Just finished plating the frame rails on my junk. Just plated from the LCA to the rear spring hanges for now using 3" x 4" x 1/4" angle. Wasnt too hard to do and took maybe 5 hours total to get both sides done.
What I started with - 5' of angle
Dropped the xmember down to allow room to work, supported by a jack stand
Cut to make the angle fit around the spring hanger
Tesfit and marking up the angle for bolt holes, the cuts to allow for the bend in the frame and rossette holes
Close up of how the angle fits around the spring hanger
Shot of how the angle will fit between the frame and the xmember
Rossette holes done, cuts to allow for the bends in the frame done and the xmember holes are done
Frame cleaned up and ready for welding
I forgot to get pics of using a floor jack to put the angle into position and force it to follow the bends in the frame. Here it is all welded up tho
Welds all cleaned up and ready for paint
Painting done and ready for the rocks!
I hope this helps some people who plan on doing something similar. I havent driven around enuf yet to notice wether or not anything has gotten stiffer in the body but I will follow up with that later.
All of my pics from today can be found here: Frame Plating
What I started with - 5' of angle
Dropped the xmember down to allow room to work, supported by a jack stand
Cut to make the angle fit around the spring hanger
Tesfit and marking up the angle for bolt holes, the cuts to allow for the bend in the frame and rossette holes
Close up of how the angle fits around the spring hanger
Shot of how the angle will fit between the frame and the xmember
Rossette holes done, cuts to allow for the bends in the frame done and the xmember holes are done
Frame cleaned up and ready for welding
I forgot to get pics of using a floor jack to put the angle into position and force it to follow the bends in the frame. Here it is all welded up tho
Welds all cleaned up and ready for paint
Painting done and ready for the rocks!
I hope this helps some people who plan on doing something similar. I havent driven around enuf yet to notice wether or not anything has gotten stiffer in the body but I will follow up with that later.
All of my pics from today can be found here: Frame Plating