R U Car Crafters, Inc. encourages you to compare our
body with any and all competitors.
Why not use a performance chassis in your performance car,
instead of the ladder style frame of old?
The 4" Round tube frame that Shelby American and Ford Motor Co. engineered for the 427 Cobra
was behind times even then. Especially when compared to the GT 40 of the same time period.
This is evident by examining a twisted and warped original cobra frame rails before one is restored.
R U Car Crafters is one of only a handful of producers who offer a backbone design chassis, which
automotive engineers often prefer for torsional/structural rigidity. This chassis will
handle high horsepower big block engines.
THE ADVANTAGES OF A BACKBONE STYLE CHASSIS
- The superior backbone chassis is less prone to promote stress cracking of the body due to its greater
structural rigidity.
- The handling characteristics of the suspension is enhanced by the chassis not flexing and
allowing the front and rear suspension to work in conjunction with each other.
- This provides a far superior ride quality without rattles and squeaks.
- Greater durability, especially for a car that is to be
driven and more especially for one that is to be raced.
- Safety.
- With the backbone design you can keep the weight down by using lighter tubing because the backbone
section is adding the strength that can not be duplicated with large heavy tubing. We use 2 x 3 x 120
wall main frame rails. This gives an overall chassis weight comparable to a ladder style frame.
An example of a ladder frame twisting is a pickup truck when parked on an uneven surface the cab
and bed do not line up. On ladder frame kits while driving down the road you can watch the gap
in between the doors and the top of dash. This gap is constantly changing as you go around turns,
in and out of drive ways, over rough sections of road. This is due to the fact that the ladder
frame is twisting and the body is trying to absorb it. A body can not be mounted to a ladder
style frame unstressed.
In 1984 Chevy changed their Corvette to a backbone style chassis instead of the ladder frame
they had used from its inception. Visit with a Corvette Guy and discuss the stress crack promblems
the pre1984 Vettes had. Excecially the big block cars.
RUCC's Backbone Chassis
Notice the tupes making up the transmission tunnel that are bracing the rear frame uprights to
the cowl hoop and the tupes bracing the front suspension crossmember area to the cowl hoop.
Add shear panels to these tupes to make up the floor and firewall. Notice the bracing to
keep the cowl hoop from being able to just push over in a side impact.
This is a pic of RUCC's backbone chassis upside down showing part of the floor and firewall
welded in and part of it not so you can see how the floor and firewall act as shear panels.