Boxing a 47-53 1/2-Tips, Parts

[sevt_chevelle]

I use epoxy for any of my personal projects coming out of my shop.
No matter what you use its gonna burn away from HAZ.
Weld thru primer no matter what brand has very poor adhesion and very limited corrosion protection properties as well.

Epoxy the frame rail, then grind it bare about 1/16 of inch around the welded areas.
Weld your pieces in place and spray more epoxy into the interior of frame rail. Tape over any holes, turn the fan pattern down on the spray gun and spray way, this will create a fog and coat the entire frame rail.

How you prep a welded joint after welding is far far more important then what you do before welding. I certainly would not use weld thru primer to coat the entire inside of that rail, I wouldn't use it all, as epoxy will do a far better job...Eric

[Lextech]

Why not box the frame the entire length but, inset the plates about 3/8"? That would stiffen the frame and still allow you to run the lines on the outside where they are accessible, but still protected. Then you could triangulate some tubing under the cab. Wouldn't that be the best of all 3 worlds?

Jeff

[El Campo]

I know this is old thread but had some questions on it. If boxing the frame has little to no impact on twisting how come before I boxed mine I could lift one frame horn up 8 or 9 inches (with all the crossmembers in) and the frame horns on the other end wouldn't move off of the jack stands because there was so much flexing. After boxing could only lift frame rail an inch or two without lifting other end? I did weld the plates to the crossmembers though would that explain why there is not much flexing? Took me 40 hours to do with an acetalene/ox torch and a Miller arc welder and some plate steel that I got at the welding shop. Only welded one inch at a time. Also I ran my braided stainless line through the frame rails but did as was suggested and had no fittings in the rail and has worked just fine so far. Same with brake lines. Just be certain that wherever there is a fitting that u have an access hole really close by and a way to remove the whole line in case it malfunctions. Again, I am no expert but this has worked for me FWIW.
Posted via Mobile Device

[duwem]

I agree 100% that the frame will get stronger when boxed.

I'm almost done filling holes on the one side of my frame, then its off to the other side, then I can get some plates and weld them in. Still concerned about all the stuff that needs to be figured out before you box the rails, but I think some of it can be made to work afterwards. Going to weld nuts on the backside for all the stuff I know I need, stuff I forget I will hole saw out a plug, weld the nut to it and then weld the plug back in.

[El Campo]

O yea by the way I Don't know how you are doing it but worked really well for me was clamping my 3/16 by 6 inch sheets of flat to the rail and then just running a torch along the top of frame rail to cut it to size perfectly. Then hit it once with a grinder to clean all slag off and then put a little bevel on the plate and the frame rail and welds go on BEAUTIFUL! If you use your head which i am sure you are on the straight sections of frame you only have to cut one side of the plate. I think total weight added was no more than about 30 or so pounds.
Posted via Mobile Device