To frame notch or not?

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UC645

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Apr 20, 2020
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I’m staring at another year with the car still not finished, and I’ve got the idea to do a frame notch in the rear because I’ll have the time and I’ve got a couple of concerns/questions.
How difficult is it to do?
Should I be worried about warping the frame even though I’ve welded in a brace, and have two bolt in braces in place? Will having the body bolted down to the frame help?
What’s the best thickness of plate to use- 1/8, 3/16, or something in between?
And is there anything else I should be concerned about that I haven’t listed?
 

ck80

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You'll want a good 6 or 8 quality jackstands, and some metal shims. You need to lift the whole car in the air, and support both in front and behind the notch areas on both sides, as well as the front of the car. You'll need to use the metal shims to level the car once it's in the air and off the suspension, both left to right in the front and rear. Metal shims won't compress from weight.

Aside from that, if you saw how flimsy the frames are from the factory you wouldn't be worried about weakening it with the notch. Just good welds, thick steel, and box it all in nice
 
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565bbchevy

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Aug 8, 2011
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I welded roll bars across the frame in a few spots, I then used my plasma cutter to cut out where the notch would go and I made my replacement metal so it would sit inside the frame and be flush with the outer edges I did this so all of the welds would be facing the outside of the car so I wouldn't have to lift the body.
I also did mine over twenty years ago before there were pre fabbed kits for this.
 
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64nailhead

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Dec 1, 2014
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What tires are you planning to run? A 275 will fit easily without any frame notching.
 
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UC645

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Apr 20, 2020
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What tires are you planning to run? A 275 will fit easily without any frame notching.
I plan on running 255s on the street, and 275s for the track, but will be pushing that in the future. Figured I might as well do it now while I have this garage to work at.
 
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Streetbu

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Do it. Depends on how much you want to spend and what you're actually going to do with the car. I cut my outer frame off, removed the rest to the seam, then moved it in and welded it back into place. Just need a couple of small chunks for fillers at each end...
 
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UC645

Royal Smart Person
Apr 20, 2020
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Kittanning, Pa
Do it. Depends on how much you want to spend and what you're actually going to do with the car. I cut my outer frame off, removed the rest to the seam, then moved it in and welded it back into place. Just need a couple of small chunks for fillers at each end...
It’s really hard to argue with the prices of kits on the market today.
Do you have to minitub or move the wheelhouses in with the notch to fit wider tires?
There looks to be around a 1/4 inch gained by just notching the frame. After that I’d start moving the frame rails in.
 

Streetbu

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It’s really hard to argue with the prices of kits on the market today.

There looks to be around a 1/4 inch gained by just notching the frame. After that I’d start moving the frame rails in.
No, about an inch. Frame is about two inches wide and if you go to the seam it's half the width
 
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