A-BODY frame boxing is a waste of time.

[Frank Grimes]

unless its a two engine drag car. I was told this by an old dude who knows more that I do anyone care to comment maybe provide some evidence this guy might be wrong? take in mind my car is a 64 cutlass two door post car .

[derekf]

Ok, perhaps you're right, and only the loss of the roof caused GM to box the convertible frames -- but in that case, why did they box the El Camino frames and put the boxed convertible frame under the Z16 Chevelle?

[Gordz32]

I will tell u this, b4 we boxed our frame it would flex,u could see it when the frame was bare, Now, there's no way that thing is flexing, it is stiff like I gave it some V1agra!:headbang:

[HILROD]

I've seen A ,F and H bodys that are street driven bend themselves up so body seams crack, doors don't line up and windsheilds crack. When I build an A body I box the frame. The 68 I built used cut down Elcamino inner rails. On my last G body I used flat stock. It makes a big difference in ride feel and rigidity. If you don't want to install a jungle jim cage, I don't see an easier way to stiffen a full frame car up.

[vintageracer]

Go put any 64-72 GM A body car on a lift and look at the vertical weld on the front frame crossmemeber on the passenger above the right/passenger lower control arm. If the car has ever had any type of engine with any power and/or the car has been subject to hard driving, this weld will be cracked/broken. You can only see this with the car on a lift/jack with the suspension/frame unloaded. This will allow the frame to sag and crack will open and be visiable. When the car is sitting on the ground the frame is in compression and you will not see the weld crack. This broken weld and crack are caused by the frame twisting under hard power/acceleration.

Most every old Chevelle you look at on a lift will have this weld cracked or broken. Will boxing the frame help? Certainly boxing the frame will help. This problem is also true of convertibles I have owned and seen and convertibles have factory boxed frames.

I am sure the roof structure of a hardtop helps an A body car with a C channel frame but it certainly is not enough as most A body frames are cracked in this area. As a matter of fact I will be dollars to doughnuts that there are cars owned by board members that are cracked/broken in this area and the owners do not even know it!

A factory boxed frame was an available factory option on 64-65 Chevelle Coupes/Hardtops. This option was cheap at $12-$13. Very few were ordered.

Yes, boxing a frame on a coupe/hardtop A body GM car is a worth while upgrade if hard driving or drag racing is your pleasure!

[Kenova]

.....I was told this by an old dude who knows more than I do anyone care to comment maybe provide some evidence this guy might be wrong? take in mind my car is a 64 cutlass two door post car .
:pat: Somehow I get the fealing this "old dude" doesn't know as much as he thinks he does.
Take the old bumper jack (remember those death traps guys?) out of the trunk and jack up one corner of your car untill the tire is off of the ground. Now open one of the doors and check the alignment when you go to close it. If it were a convertable there would be a good chance you wouldn't be able to close it, but the two door post body won't be quite as bad.
I had a '66 Beaumont convert' that had more "articulation" than some rock crawlers:scared: , and it already had a boxed frame.
Ken

[ponchopwr70]

I think it is wise to box an A-body car. Befor I did the frame off on mine I had a crack on top of the A-piller. Also the car would twist when it was jacked up. When we replaced the body mounts and boxed the entire chassis the car became very stiff and does not twist. Boxing these cars lets the suspension do its job. Also my car is a new england car and the metal wasn't what its was from the factory, but now its better than most. Also an old guy thats been building cars that did alot of work with me on my car said that I'd had to box it, so I think you need to find a new old guy. :)

[Gordz32]

Go put any 64-72 GM A body car on a lift and look at the vertical weld on the front frame crossmemeber on the passenger above the right/passenger lower control arm. If the car has ever had any type of engine with any power and/or the car has been subject to hard driving, this weld will be cracked/broken. You can only see this with the car on a lift/jack with the suspension/frame unloaded. This will allow the frame to sag and crack will open and be visiable. When the car is sitting on the ground the frame is in compression and you will not see the weld crack. This broken weld and crack are caused by the frame twisting under hard power/acceleration.

Most every old Chevelle you look at on a lift will have this weld cracked or broken. Will boxing the frame help? Certainly boxing the frame will help. This problem is also true of convertibles I have owned and seen and convertibles have factory boxed frames.

I am sure the roof structure of a hardtop helps an A body car with a C channel frame but it certainly is not enough as most A body frames are cracked in this area. As a matter of fact I will be dollars to doughnuts that there are cars owned by board members that are cracked/broken in this area and the owners do not even know it!

A factory boxed frame was an available factory option on 64-65 Chevelle Coupes/Hardtops. This option was cheap at $12-$13. Very few were ordered.

Yes, boxing a frame on a coupe/hardtop A body GM car is a worth while upgrade if hard driving or drag racing is your pleasure!


Your Spot on! Ours was cracked! Here are the pics:here!:

[Goatman]

Tell the old guy his logic is stuck back in the 60's..........

[6'9"Witha69]

"They don't build 'em like they used to" really only applies to styling. There are amny flaws and weaknesses in these old cars. The old guy you speak of stuck with the aforementioned phrase and thinks that the "tanks" of yesteryear are just that. They are not. Box it now to keep it from twisting and fix the cracks if there are any.

[Frank Grimes]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the replies with logical responses. I posted a question about this on another forum the old guy told me what I mentioned above. I read in a GTO book that testers of the new 1964 GTO had to look under the car to see if there was infact a frame under there (63's had unibody).
I am definitely going to box my frame and check factory welds to see if they need fixing.

[6'9"Witha69]

Glad we could be of help.

[Frank Grimes]

any of you guys thats done this before have a tutorial on the web somewhere?