1971 Chevrolet C-10 - Project Get Shorty - Tech

Before any cuts were made, I made a trip to the local metal yard and bought 20 feet of 3/4-inch square tubing. I then cut a piece for the top framerail, the bottom framerail, and a diagonal brace for each side of the cut, then tacked them in place. This bracing will help keep the frame from twisting or kicking. After all, we are getting ready to cut 12 inches out of the midsection!

Once the bracing was in place, I busted out the Sawzall and cut away.

With the frame cut, my brother Chance and I began gluing it back together, but first we chamfered the cut edges for good weld penetration. After that, we made sure the cuts were square and placed the frame halves together, double-checking everything to make sure the frame's rear half was the same height as before. When the halves were brought together, it was apparent that the framerail height was the same, but the rear half was slightly wider; therefore, we split the difference by adjusting the frame with the same overhang on each side.

Next up, we checked to see if the rear frame was level at all the crossmembers. We then measured to make sure the frame's rear half was squared up by measuring from each rear corner of the frame to the front cut mark.

With everything all squared up, I welded the frame back together with the Tech Center's Miller Electric MIG welder by skipping around and making sure the frame didn't get too hot in one spot.

The most important part of this whole procedure is making sure the frame is roadworthy once it's back together. These C-channel Classic Performance Products frame stiffeners will reinforce the frame just right. However, they are way too long to fit in the frame due to the frame kick and the trailing-arm crossmember, which will be relocated next month. So my first step was to cut 8 inches from each stiffener.

I then took that 8-inch piece and stuffed it in the framerail, starting at the weld. Next, I took a 6-inch piece of the CPP stiffener and cut it at an angle to follow the frame kick. Also, the front half of the frame is slightly wider at the bottom than the back half, so I marked my overhang and ground it down to match the back of the frame.

Next up, the two pieces of the frame stiffeners were welded together and ground down for a clean one-piece look.

The new stiffeners were slid in place and welded up. I then ground down all the welds to give the frame a perfect boxed look. And until next month, that's all, folks.