Hello all,
I?m a newcomer to this group and I need advise on the feasibility lengthening the chassis of a 95 Jeep Wrangler (YJ). I?ll need to cut and lengthen the frame 10? right in front of the real spring hanger. It?s a box frame 4mm thick. The problem is that I have no idea what?s the proper way of doing this design wise. The way I see it with my limited experience is just to make a straight cut, add the 10? extension from a donor frame, re-weld the whole thing and weld some support plates vertically over the welds.
Will this hold? I hear that you shouldn?t make vertical cuts and welds in car frames, yet I see this all the time on race cars. Also the service manual of the Jeep says that I shouldn?t weld near the corners of the frame box. The jeep is usually heavily loaded and driven on very harsh terrain in the Sahara for long periods of time, so I need this to be bullet proof. Any advice, pointers to web pages or books would be appreciated.
I have an oxyacetylene setup, a 140 Amp Arc welder with a plasma cutter on the way. I?m a welding newbie but practicing hard to be able to tackle such a project. Is this something that I can do when I practice enough or should I leave it to a pro?
Thanks. A.B.