[lunaticeh]

Thought I'd put some pics up of the nearly completed back half of the chassis. They brought the framerails in 4" a side and hung the narrowed 9" in a nice 4 link for me. I put a shot of the steamrollers in too.

[lunaticeh]

Got brakes today, Wilwood 12" rotors with 4 piston calipers front and rear with the drum in hat park brake out back... I've used there stuff on lots of sprint cars in the past years and this stuff is really nice too...!!

[jjscerbo]

Looks like a nice welding job..Was it TIG welded?

I do have two concerns based upon the pictures. Typically, "Coil over" shocks are installed perfectly vertical. The other is the four link. Not much support for the front brackets. The center loop offers little reinforcement so too much load could twist the mountings. I would play it safe and add some additional gussetts to the front link brackets and reinforce the crossmember with a piece of box tubing to trianglulate the crossmember to the frame on both sides.

Not tryng to be a critic, but I build these systems for race cars and have seen them brake apart when not properly reinforced.

Joe

[lunaticeh]

Hey Joe, thanks for the feedback. The work is being done by a local chassis shop that mostly builds lowrider, streetrod type chassis and has been done by MIG. The seems quite knowledgable, however I always appreciate input from others who have done something like this before and have ways to prevent problems in the future. If I understand what your saying... we should run some box tubing from just beside the driveshaft loop on the crossmember diagonally to the frame... and from the 4 link brackets to the sides of the frame also? It looks like I could drill new holes in the crossmember to straighten out the coilovers. Seeing as how this car is going to get driven like it's supposed to, with 400hp & 450ft-lbs to start, I definatly want to have a chassis that's up to the task. Thanks again for the input Joe.

[Bill Eveland]

Whatcha runnin for tires? size? Lookin good.

[lunaticeh]

Bill Eveland-"Whatcha runnin for tires? size? Lookin good."

Thanks Bill. It's going to have Michlien Pilot Sports on all 4 corners. 335/35/17's on the back. I've got to wait to get the front brakes mocked up before fitting wheels and tires out front, however I should be able to fit a 225-245 40/17 on a 7-8 inch rim. I'm like a kid in a candy store...

[Jeff Hamlin]

Are the frame rail undersides open (channel) or boxed?
I would consider boxing them if not already, depending on drive line choice.
When they did my Buddies 63 and they went with a full new back half on the frame as we knew that he would work his way upto a AI 2 block soon ;D
Best of luck it looks like a nice clean job.

[Bill Eveland]

Don't 50's come with an x-frame? I took the one out on my 55, the ends were rusted away, wasn't doing much good anyway. It weighed maybe 20 pounds, it was a lot lighter than I thought. I was going to box the frame in and figure with the added trans crossmember and one similar for your 4 link would be enough. I notched the back half too and moved the leafspings inboard, ending up with about 18" of wheel well on each side.

[lunaticeh]

Jeff- The frame is a factory frame.. what they call a tophat style frame.... basically like a tophat.... with a bottom piece that boxes everything in... have to recommend a few more supports to my builder as suggested by Joe earlier.

Bill- I think the frames prior to 54 didn't have an X.. I'm not 100% sure tho.. The rails came in about 4" a side... the tires should tuck right up in the wheelwells... and might even clear a set of skirts for a nice sleeper look... lol.. you need to put some pics of yours up now...

[PLAY400]

Here's a few pics of a 51 Chevy that is being done at Sandales. Maybe get a few ideas.


http://www.sandalefabrication.com/51Chev.html

[lunaticeh]

Stopped by the shop today after a couple of weeks in the field to find the nearly completed chassis waiting beside the body for the install. Of course I had to snap some pics. More will come Monday when we put the body on the chassis for the first time since we tore it apart. Engine and trans mockup the same day, then all they have to do is re-sheetmetal the trunk and mount the fuel cell and the car comes home...

[lunaticeh]

One more....

[FEMA]

Don't mean to sound ignorant - what's a "50 Torpedo"? A pontiac I take it - Anyone have a pic of such a beast that I can see?

[lunaticeh]

Hey FEMA... the torpedo slang came from the shape of the back end of the car... instead of having the bump for the trunk after the back window... it's one smooth line from windshield to back bumper.... check out the attached pic... at least that's why I know they're slanged as torpedobacks...

[FEMA]

Nice! Can't wait to see the finished product.

[Jack Gifford]

Looks like nice workmanship, and I like the whole concept. But I'll foolishly throw in my 2 cents- and hopefully not make an enemy of someone I don't even know!

1) Distinct lack of crossmembers ahead of the 'Z' in each side- or are they yet to be added? Crossmembers are needed to hold the rails vertical and to give the whole frame torsional rigidity.

2) If you foresee high-G launches, I'd like to see a box-section rib welded to the back of the axle housing, all the way from one wheel bearing to the other. If the 4-links were further apart, it would be less of a concern. But the links being that far inboard creates a huge bending force in the axle housings- in the horizontal plane, trying to create toe-in of the rear tires. The mass of the car pushes back on the links, and tractive force from the tires pushes forward on the axle bearing races- on the order of 7-8,000 lb. of force for a hard-launching full-size car. Housing distortion is bad- shortens the life of internal parts and can even affect the car's handling.

These are obviously just my opinions, so let the debate begin....

[lunaticeh]

Hey Jack... everyone's .02 is welcome. I'm not going to hate anyone because they voiced their opinion... lol.. especially on the Net..lol.. There are extra diagonal braces to be welded in infront of the 4 link crossmember as well as some other smaller ones. As far as your #2.... I belive some people call it adding a "backbone" to the housing? Good idea... I'm trying to make it as bulletproof as I can so future upgrades won't affect the rest of the car so much.

So unfortunatly you and I have nothing to debate right now... that is... unless you want to ask about the engine... Thanks for your input... keep it comin.

[MetalHead175]

That's a sweet looking car! Look fwd to seeing pics of it when its done!
-Jason

[Jack Gifford]

Yeah, it's likely that we could have a 'spirited' debate about engines- we all have our 'druthers'! Have you built it yet?

[lunaticeh]

You can start shaking your head now PJ... lol... I have the smallblock out of my old pickup sittin in the garage. 406... 400hp... 450ft-lbs... It'll work for now. Unfortunatly for me... most of the Canadian Pontiacs I got used to seeing had SBC's, so mine's getting one. The next engine will also be a SBC mainly because we've been playing with sprint cars for 10 yrs now. With a circle track in close proximity there's no shortage of used Bowtie blocks, high flowing cylinder heads, really nice cranks, rods, that guys will only use for a season or two before they upgrade. Then it turns into perfect material for street cars... lol.. Maybe someday I'll "do the right thing" and put a Pontiac in it... lol.. Hope this doesn't ruin your day...