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Author
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Topic: Anyone here ever built their own chassis?
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Inbred-Jed
Journeyman Posts: 41
From: Chester, Wv 26034
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 07-31-2003 01:05 AM
  
Im interested in knowing how difficult it would be to buy a kit and weld it up at home. Most of the kits i have found say they come with "Easy to follow blueprints". Im kind of a do it yourselfer so any info would be fantastic.------------------
1967 fastback 501 BBF
3200lbs and 12"slicks
Best ET:9.97 @ 133mph
"You can't be the man til you beat the man"
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JCQuinn@work
Gearhead Posts: 850
From: Lakewood, CO, USA
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted 07-31-2003 10:19 AM
I've never built my own but I have had a couple of friends that I have helped build cars from a bunch of tubing. The main thing you will need that is not supplied in the kit is a jig to mount the frame on while you are building. You will also need a locator to align the drive train while constructing the motor plates. Other than that you just need a measuring tape that you use a lot, a tubing notcher, and a good welder.About the design of the jig, talk to the people who are supplying the kit. They can probably help you with that. There are lots of suppliers of tubing notchers. You can do it with a saw and a die grinder but a notcher is much better. Mark williams sells a pipe that will mount on a 9 inch rear end that you can use to align the drive train. You just bolt your main caps on an old block to the pipe and slide the block into position, make your motor plates and attach them to the block and frame. The block is then aligned with the rear end. I forget how much it costs but it is not a lot. You can see it at
http://www.markwilliams.com/ John
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JCQuinn@work
Gearhead Posts: 850
From: Lakewood, CO, USA
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted 07-31-2003 10:23 AM
I just look at Mark's website. The alignment tool is $220 and his tubing notcher is $149.95.John
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Tbird
Gearhead Posts: 298
From: USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 07-31-2003 10:45 AM
The welding of mild steel chassis can be accomplished with a good MIG welder. Most will suggest a 220v welder but a decent amperage 110v MIG welder will work also. I would use no less than .030" wire and most will recommend a CO2/Argon (75/25) mixture to reduce the splatter that is produced by straigh CO2. You will probably go thru at least one and maybe half of the next 10 pound spools of wire. Ask your welding shop what a good grade of wire for the the tubing you are welding. One of the self-darkening helments is a plus also.As JC mentioned, you will need some method of notching your tubes. As simplistic as the tubing notchers look and the angles/degrees they cut, there will still be some tubes that you will have to cut/notch by other methods. If you buy a jig-a-joint tubing notcher, look for one that will cut up to a 60* angle. Pruchase the deep cutters as the shallow cutters won't completely cut thru 1 5/8 or 1 3/4 tubing. You can buld a jig to keep thing square without getting too costly. Just buy adequate size and thickness square/rectangular tubing. I prefer the electronic levels over the bubble levels when trying to measure things. They have a more precise readout without having to guess if the bubble is in the middle or not. You also might want one of the Comp Engineering protractors for tight places. A cutoff saw is handier than a metal cutting band saw but to have both would be nice. Clamps, both spring loaded and C-clamps are needed. Magnets are handy too. The ones that have the 45* sides. The 'tin work' can be done without all the fancy benders and shears, but sure does make it nicer. You can fabricate a decent bender (also know as a brake) that you can form your aluminum with for the interior out of some thick and wide angle iron. Don't forget the left, right and straight cut tin snips. Also, the Cleco's help hold the panels in place as you pop rivet them into the car. Get plenty of the double ended 1/8" drill bits from a place like Harbor Freight. You will break quite a few of them and wear a lot of them out. I prefer the stainless steel pop rivets over the steel or aluminum ones. Don't forget to buy a broom and dust pan and a good quality door mat to get as many of the metal shavings/chips up as you can so you don't track them into your house. Be prepared to spend many hours in the shop cutting and welding....also taking things apart and redoing it a few times. [This message has been edited by Tbird (edited 07-31-2003).]
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jsracingbbf
Gearhead Posts: 2805
From: Batesville,MS. , U.S.A.
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 07-31-2003 04:58 PM
I built mine from a kit made by Auto Weld. it helps to have a good wire feed welder, lots of wire, time, patience, understanding family, dry place to get, good support from the folks that made the kit. Jerry
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Buster
Gearhead Posts: 1466
From: Hurricane alley
Registered: May 2002
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posted 07-31-2003 05:34 PM
WoW, that really sounds like fun building your own..... I just wish I had the time and the money to do so.Tbird, JC, great posts. I'm going to copy/paste this just in case I'm able to build my own someday. I've never welded much, I practiced welding about 10 years ago but that was about it. Don't need much welding doing drivability, lol.
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jsracingbbf
Gearhead Posts: 2805
From: Batesville,MS. , U.S.A.
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 07-31-2003 07:55 PM
Chassis eng. instructions suck. I would not encourage buying anything by chassis eng. Auto Weld pays close attention to detail. They make their stuff where it just "fits" right the first time. On their front end pieces they have already taken into consideration "bumpsteer" and "ackerman effect" so you don't have to be a chassis genuis. Strut front ends are a little bit harder to put together but can be worth it in the long run. The main thing with a Strut front end is you want to be sure to use the motor plate as a brace between the wheels to keep the wheels from leaning when you put the weight of the car on it. I have seen cars people have built that the tires pull in when the weight of the car is on the springs because the motor plate is either too short ( low in the chassis ) or they have it too far behind the front spindle. These same folks have problems driving the car straight.
Pulley Eng. has great customer service and will custom bend you a roll bar. Sometimes you can even get it pre-notched if you have a generic application. I'd rather notch it myself though.
Good Luck.
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TomP
Gearhead Posts: 5822
From: Delta BC Canada
Registered: Dec 99
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posted 08-01-2003 02:33 AM
I've built my own, i've also seen and helped others. The Chassisworks kit with pre-welded front stub is a nice one. The critical parts are already located making the rest quite simple.I've done a whole car using only a hand hacksaw and angle grinder to cut and notch tubing. If you can spring the bucks for the fancy tools, fine... but they aren't essential.
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