Area 46

[tw7256]

After going back and forth and thinking about it for a week I spent the better part of my day off making these new steering arms from some 3/8" x 3" angle. I maintained the 10 degree Ackerman and just made them 2" shorter.



Looks like I should of made the taper for the tie rod on that one a little deeper. But over all I'm pleased on how they turned out.



I test fit one of the rotors. These come off of a 75 Cutlass or GM A body. One thing Speedy Bill's people didn't tell me was that you have to change the inner wheel bearing.



The caliper will hit on this side in an extreme turn. I need to get the rotor on the other side and see how it looks the other way.



Next up will be the rack mount. I'm going to make some bar clamp mounts out of a piece of 3/4 aluminum plate that at one time thought it was going to become a carburetor spacer.



And another cab joined our team Saturday. This one is a 39 and it shows but it does have a ton of good parts. Maybe it will make a roadster type truck at a later date.





Thanks for looking!

 

[62ChevyII]

Those arms worked out nicely, even more tidy than I had pictured in my head. [

 

[tw7256]

This week in my spare time I whittled out these clamps for the rack and bolted them to the axle with some 7/16 bolts.



I think I'll add a couple straps that will run from the spring pad over to the brackets to triangulate just for good measure.



Another thin I didn't cover previously was how I shortened the rack by 5". I turned these little collars on the lathe that are almost press fit, I also drilled some 1/4" holes that I will fill with a weld. That way if the were to welds fail on the end it would be really unlikely to pull apart. I still need to weld these up when I get a chance.



Next up will be pulling the rear axle from the donor car and getting a mock up done. Once I do that I'll be better able to figure out the bat wings and front spring set up. This is my first attempt at a straight axle so I really don't have any frame of reference.

Thanks for looking!

 

[tw7256]

Spent some time this week pulling the rear axle from the 75 Olds Cutlass donor car. Since we decided to use leaf springs in the back I had to liberate the old brackets from the axle tube. I ran out of cut off wheels before getting completely done.



This axle is about 1" wider than the front after installing the disc brake conversion up front. Now we are a step closer to doing a mock up of what we envision. More on that later.



This week my partner in this endeavour picked up this hood ,grille and headlight buckets along with some cab parts we have not got yet.



Stay tuned and I'll try to get a mock up done before too long. Thanks for looking!

 

[tw7256]

Started working on this wood mock up of the chassis. For economy reasons I used 2x4s except up front where I used 2x6 ripped down to exactly 2x4". I did this so I could better simulate the contour we plan on putting in the frame horns. There is just not enough room to contour a section of 2x4" steel and get the look we are wanting. So my next move will be to change the joint where the front section joins the rest of the frame. I will see how it looks overlapped next and see if i can get the ride height we are looking for.



The back will need to come down approximately 2" also once I get the front down.



I need to find some front tires and wheels also to better understand what we have here.



This is based on a 120" wheelbase but could change, hopefully shorter. Another thing I might do is if I can find a couple castor wheels to put in the middle to support the weight of the cab, etc. thus making this thing a roller so it can be looked at outside.

 

[earthman]

So you gots tools and are not afraid to use them! Now three cabs!
Excellent build thread TW. Thanks for taking us along.

 

[Torchie]

So you gots tools and are not afraid to use them! Now three cabs!
Excellent build thread TW. Thanks for taking us along.

Agreed ^^^^^^
Nice use of the lumber and I dig the Rack and Pinion on the straight axle.[cl[cl
Torchie.

 

[tw7256]

Not too afraid to butcher me some wood. It's those 100.00 sticks of steel that worry me a bit.

 

[Old Iron]

It's not a lot of difference changing steel apposed to wood designs except, like you say, the cost of the material
[P Looks good so far. Checkin in to see changes later [P

 

[tw7256]

My son in law brought me some low profile 15" tires. After dismounting them from the rims and remounting them on some Olds wheels I had I got some more perspective on what we have here. I also lowered the back 1 1/2".



I think the next step is to Z the frame at the front of the cab and see what I get. Right now the frame horns are not right for my taste. It might be a tad high in the front also. Putting a Z in will allow me to angle them horns down some while keeping the front nice and low. I can make some Z shaped gusset plates from plywood and screw it together.



Thanks for looking!

