to work with in the confines of the material you are using. The cost is more like 4 times stel though. A sheet of 1/4" steel costs me $156 here and a sheet of 1/4" aluminu is $400. I say do it![[P

Here is the build discription;

The frame rails were shaped and TIG-welded from sections of 1 1/2 x 5-inch aluminum tubing. The exposed front suspension is typical hot rod in function, but here Boyd whittled out not only a billet forged-aluminum dropped axle, but also the spindles, radius rods and bracketry. An aluminum quick-change rear end is exposed under the short bed, which has a metal tonneau cover that is flush-fitted like a bank-vault door. An aluminum-colored vinyl interior by Gabe Lopez continues the theme, and under the hood, naturally, rests one of Chevrolet's aluminum small-blocks. With aluminum heads, Crane cam, trick CNC-machined valve covers, and a set of Sprint-car-style Enderle stack-injectors modified to work with concealed EFI components, it looks and runs "the bomb." When pondering that this finished vehicle was created from drawings and raw sheets and tubes of aluminum, hot rodders suffer shock and awe in imagining the art and work it must have taken to complete.

and it can be found here;

http://boydcoddington.com/Gallery/FeaturedCars/tabid/62/Default.aspx

 

[Toad]

look at boyds aluma truck. Isnt that an entirely aluminum built car? I know all of the I beam and hair pins as well as the body were all aluminum. It can be done.

Yes, it can be done but Boyd's is a show car that will probably never see the streets very much. Ever seen an old alum bodied AC Cobra after it's been on the streets a few years. A friend of mine had one and it had stress cracks all over the place. I would never trust an alum frame with a 400hp motor the way I drive! Just my 2¢.

Toad

 

[jfg455]

yea the AC cobras were race cars on the street. Even new if you leaned on a fender they would dent. I said you have to work within the confines of the material you are using. You would want to do some engineering and stress analysis before building. Modern GM cars have aluminum subframes that the motor and suspension is bolted to and the Z06 vettes have full aluminum frames. No cracks there with 100's of thousands of miles on them. It can be doen just ask if it is cost effective to do so. My $.02