ky guys help me

[usarmyoif3]

ok i took the main crossmember out on the back of my frame and my frame is in bad shape. and its cracked in two differnt places on the driver side. do any of you know where i can get a good swb frame mine is a 71. im going to try to get some pictures of my frame on here soon and see if anyone knows a good way to fix it. but i have heard that welding on the frame makes it weak so i want to just find a good frame. cause im putting c nothes in and im afraid that it will just make it weaker then it is already. i am in morehead if anyone knows of a good frame i can get anywhere.

[TugOwar]

People C-notch the frame and weld it, people make SWB out of LWB and weld it. I don't see why welding a couple cracks up would make it too weak, if it's done right.

[DigitalFusion]

isnt a weld, when done right, supposed to be stronger than the metal around it?

[oj70chevy]

[Americanrider]

"welding on the frame makes it weaker"

I CALL BS!

usarmyoif3,
I'm not trying to bash you, just de-bunk a myth, please don't take this as a personal attack.

Any certified welder worth his/her wages can fix that. It may require a patch or two. These frames are made from mild steel. If you doubt that just take a bastard file to the edge and run it accross twice, See how much comes off? If it was a hardened steel you would not get hardley any shavings.

The frame under my truck has been welded (by a farmer) when the dump unit was installed. It withstands a lot more stress than almost any other truck you will see on this board. I haul broken concrete, fill dirt, wood scrap metal, axles and anything that will fit in the bed. I had it so overloaded with wet dirt I broke both rear leaf springs at the front curl but the frame is still solid. When I pull the dump it transfers all the load back to the hinge points on the rear of the frame. After many years of work they have not broke yet.

Tempering/quenching any steel can be done by either cooling with oil, water or sand. There are even way to let it air cool. Talk to a good blacksmith and or some certified welders. There sould be a couple back there in KY. The speed of the cooling process determines the temper (hardness) of the metal. If you have ever seen someone make a knife or a sword in a forge you get the idea. The trick is to make it hard but not brittle.

If welding frames made them weaker then why would guys weld mustang & Camero front clips under old trucks? Most custom 4x4's have welded or modified frames. The C-notched trucks here on the board have welded/modified frames. Even my 85 K30 has the steering box brace welded in.

Your afraid to patch a couple of cracks but then later your going to do a C-notch??? That don't make sense to me at all. If anybody else reads this please post up a pic of a C-notched frame.

No matter if your building from ground up or repairing it's the quaility of the work that matters. Repairing your frame would be easier that finding another shortbox IMHO.

[TugOwar]

He only said he had HEARD it makes it weaker. I think he has heard differently now.

Don't waste money on a different frame if you don't need to. An experienced welder can fix you right up.

Let us know how it goes.

[krue]

Fire up the welder (or find a reputable shop) and fix it on the cheap.

[usarmyoif3]

ok sounds good better then a new frame i took a plate that me and my dad put on about 3 years ago and guess what more rust even worse then the first place that i was worried about is it a bad idea to plate the frame we made the plate out of 3'' angle the thickness of the frame and put it on the inside to make the cracked place stronger didnt have a welder at the time so we just bolted it up on each side of the crack but i guess dirt and salt and water got hung up behind it and wreaked havoc on my frame im going to get pics as soon as i get the factory plate out i ran out of gas for the torches and got a wild hair in my as@ and decided to take the seat and carpet out of my 72 gmc and sand and paint the floor pans and pressure wash the engine and frame since i got a new pressure washer...lol so i still got two riviets to cut out and i will get some pictures and one last thing can i take the crossmember out that has the trace bar bolted to or by i cant remember out and have the one that the shocks bolt to out at the same time with out the frame changing shape on me theres a bad spot there to i want to get a good look at.

[mbgmike]

Companies have been stretching shortening frames for years. Take it to a company who does large trucks like box vans or dump trucks. Their frame rails are straight and are easier to cut and adjust, but some will do pickups. We put a tag axle on a 79 back in 82 and the shop had to cut wnd lengthen in 3 places on each side to get it correct. It came out fine.

Sorry we are not from ky