Straightened a chassis yesterday

[Shorty]

To make a long story short, I had an off topic drive shaft straightened by on older gentleman that had been in the drive shaft business for over thirty years. I watched him as he applied heat to the drive shaft and you could actually see the metal move into the correct position. The metal never got red but when he cooled it with water it did create a lot of steam. I've been driving the vehicle for 3 years and the drive shaft is still perfect to this day.

Now, on to my 28 Model A frame. It was sagging 3/16" of an inch in the usual areas at the cowl. I remember reading a post from Brent a couple of years ago with the same pictures he has used on this thread. I heated my frame in the area of the sagging just enough to make water steam and the frame started straightening itself out. A couple of applications of heat and cool down cycles and the frame was perfect.

The frame is being boxed for an off topic hot rod but none the less it will work for a restoration. This saves time and money spent for chains, wooden blocks etc. Face it guys, most model A's are not driven that often and when driven they are driven on smooth asphalt covered roads and not dirt roads. The modern day stress on a restored Model A is far less then back in the 20's and 30's.

So lets just fix our frames and not over think the situation... Just my 2 cents.

[ericr]

it would be interesting to know if non-Ford cars of the same price range and era (Dodges, Chevrolets) have had the same frame issues upon restoration.

[theHIGHLANDER]

Most of the frames from the other OEMs are pretty substantial. Consider the difference in Ford frames starting in 32. 4 years and over 4million cars, it was "good enough" but certainly called for improvement, didn't it? Would you choose a Deuce frame over an A for bouncing down rough terrain? I would. The frame under the A is clearly "acceptable" but far from superior in all but cost of production. In the end we see As that need straightening and I'd bet it's something that came up before the Deuce was introduced. Yes? No?

On heating and steel and all the other blah blah blah, the worry is the common idea that if some's good more's better. It's not. Many folks should simply set the torch down and back away. It's not a practice that suffers fools well and is best left to those who've either done a bit of research 1st or have plenty of experience and years behind them. I've seen it sheet metal more than I care to remember. Grab a hammer and dolly and find that the panel has been heated to the point of acting like nearly a casting, that cracks after just a few blows with a body hammer. Moderation and patience will rule the day and net a proper repair every time.

[Tiny]

Originally Posted by ericr

it would be interesting to know if non-Ford cars of the same price range and era (Dodges, Chevrolets) have had the same frame issues upon restoration.

My 24 Dodge Bros has a super heavy frame compared to my A. It is a parallel leaf suspension car though. Fords have the cross spring. I have been told that the frame on a Ford was part of the suspension, meant to twist a bit. On the parallel leaf its not meant to give. Don't know if this is true but it makes sense to me.

[Tom Wesenberg]

The parallel leaf springs better distribute the weight, instead of all the support just at the very ends of the frame as the Model A and T did.

BTW, I have a heat gun that I'd bet would heat the frame enough.

[ericr]

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[QUOTE=theHIGHLANDER;744201]Most of the frames from the other OEMs are pretty substantial. Consider the difference in Ford frames starting in 32. 4 years and over 4million cars, it was "good enough" but certainly called for improvement, didn't it? Would you choose a Deuce frame over an A for bouncing down rough terrain? I would. The frame under the A is clearly "acceptable" but far from superior in all but cost of production. In the end we see As that need straightening and I'd bet it's something that came up before the Deuce was introduced. Yes? No?

Certainly the gas tank support bit them in the derrier but I don't know about the frame. We have had discussions here before about what the Company felt the reasonable life of the car was. How that impacted upon its design is a fascinating question. Some of the car seems over-engineered, other aspects not so much.