Frame rack ideas

[70 Challenger Lover]

That's nice. I have the pieces but I get to assemble it all myself

[whitsend]

I made this for my rag and was made from factory prints above.  Have about $400-500 in material.

Nice! Looks similar to what the AMD installation center uses - http://www.amdinstallation.com/

Can you tell us what size square tubing you used and what thickness please? Thank you,   

[70 Challenger Lover]

I noticed this old post I started and that I never updated what I did. This is the rack I built. It's major overkill. Every resting point is adjustable side to side and front to back making it work for any car. On height, the risers would need to be lifted out and swapped for different lengths. These are cut to accommodate my 70 Challenger.

Not being an engineer and hearing guys warn about potential flex issues, I picked up the thickest tubing I could find. It's all 1/4" seamless tubing like they use for building tow hitches. It wasn't terribly expensive at the time but I'm sure it would be today. Damn thing weighs like 1000 pounds. No joke. Way more than really needed.

It did the trick though. Zero flex anywhere. In fact, I had a different car on it and was able to tie it down and do frame pulls on it. There is nothing on a car that is thick enough to challenge the integrity of this rack.

[cuda hunter]

Pretty slick set up.  I like the adjustability. 

[70_440-6Cuda]

I am so impressed with the talent and ingenuity I see here - wish I had the space and welding chops to do something like this.  Just need more time, more space and most of all more money!

Very cool stuff

[PLUM72]

Has anyone tried to use some LVL timber beams (or similar) to make a frame jig?  Most anyone can drill and lag/thru bolt these together.  These are pretty stable dimensionally and can be found from a local lumber yard.  This could probably be done cheaper than metal and have similar results.  Might be good if you're only doing one car.  After you're done, they can be burned in an outdoor firepit.

[MoparLeo]

Wood is not something to condsider for accurate measurements.
 many good ideas here.
A box tubing jig looks to be the way. Try to contact someone who has done it before. many mstakes happen when you are doing something for the first time and are not working from accurate drawings.
Go to a local body shop to see what they use to do frame aligmants.

[torredcuda]

I used 4x4s to sit the cab of my `76 W100 on and I took measurements off the floor and used a level to set it up - it was pretty close but being just the cab that would be bolted on to a frame it didn`t need to be super accurate. A unibody car I would not use wood but would want metal tubing for more accurate measuring.

[mtull]

Wood is not something to condsider for accurate measurements.

Can you elaborate please?  Are you saying this because wood dimensions can change based on humidity levels or because of potential structural issues at the joints or a completely different set of reasons?  I'm not trying to be argumentative, just curious.  I know custom cabinet makers who pride themselves on 1/32 tolerances. 

[pschlosser]

Has anyone tried to use some LVL timber beams (or similar) to make a frame jig?  Most anyone can drill and lag/thru bolt these together.  These are pretty stable dimensionally and can be found from a local lumber yard.  This could probably be done cheaper than metal and have similar results.  Might be good if you're only doing one car.  After you're done, they can be burned in an outdoor firepit.

in my opinion...

Laminated beams are sufficiently rigid and will probably work fine.  But I question the safety (example, toxicity) of burning them, after.  The only issue I can think of with lagging a substrate versus welding, is flexure movement of the bolts within the drill holes.  If you're using the structure to apply forces to the automotive frame and straighten it, unless the holes you drill are the precise width as the bolts, requirement you to hammer them through, then the jig dimensions may flex at these points and change.  Welded metal tubing is less prone to flexure and change.

How much flexure and change?  Maybe not enough to be of concern.  I'd be surprised if an LVL jig could flex more than 1/4 inch in any direction.

If you go the Amish-timber-framing route, using hardwood pegs in place of bolts, and sufficiently reinforce the structure using cross beams, you may have a structure approaching the rigidity of the metal tubing frame.

Cost is another factor.  Unless you have a source of free laminated beams, the metal steel tubing may prove to cost less, overall.

If you grind the welds apart and clean up the tubing, you can resell that metal tubing when you're done.

[mtull]

But I question the safety (example, toxicity) of burning them

Great point.  I hadn't thought of that.  Excellent and informative response to my question.   
 

[MoparLeo]

Wood is great for furniture but you would need laminated beams for rigity and lss affected by humidity and temp. Plus making adjustmens and changes would be harder to do.
Steel tubing and a welder are the way to go.