Boxing Frame

[dwcsr]

I split my rails from the crossmembers and welded on the plates. I did one rail in about an hour and then the other again in an hour. Came out to start on the crossmembers the next day and they had both bent inward 6 inches across the entire length and twisted about 2 inches front to back.

I had to place welds on the out sides of the rails in specific spots to walk it back into shape and remove the twist. The place in the cross members and grind off the welds. That whole process took about 40 hrs and I still need to put it on a frame rack to get it exact.

[bondobob]

I boxed my '57 from front to back and replaced the stock crossmembers with 2" X4" braced tubing, notched over the axle and added some 2" X 2" diagonal bracing. Believe me, it's stiff!! Unless I have my four jack stands exactly the right height it will tetter totter on opposite corners. I used 3/16" for everything. My old '66 was so flexible I vowed to never have that again. You can still see the temporary bracing I added front and rear to keep things straight. It's square and level within 1/16". Do it!