Disassembling the frame

[jcnelson]

My frame was in pretty rough shape when I started I cleaned and sanded it but I am concerned about the brackets and what not under the rivets. I was told by some folks on this board that completely dismantling was a nightmare and next to impossible to get straight again. I was reading some of the build section that guys are doing this. Curious if anyone has done this and is it that hard to get it back straight.

[heavymech]

I busted every rivet out of the new frame I just bought and took all the brackets, cross members and frame rails down to a company that paints oil refinery tanks and bridges and they sand blasted it all and put two coats of epoxy primer on everything. I have all the parts back but haven't put it back together yet. I bought a 100 stainless bolts and nylock nuts, and 200 stainless washers from Amazon for not much money. I don't think the frame coming up crooked will be an issue. I have quite a bit of mods I have to do to the engine cross member for an ls motor and some of the brackets for longer springs as I put it together so it may take a week or so. I think if you lay it out on a garage floor it will turn out mostly straight. I could twist the new frame back and forth before I ever took out the first rivet. So they aren't perfect to start with. BTW, this all started when I wanted to put longer leaf springs in the back of the truck. When I removed the rear spring hangers the frame was rotted through between the bracket and frame. Then when I started digging I found more rust holes between the frame and the cross member that sits between the front of the rear spring hangers. Luckily I found a good frame from a member on this site. I decided to completely take the new frame apart to get some paint between the brackets. These guys that sand blast and paint their frames with out tearing them down are just fooling themselves in my opinion. It might work out west but not in the salt states.

[kwmech]

I hope you know that stainless steel bolts are pretty soft grade wise. May be better off with a graded galvanized bolt

[James the III]

I'd pick a few crossmembers that are never being removed.. and plug weld where the rivets were.. once you have the frame square..

As for the member that bought cheap amazon bolts.. I'd rethink this.. no really..
If it's a world of wheels roll it out of a trailer and show than roll it back in. then ok.. but if it going on the road.. rethink this.
Graded stainless is not cheap..

[67chevyk20]

No problem. You must use grade 8 bolts! I used 7/16 fine thread from Fastenal with top lock flange nuts. Cut the rivets and have frame sandblasted and painted. (I used por15) When reassembling drill the holes out to 7/16, but not individually. Say a crossmember has 8 holes in it. Hold it in position and drill 1 hole through the frame and crossmember, put a bolt in and tighten, then drill another and repeat. This assures that the holes line up exactly and you will not have to tweak a part in order to make it fit. I found some rivets missing and others that were loose. Some holes were worn out to the point that the 7/16 drill bit barely had to remove any steel. I believe the holes were originally punched at .406 and used a 3/8 rivet and when installed, it filled the void. I cut most of them with a chisel, because I did not want to mar the steel with a cut-off wheel. Be prepared!!! It is a lot of work!

[67 chevelle]

Originally Posted by kwmech

I hope you know that stainless steel bolts are pretty soft grade wise. May be better off with a graded galvanized bolt

Very true stainless is weak

[67chevyk20]

Here it is back together again.

[midniteblues]

You can tap the holes with a 7/16" tap and pull the flanges together then install your nuts.
Doing This don't make a very deep thread though especially if your hole is wallered out.a few of mine were so I went too 1/2" bolts

I put a tack on a few bolts in key areas for reassurance on secure nuts.

There has been a few discussion on this subject.
Being in the rust belt I dismantled mine too as there was rust in between a few peices and a few areas still had paint in between.

I had no problem on reassembly everything fell rite back into place nice and square.

It's nice to know there is paint in between the flanges but on another hand I'm curious on how everything settles in once it's a driver.

I will say this though even though my entire truck was changed around with entirely new suspension and everything else, it rides so much stiffer and more predictable than before the rebuild.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by 67 chevelle

Very true stainless is weak

Most hardware store stainless is, yet. But someone was on here not long ago talking about a Milspec stainless grade that was > Grade 8.

Anyone know anything about stainless hardware that's tougher than Grade 8?

I've got a friend who was a tank recovery/repair tech in Vietnam, but that's a long ways back... maybe someone with more current experience?

[chewychevy67]

Wouldn't painting it this way affect the grounding circuit? You may have to run grounds the way fiberglass corvettes do if the grounds aren't clean.

[midniteblues]

Originally Posted by chewychevy67

Wouldn't painting it this way affect the grounding circuit? You may have to run grounds the way fiberglass corvettes do if the grounds aren't clean.

I'm a firm believer in extra grounds so I'm not worried.

Pretty sure the factory painted them in peices only cause I still had new looking paint in between some members.

[jcnelson]

Thanks all I feel much better now, it's not ready for final paint just por 15 with a top coat and I don't like it and really want to do what we're talking about. Any suggestions on paint not fond of black kinda want to match cab color