chassis chop

[idrisboyo]

Hi just a quick one, what is the best way to cut and shorten a rangey chassis

[Guest diesel_jim]

cut it one the "straight" bit of the chassis rails, where the depth of the main rail doesn't change.

you ideally want some kind of box section that will fit tightly inside the old rail.

then puddle weld along the side rails and seam weld the two ends together.

Then wait for the masses to inform you to contact VOSA/DVLA/SVA (delete as apropriate )

[ciderman]

Measure twice , cut once .

[LandyManLuke]

Quite a bit of 'straight bit' to choose from.

[Bowie69]

And then book your SVA

[clbarclay]

Rather than a straight cut down either a steped cut (down to half height, across a bit and then down the rest of the way) or cut through the sides of the chassis on an angle would be more work that a simple verticle cut but should be stronger.

For a strong weld don't butt the 2 halfs tight up against each other you need to leave a small gap (or V the sides of the joint) and to prevent burning through capping the binside with narrow strip of steel.

If it needs further bracing (in theory the above done well shouldn't) then rather than adding a lot of weight in the form of a box section, just make some short lengths of angle out of the section of chassic thats been cut out and weld them to the outside of the corners over the weld. For best effect the bracing sections should be dove tailed to reduce the risk of stress risers.

I'm no expert on welding, just some of the useful techniques I've picked up.

[idrisboyo]

cut it one the "straight" bit of the chassis rails, where the depth of the main rail doesn't change.

you ideally want some kind of box section that will fit tightly inside the old rail.

then puddle weld along the side rails and seam weld the two ends together.

Then wait for the masses to inform you to contact VOSA/DVLA/SVA (delete as apropriate )

Thanks for the info

can anyone be a bit more specific about the straight bit. Also this rangey will only be used for trialling and it has been scrapped

many thanks

[LandyManLuke]

Thanks for the info

can anyone be a bit more specific about the straight bit. Also this rangey will only be used for trialling and it has been scrapped

many thanks

Look at the photo i posted. the chassis is of uniform cross section between the radius arm mounts. That's the simplest area to cut in to and weld back together, as long as you don't interfere with the gearbox mounts.

[idrisboyo]

Look at the photo i posted. the chassis is of uniform cross section between the radius arm mounts. That's the simplest area to cut in to and weld back together, as long as you don't interfere with the gearbox mounts.

Many Thanks

[alkabone]

Many Thanks

dont cut straight in the middle try 5ft from the front on one side, then 5ft from the rear on the other measurements are approx but you get the idea this way you lessen the chance of it snaping i would also weld diamonds over the joints inside only should do it

[Guest mortus]

Quite a bit of 'straight bit' to choose from.

luke are you doing a write up as it comes along?

i want to see what your doing

[LandyManLuke]

See here

It's fallen by the way-side recently, I've been too busy.

I should get some time on it this week, hopefully I'll get the roof mostly finished.