Hello to DS, and after info on frame material

Hi guys

I'm an Australian building up a 46 Chevrolet 2 ton cab on a 1978 C30 Chassis

I'll post a build thread after i've bought the major components and can start getting some work done to it.

I've got a few questions for the crowd tonight.

Firstly, i'm looking around at replacement parts to completely rebuild the front suspension and braking system. I'm not familiar with your brands as most of the stuff here is for a predominantly japanese vehicle market. I've noticed that ACDelco seems to be pretty expensive so i'm guessing that's your OE GM parts supplier. What about some of the cheaper brands like Raybestos and Moogs? I like to buy the best quality i can since this is going to be a long term keeper and hauler, but i don't like paying a premium for overpriced brands and marketing (like OE)

Secondly, I need to a bit of welding on the chassis for link mounts and spring mounts. I've seen that you guys aren't shy of welding on the frames of your trucks, so can any of you tell me whether the frames are high carbon or mild? My engineer pointed out that they may be high carbon which would generally mean that it's a no-no to go welding to it. At least not without using TIG and the appropriate filler material, pre and post heating. Can any of you tell me if they have welded to their frames that are daily driven haulers and noticed any fatigue cracking?

Finally, i've noticed that by itself the frame flexes like a wet noodle. It's pretty scary to see and i can imagine it causing all sorts of problems with panel alignment/paint damage on the cab as well as having doors popping or jamming shut. Do these frames stiffen up once you put a bed on the rear? Have anyone seen these frames boxed in?

Thanks for any input in advance.

MILO

Yea Delco seems to be a GM supplier. I havent had any personal dealings with Raybestos but MOOG makes a dam fine balljoint.

Our frames here are just mild steel, but components such as the differential housing, spindles, and sometimes drag linkages are carbon or as we call it "cast iron". It is tricky to weld to but it can be done if your properly educated and have the tools. I havent seen many stock frames flex like your talking about, but boxing them in def helps strengthen them. I especially havent seen many so bad that it stresses the paint. The worse ive seen personally is on a truck where the frame flexed due to it being made out of 2x2 and even then it only caused the bed to cab gap to go crazy. Generaly if you have a good frame design that has proper shape to it you dont need to over build it to make it strong. Any good designer or builder will tell you the triangle is one of the strongest shapes we know of so try to factor that in to any frame build.

If you need any bracketry or parts check out my site (shameless plug)

welcome. cant wait to see pics

Cheers brother.

It may well be just because i have the bare frame and suspension here that it twists so much, but when you put a jack under a tyre and lift it the frame is what twists rather than the suspension travelling. I know with my landcruiser when i had it body off and bare frame, when i lifted a wheel using a hoist it either cycled the suspension or just lifted the whole frame off the ground (because there was no weight to force the springs to move) but there was no twisting in the frame.

I'm guessing that boxing in the frame will help substantially with torsional rigidity, i'll likely also be running an X or K frame crossmembers here or there instead of the single riveted members.

thanks for your link mate.

MILO

ACDelco is GM, and Delphi is spun off from GM and "pretty much" the same thing, close enough, anyway.

Getting good parts is tough these days no matter who you buy from. Still, I try to stick to ACDelco and Delphi for stuff like ignition, fuel system, and sensors; Wagner and Raybestos for brakes; Moog and TRW for suspension.

Beware that if shopping from questionable sources like eBay sellers, there are counterfeit parts out there, particularly ACDelco. Chinese made crap in a phony Delco box. Funny thing (or not so funny now) is that a lot of real ACDelco stuff is coming from China now, too.

When you mentioned your engineer I recalled right away that you guys have a tough job doing extensive modifications, the engineer is a local motor vehicle authority that you are constantly having to check with and provide plans to before doing anything to the truck, right? That's gotta suck...but I can sort of understand it; some of the hack jobs you see here in the States makes you almost wish we had that kind of system, too. Most of those hack jobs can be found on mini-truck and 4x4 forums, though.

Richard