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View Full Version : making a custom frame for a heap of junk...



ALLstrokedOUT
06-10-2008, 11:13 AM
Hello everyone, we are near completion of our 1970 Duster project, and theres some used rusty parts lying around here that arent being put to good use, and after a light hearted joke a neighbor felt inclined to say ("youve got enough rusty parts to make another car out of") it got me to thinking... Ive got a 225ci slant six , two 904 transmissions, and a 7.25" differential... maybe i could make another car out of this crap! I dont want to make another car technically, but a purpose built Autocrossing beast. my dad purchased a 1200sq.ft. shop to restore cars in and such, so we'll have plenty of space, itd be a good learning platform for all kinds of things. Ive seen all of the amazing cars that you guys build on this site, a few with frames/suspension that were built/designed by the owners, and i began daydreaming. slap an ebay turbo on that slant six, maybe purchase a manual trans and sell the two autos, rebuild the 7.25" diff, rack and pinion steering, cheap junkyard disc brakes, but the frame is the only thing i cant invision to every detail like other components- Im thinking of an open wheel light weight style vehicle. Ive done some welding, my dad has done the majority of it on this project, and on all of our other cars, we can restore/modify a stock car, weld in sub-frame connectors, anything needed, but neither of us have ever built a frame from scratch, or designed a suspension from scratch. could any of you help out with any tips or advice on what kind of tubing to use for the frame, tips on suspension geometry...etc.
Also, what welder would you recommend for welding a frame (mig or tig?)- thanks for reading!

MonzaRacer
06-10-2008, 04:09 PM
A good MIG and look for books on AMAZON.com

rjsjea
06-10-2008, 05:36 PM
Should be interesting......dump the 7.25" tho, one drop of the clutch and it will be gone. 8.25" or 8.75" will due

ALLstrokedOUT
06-10-2008, 09:11 PM
I knew the 7.25" was weak, but i met a guy at a drag strip with a 440 dart, still had the 7.25" under it, said that was next on his list to change, but it held up for the few weeks he had ran it. he was only running 9's in the 1/8th though. If ive gotta ditch the 7.25" theres an aluminum IRS from a ford explorer for sale locally...hopefully a deal like that will be up when im ready for it in a month or so. Its also harder than i thought to try and find a manual trans for these things, im sure ive just gotta do some digging...