 

[blacksheep]

Started working on this wood mock up of the chassis. For economy reasons I used 2x4s except up front where I used 2x6 ripped down to exactly 2x4". I did this so I could better simulate the contour we plan on putting in the frame horns. There is just not enough room to contour a section of 2x4" steel and get the look we are wanting. So my next move will be to change the joint where the front section joins the rest of the frame. I will see how it looks overlapped next and see if i can get the ride height we are looking for.



The back will need to come down approximately 2" also once I get the front down.



I need to find some front tires and wheels also to better understand what we have here.



This is based on a 120" wheelbase but could change, hopefully shorter. Another thing I might do is if I can find a couple castor wheels to put in the middle to support the weight of the cab, etc. thus making this thing a roller so it can be looked at outside.

I see a safety issue with the frame you are planning to use. Can't believe someone would actually consider using a wood frame. If you are , I would certainly use more nails in those gussets, and use heavy duty joist hangers for the axle. That should do it. [cl

 

[tw7256]

Wood, the poor mans Catia........Just think how well it will handle and how light it will be!

 

[RickyBobby]

He clearly states its for mock up...

That being said Morgans still have wood chassis's and they put 500hp 427 small blocks in them..

 

[blacksheep]

He clearly states its for mock up...

That being said Morgans still have wood chassis's and they put 500hp 427 small blocks in them..

Easy there feller. Just making a joke. I guess you didn't get it.

 

[blacksheep]

[S sounded like you were just being a dick..

Hey hey dude, not sure your problem is, but it appears also that you have the sense of humor of an onion ,so get ahold yourself .no reason for name calling. If you want to do that go over to kill billet.

 

[05snopro440]

Started working on this wood mock up of the chassis. For economy reasons I used 2x4s except up front where I used 2x6 ripped down to exactly 2x4". I did this so I could better simulate the contour we plan on putting in the frame horns. There is just not enough room to contour a section of 2x4" steel and get the look we are wanting. So my next move will be to change the joint where the front section joins the rest of the frame. I will see how it looks overlapped next and see if i can get the ride height we are looking for.



The back will need to come down approximately 2" also once I get the front down.



I need to find some front tires and wheels also to better understand what we have here.



This is based on a 120" wheelbase but could change, hopefully shorter. Another thing I might do is if I can find a couple castor wheels to put in the middle to support the weight of the cab, etc. thus making this thing a roller so it can be looked at outside.

Great idea using a wood frame for mockup! My '46 is on a 117" WB, so I would be surprised if you end up using 120", but it depends on what size bed you're using and where you put the front axle. Keep up the good work!

 

[tw7256]

I grabbed some more 2x6's and changed the frame to this Z configuration. I like the look of this better and it gets those front frame horns a better attitude. I set the front up with 4" of space between it and the axle.



There is another advantage to doing it this way I can most likely attach the radius rods to the Z area without using any additional brackets on the frame.



Out in the back I started looking at how to attach the leaf springs. I think I'll notch the kick up and weld a bracket in place. Probably will be a little lower than what I have here in this picture.



On the shackles I'll move the rear cross member in about 4" and attach the shackles directly to the frame rail.



Next up is the 450 HP Wood motor I have planned......just kidding.
Thanks for looking!

 

[Tripper]

Looks kool!!!

BoB

 

[clamor]

He clearly states its for mock up...

That being said Morgans still have wood chassis's and they put 500hp 427 small blocks in them..

I'm pretty sure that Morgans have always used metal frames, but still use wood in their body structure. Wheeler Dealers did a frame replacement on a 1993 (I think) Morgan and it had plywood floors, along with some other things, but the frame was metal.
-Chaz

 

[blacksheep]

I grabbed some more 2x6's and changed the frame to this Z configuration. I like the look of this better and it gets those front frame horns a better attitude. I set the front up with 4" of space between it and the axle.



There is another advantage to doing it this way I can most likely attach the radius rods to the Z area without using any additional brackets on the frame.



Out in the back I started looking at how to attach the leaf springs. I think I'll notch the kick up and weld a bracket in place. Probably will be a little lower than what I have here in this picture.



On the shackles I'll move the rear cross member in about 4" and attach the shackles directly to the frame rail.



Next up is the 450 HP Wood motor I have planned......just kidding.
Thanks for looking!

Ok,finally someone sees my humor. Hahaha. Good job!