curved frame?

[turbo minivan]

Z-ing it?? whats that, never heard that term before.

i have a 4" drop axle. in my mind, keeping the pan up shoulndt be much more of an issue than with other guys whos cars stand flat with little or no rake. ??

 

[turbo minivan]

steve has the right idea. this frame was probably built to use a spring over front axle judging from the horns. the purpose of the "dropped" center section was to get the body lower. the engine and trans would be mounted in a normal manner. the trans xmember just wouldn't have much of a dropp to it. the down side is the interior room will be much less because of the trans hump and tunnel.

Ron

^ that does make sence. i plan on putting baja bucket seats in it rather than a bench or an insurt.

 

[Brucer]

on the front portion of that frame. which that frame is styled after a model A frame. is what i would called sectioned.. they cut for example say a 5deg section just a lilttle before the firewall, then just past the front crossmember cut in another 5deg angle opposite of the one near the firewall, to pull the front spring mount back to it original angle...


that drasticly lowers the front end of the vehicle, in relation to the rest of the car(effectivly raising the front of the frame) also it moves the engine mounts up also...if you have a glass T body you will probably run out of room around your feet from the tranny tunnel coming into your lap.. especially if you channel the body you could lose near 5 or 6 inches vertically in your interior maybe more.. i dont know many t's that would be very drivable losing that much room..


if you had a measurment from the firewall, to the front crossmember you can figure the frame drop fairly close with some simple trig.. same goes for the back, if you drop 4 inches in the front, you'll need to drop the back some for the front, thats why you see so much rear kick-up on that frame, then you also account for the tranny tunnel that would probably end up at about your waistline when sitting in the car....

it might look cool, and different but i think you'll run out of interior room pretty quick..

 

[turbo minivan]

ya, i think you guys are right. it would look cool, but i might end up with allot of unforeseen issues, and then be left on my own with them being the only car around like it.
thanks for the info guys. ill keep it a regular frame and not get too carried away. after all, itll be my first "ground up" built car so i dont want to screw it up.

 

[jmr122848]

You asked what zeeing the frame ment. If you look at the kickup in the back of most T frames that is zee ing the frame. you can lower the front by zing it also.

 

[Chad]

What you originally referred to is called a pie cut. where a wedge is cut out of the top of the frame by the fire wall then lifted and tacked. You then have to cut another wedge on the underside of the frame at the front, just behind the crossmember and the bent down to return the spring mount to its original angle. This was commonly done to lower the car when drop axles were not readily available. There is also much other work involved, such as the engine needs to be re levelled etc.

 

[railroad]

I have just acquired a flathead engine and trans that came with the desire to build a toy. I joined this site to learn and get help. This thread addresses one of the many questions and options I have been pondering.
I really like the sagging frame look on a T bucket and was wondering the same, as how this is accomplished. I thought maybe the body was lowered in the front or raised in the rear to achieve this look. I will keep reading to learn. As far as the "hard to stay in the seat issue" could you not level the seats with the body tilted?

thanks,
joe

 

[Ted Brown]

I have just acquired a flathead engine and trans that came with the desire to build a toy. I joined this site to learn and get help. This thread addresses one of the many questions and options I have been pondering.
I really like the sagging frame look on a T bucket and was wondering the same, as how this is accomplished. I thought maybe the body was lowered in the front or raised in the rear to achieve this look. I will keep reading to learn. As far as the "hard to stay in the seat issue" could you not level the seats with the body tilted?
thanks,
joe

Joe, Yes mounting the seats correctly is the only way to be confortable, no matter how the body sits, the front of the front of the seat needs to be at least 3 1/2" higher than the back of the seat (a 2x4 on edge) this keeps you IN the seat, nothing worse than the feeling of sliding out of the seat all the time

 

[railroad]

While someone is listening, the flathead's transmission is a truck 3 speed with the tall shifter. The transmission is very short and compact. The internal linkage for the clutch looks like a shaft with the throw out bearing
working off an arm on the shaft. I like the compactness and would like to run the trans, I only want to putt around. Will I be able to tolerate the
old 3 speed, probably not sync, and the clutch pedal set-up, as far as effort to push the clutch in, or hold it at a stop.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Ted Brown]

Pedal pressure is controled by leverage completely, you can make it as easy as you like... or you can use a hydraulic clutch cyl. I always sit at lights out of gear, even with an AUTO...

 

[Youngster]

there are suspension mods you can make to get you frame low and not have to work with the issues of kicking the front of the frame rails. keep in mind, every time you vary from a staight rail, you are inviting more issues into the frame construction. the KISS rule really applies here especially for first time builders.

Ron

 

[Ted Brown]

there are suspension mods you can make to get you frame low and not have to work with the issues of kicking the front of the frame rails. keep in mind, every time you vary from a staight rail, you are inviting more issues into the frame construction. the KISS rule really applies here especially for first time builders.

Ron

Ron is right on, I will double that notion...KISS :lol: