Tube chassis 63 nova

[Tom.A]

Very nice! Hey for us non-fab guy's is 500 Hours (3+Months of 40 HR weeks) considered budget? At $100.00 per hour for labor x 500 hrs = $50,000.00 for frame and cage (no materials included)? I am not sure what you actually charge per hour but I would think for your caliber it has to be at least $75-100 per hour. Maybe I read the thread wrong but if that is correct with smart parts the other '66 Nova your building must be twice the amount of hours
I think your doing some killer builds and fab work and look forward to seeing more progress.

[ironworks]

Thanks for the compliments. At this point of 10pm on january 2,2008 we have 97 hours in this project from the rolling chassis complete car we started with 2.5 weeks ago. Our labor rate just went to 65.00 per hour as of last august. I ordered all the rear suspension parts today and they came to a total of 3800.00. Which is Axle housing, billet triangulated 4 link, Double adjustable coilovers and brackets, 31 spline axles, and rear sway bar. The front should be about 3500.00 with brakes. When I say smart parts I mean affordable, avalible parts that we can use to make this cheaper but still good quality.

My plan with this post was just to show people how many hours it takes to build this stuff. I hope to have it on the ground by the end of the month.

[Tom.A]

I think the post is good info. It's an eye opener for me and I am sure some others how much time (labor) is spent on some of these builds. And $65 per hour seems good as I just paid $95 an hour down South from you for some very simple things. He kinda acted like he was doing me a favor Did not even get a thank you.

[customcam]

hey Rodger man love your work and thanks for sharing it with us all
So its about 20k for the chassis and about 10ish for the Sheetmetal work rite?

[ironworks]

Originally Posted by race-rodz

new roll bender? what do you guys use for notching? apparently you must have something figured out to do it quick-n-easy.

We have a Baileigh tubing notcher that is ran by some skilled individuals. The notcher is not cheap and neither is the the talent.

Rodger

[ironworks]

Originally Posted by customcam

hey Rodger man love your work and thanks for sharing it with us all
So its about 20k for the chassis and about 10ish for the Sheetmetal work rite?

It all depends on what you want. A four link is way easier then IRS, the smaller the car the more money, for obvious reasons. The lower the rideheight the more work it takes also. The sheetmetal work in Johns car has rounded corner wheels tubs with out side faces to attach to the quarter like stock, plus the floor panel fit in between bar which takes time.

The real money in these projects come in with the details, or all the small had fabbed parts, or trick one off parts. The other big chunk is proper sheetmetal work that is metal finished and nice. I love it when You do major sheetmetal work and the customer does not know where or how you did it.

Rodger

[Garage Dog 65]

Thanks for the info Rodger !

I doubt most of us know how much this stuff costs unless you've done one or are a pro builder like several on this site. (most people freak when they see what a quality paint job costs these days) Really eye opening what it takes to design and build a rocket like what the Pro's come up with.

I'll be following along !

[ironworks]

Pro? Who are you calling Pro? I believe you have to make money at something to be PRO?

Maybe Addicted or Hooked or Stuck, Something But Pro, well Someday.

Thanks for the encouraging words, Dad....

[ironworks]

Ok so some pics of the upper rails starting and the A sneak peak at one rear rail we will install tommorrow. Enjoy. You can also see the problem we are having routing the tubing to the Chris Alston crossmember. I called ATS today and I think their pan will solve this problem. The tape line on the tube is where we cut off the previous tube and the tape line on the engine is where the ATS sump on their pan gets moved back to from stock. If worse comes to worse we may slide the engine back about a 1/2 To 1" to make things fit.

2 guys working today, without looking at time cards 20 hours ish.

Rodger

[4cefed]

So when you build these round tube chassis, do you build them on the computer first and then lay them out. Or have you done this enough to just know what works?
Also, i see when you cross brace the floor section of the frame with the X's, you dont join the cross bars in the center of the other two bars joining perpendicular, you put them just before the joint. Is there a benefit to this rather than fitting the tube in the center of the joint?
Is that 1/8'' plate you weld to the rockers when you attatch the body to the frame?
If you get a chance to answer these questions i would be very greatful, thank you.

PS, im a huge fan of what you guys do and how you do it. Definately outside the box.