JMortensen Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 OK, so I went to order a tubing bender to get started on my cage, backordered. Went to get some tube to do the X from the strut towers to the rockers, got ERW tube. Took it back, they had some more DOM shipped, but when it got there it too was ERW. Sometimes things just don't go smoothly. Ordered some 16 gauge sheet to do some gussets in the frame, that came in a week late. ♥♥♥♥!!! Now I finally got the 16 gauge, and I started gusseting the frame rails. I don't really know exactly where to put these gussets. One area which immediately looked weak to me when I flipped the car upside down on the rotisserie was the area right in front of the wheel wells. I knew I wanted to make a gusset for that spot, but the doglegs hang down lower than the frame rail underneath, and there wasn't an easy solution. So I made these little boxes to connect the floor, the frame rail, and the backside of the rocker panels. I think they came out pretty good. The obvious issue here is the subframe connector. I suppose I could have run the gusset all the way across, but I figured that would make it too flexy since it is relatively thin sheet, and if I went thicker then it's a lot of weight. Now I'm looking at it thinking maybe something should be done to hook the two directly together. I have enough square tube to do that, or I could do a flat piece of sheet from the top of the frame rail to the floor all the way across. On the other hand, it's probably strong enough as is. So I guess for other gussets I'm thinking pretty much anywhere that two frame rails together I can make a wedge shaped piece and weld it in the corner. Is there anything extra that should be gusseted, or anyplace that needs more reinforcement than I've already provided? Pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Is there anything extra that should be gusseted, or anyplace that needs more reinforcement than I've already provided? IMHO, no. You've already stiffened the car enough and my guess is that you're just adding more weight. Put the welder down and walk away from the car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 20, 2007 Author Share Posted February 20, 2007 Well I still have to finish the cage so I can't exactly abandon the welder just yet. This is just the "finish up all of the grinding and welding underneath the car" stuff so that I can paint the bottom side without having to remove the paint to grind and weld crap on later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 You could always weld on more sheet metal then cut holes to lighten it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 There is always more. That boxed bit is neat, now run some RHS or SHS from front to back along the sills/rockers against the pinch weld visible in the pics. At the front where the sill ends, run it at an angle to the tension rod cups. At the back where the sill ends, cap the RHS or SHS with a vertical piece going up inside the inner guard. Tie all that in with the cage main hoop leg bases. At the very least you won't have to worry about jacking points any more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 21, 2007 Author Share Posted February 21, 2007 There is always more. That boxed bit is neat, now run some RHS or SHS from front to back along the sills/rockers against the pinch weld visible in the pics. At the front where the sill ends, run it at an angle to the tension rod cups. At the back where the sill ends, cap the RHS or SHS with a vertical piece going up inside the inner guard. Tie all that in with the cage main hoop leg bases. At the very least you won't have to worry about jacking points any more I've got some other plans for jacking points, and I just don't think that the size of tube that would fit in that spot would do much to strengthen the chassis. I was planning on running a tube like a door bar just on top of the rocker and tying that into the rocker, so that would stiffen the rocker vertically. Pop, there will be some holes drilled in the boxes, but I'm not going to go quite as crazy as bjhines... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rototiller Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 what tubing bender did you order? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 21, 2007 Author Share Posted February 21, 2007 I didn't yet, because it was backordered so I spent that $$$ on something I could use in the meantime. This is the one I'm planning to buy, although I'm open to other suggestions: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/6614,,_3rd-Generation-Speedway-Hydraulic-Round-Tubing-Bender.html?itemNo=TUBING+BENDERS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rototiller Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 that one is nice, pricey, but nice....have you looked at the ones from harbor freight? just a suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 21, 2007 Author Share Posted February 21, 2007 Been down that road... http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=100106 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rototiller Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Been down that road... http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=100106 great thread looks like i wont be going down that road either......saves me from wasting the money. i am just going to get an autopower rollcage and call it done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed42 Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 I have been down the pipe versus tubing bender. I like the Speedway Bender or a similar one from Low Buck Tools. http://www.lowbucktools.com/benderFAQ.html I'll add my 2 cents to the bender thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zwannabe Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 jmortensen, can you post pics of where your main hoop meets the floor on the interior? i've got an 8 point cage that'll i'll put in when it's not the daily... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 jmortensen, can you post pics of where your main hoop meets the floor on the interior? i've got an 8 point cage that'll i'll put in when it's not the daily... They actually hit the rocker panels, not the floor. Pics in this thread: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=102715 I decided that Mr Coffey is right and I'm not going to do anymore gussetting underneath. Just drilling a couple holes in frame rails to spray Zero Rust in and grinding off a couple of unused brackets, then its time to paint the underside... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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