"my '68 chevy project - show n go".

[BACKYARD88]

Originally Posted by yfz450_0569

thanks, kinda what i thought of doing just with a bigger pipe. another question, is it too weak for the frame to weld about a 1/4 inch gap, maybe a little less, closed on the kickup? i thought i shouldn't hurt since it was only on the bottom and touches on the top and since the weld is grinded flat and smooth and gusset welded over it. any info? i might redo it anyway

I'm not positive I fillow what you're saying, but if there's a plate welded over it then I'd think it should be strong enough.

[yfz450_0569]

Originally Posted by BACKYARD88

I'm not positive I fillow what you're saying, but if there's a plate welded over it then I'd think it should be strong enough.

it seems as if i did my math a little bit wrong or the tools i used to cut the tubes didn't cut the angles straight, and if i fit the pieces together exactly the front kickup is about an inch to high so to lower it it makes the angles not fit together properly

[BACKYARD88]

I think I see what you're talking about on your rear frame. Honestly, I would re build it and make the kick up tubes go down the inside of the frame rail to the bottom. That way you can weld along the edge, around the bottom, and around the top. Here's a pic of mine in progress so you can see what I'm getting at. Yours may be strong enough the way it is but again, I'm not sure.

[yfz450_0569]

i'm actually building the whole frame front to back now and it was just a few math errors on how long the pieces that go up at an angle are supposed to be. i started over and used my dad's bandsaw this time and was like WOW at how easy this made it. i just cut the pieces shorter to make them touch or very close at least at the angles. i hope to get most of it lined up and at the right height and all by this evening if not too much comes up again. maybe i can have the frame rails welded together before i go on the church youth retreat this weekend

[yfz450_0569]

Some more progress before my 3-day weekend. Got the frame welded and grinded, few crossmembers tacked in and all clamped down to the frame. What a pain welding when it always shifts while welding! Any tips for this? I have it all clamped down to the table now exactly the way it's supposed to be and I'm afraid that it's gonna once I undo it again. Anyway, here's some pictures:

[BACKYARD88]

Tack everything together. If you're mig welding weld in sections letting it cool in between welds. It's looking good

[yfz450_0569]

Originally Posted by BACKYARD88

Tack everything together. If you're mig welding weld in sections letting it cool in between welds. It's looking good

do you think welding the the dropmember and a one or two other crossmembers would fix the problem of it moving again when i unclamp it all? it's gonna sit like this for 3 or 4 days until i get back to work

[BACKYARD88]

If you could get a couple of those crossmembers welded all the way around that would help a lot. Also, you can tack a couple of diagonal braces on temporary to keep it square.

[yfz450_0569]

Four link rear suspension questions. What do you guys think about the parallel four-link rear? I talked to Nathan at Porterbuilt and he said that this would be best for the amount of power that I'm putting out. I was looking at getting some parts on suicidedoors. I was thinking about using a 2 inch square tubing for the bottom bars and then a 1 or 1.5 inch round tubing for the top or see if i could get this size in tubing. I would probably use a 24 inch panhard bar which would be about as wide as I could fit in there. What do you think about this set-up? I don't know a lot about this four-link stuff so and pros and cons about this setup would be great. Thanks

[BACKYARD88]

Sounds like a plan to me. I have a triangulated four-link with those size bars. Only thing I would consider is a watts link instead of the panhard bar.

[yfz450_0569]

Sounds like I made a good choice. Tubing would be easier for the bottom right? And then I think it would look better with square tubing on top to match? What's the Watts link and where do I look?

[BACKYARD88]

If you don't mount your bags on the bars you don't even need the square tubing, you could use round for both. Here's an expensive polished one but it's fairly simple to build your own.
http://totallypolished.com/watt's_link_kits.shtml

[yfz450_0569]

The bags I'm using are going to be right on top of the axle so I guess I could go with round tubing. Would 1.5 inch round tubing top and bottom be strong enough?

[BACKYARD88]

Mine is 1.5" .25 wall. I think that'd be plenty strong enough.

[yfz450_0569]

for 550 hp hopefully. took me a few minutes to understand the watts link, but I just might give that a try

[yfz450_0569]

Basically all I got done last week was get the gussetts cut for the frame, the cab and front mounts made, got everthing off the cab, and got some more stuff planned for the crossmembers and rear 4-link. I also ordered a bunch of parts like the front dropmember, rack and pinion steering, strong-arms, bags all around, 4-link parts for the rear, the controls for the bags, and the disc brake kit. Here's a few more pictures.

Picture of the cab and the front core mounts and the gussets, just tacked them on just in case they'll be in the way for something:


Cab stripped down and ready for sandblasting:


Started to tear apart bed and cab loaded:

[BACKYARD88]

I like it, and it looks nice too.

[yfz450_0569]

what's a good metal to use for a gussett on the side of the frame? just a square piece of like a 1/8 plate or something shaped like the angle about 3 1/2 inch wide?

[yfz450_0569]

gussets are being cut right now. the kickup behind the cab starts about 1/2 inch after the cab, a little bit wrong measuring on my part. I was thinking about doing the crossmember about where i would start the bars for the parallel 4-link, about 30 inch bars which would be about 8 or 9 inches behind the cab and then the crossmember would be about 8 inches high. any tips about this?

[yfz450_0569]

what is a good disc brake conversion kit and where do i get it? i might pay a pretty good price but only if its worth it

[68GMC454]

looks good so far..i need to be adopted..lol.. nice shop.. i thinks its cool that your parents are helping you like they are...all i got a was a swift kick in the butt for messing with my dads cars..lol

[yfz450_0569]

Any good ideas of how to do my parallel four-link in the rear? If I'm correct the bags should be as far to the outside as possible? What about the 4-link, does that have to be outside the frame rails or would it work inside the rails, maybe not. I was wanting to do make it ready for wider wheels someday... Here's a picture of the frame in the rear.


I would also like to know where a good place is to get the air tanks and compressors. I was thinking about getting a fuel tank custom built to fit between the rails and then be even with the outside of the rails on the bottom. Any ideas of how to set up the suspension, airtanks, and fuel tank are greatly appreciated. Maybe even what color to do it, I'm thinking about going with the thunderstream blue on the new corvettes and maybe a silver frame and was thinking about doing some other stuff black...

[yfz450_0569]

What do you think of a similar set-up to this for the front of the parallel 4-link? I might just use a 2x6 tubing cut out to fit right over the 2x4 and using an airbag bracket for the bag to the rear and slightly below the axle.

[BACKYARD88]

Wow, you're making some serious progress

[yfz450_0569]

Originally Posted by BACKYARD88

Wow, you're making some serious progress

i didn't think so, sat around basically all last week and maybe this week too