GMT400 Frame strength for 900hp street truck ??

[sewlow]

I have however, heard plenty of hill billies tell me about their old Camaro wid dat dere fo fiddy 4, fo bolt main made some much power dat sumbitch twisted the frame up like a twizzler when the tars hooked.

Camaro's are uni-body.
They will twist. Alot.
Late 80's F-bodies with the T-tops were the worst.
Throw a 4speed in the works & those things were noodles.
Especially with more than stock power. Start throwing them into corners at any kinda speed & there would daylight streaming between the glass tops & the seals.
My Nova would twist, too. Same chassis as a Camaro + 3" longer behind the front seat. Not as bad, & you'd really have to be looking, which was a bit hard to do when banging off 6500rpm power shifts.
The neighbour kid found out about that car's body movement, when he was about 14.
He's riding shotgun, elbow on the door top, fingers between the door frame & the rain gutter.
I come up against a GTO.
All through first, he's suckin' wind. "Aaaaaaggghh!!!"
Second gear..."Getoffitgetoffitgetoffit!!!"
I figure he's just freakin' cause of the acceleration.
Nope.
Car was twisting just enough that it was pinching those 3 fingers between the door frame & the rain gutter.
2nd-3rd, was just enough slack for him to pull his fingers out.
Came by 3 days later. Black fingernails.
I'm on the ground! Thought I was gonna die laughin'!
We had other adventures in that car over the years I had it. That's for another day.
Anyways...He's married now. 2 boys of his own.
I hadn't seen him for a few years. 10? Probably more. I'd lived a fair ways away. And with me being single, the wife considered me a bad influence.
Moi? No.
So, stop in to see him. Introduces me to his oldest. 12, 13 y.o.?
First thing the kid says is...
"You're the guy that owned that black car."
"What?"
Never met the kid, & he knows all about the shenanigans of a mis-spent youth.
Ahh damn...got sidetracked. Oops.
So, yea, Camaros twist.
Novas too! Lol!

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Most of the people who tell me those stories spell it as "Camero" and the lack of frame underneath is completely lost on them lol.

 

[Justin S]

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Not really the same situation, but still....

 

[richincanada]

Apparantley the 2 door Tahoe/Yukon had a different frame than the RCSB. Anybody know about it's strenghts vs the RCSB ?

 

[Jrgunn5150]

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Not really the same situation, but still....

Not at all lol, that was idiocy that bent that frame, not the application of power.

 

[Justin S]

Not at all lol, that was idiocy that bent that frame, not the application of power.

Yeah, you can see the rope between them was first at the top of the weight in the back, then the second time was closer to the hitch. I know I saw a video years ago of a car launching on a track and it twisted so bad it drove the whole way down on 3 wheels. I didn't find it, but found that one haha

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Yeah, you can see the rope between them was first at the top of the weight in the back, then the second time was closer to the hitch. I know I saw a video years ago of a car launching on a track and it twisted so bad it drove the whole way down on 3 wheels. I didn't find it, but found that one haha

I had a sunroof fly out of a Mustang once on it's way down the track, I've lost multiple T-tops. They definitely twist, but I feel entirely confident that 99% of people 99% of time won't have th epower and traction to make it a real issue.

 

[sewlow]

Just be glad that these trucks don't have a stupid 'X' frame!

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[Jrgunn5150]

Just be glad that these trucks don't have a stupid 'X' frame!

They used to sell perimeter kit's for those lol.

 

[sewlow]

A 400 with a modded suspension.
Not the purpose of the pic, though.
Check the boxing of the frame.
From the rear cab mount to the crossmember.
This was built for a truck with an LS in the 450-475hp range, although the frame would certainly handle considerably more.
I think for anything more than 600 or so HP, I'd be boxing that last crossmember, on the bottom side, and inside the top of the one behind the cab. Even if just for the extra weight to help plant that 900hp.
Probably doesn't need it, but it seems to me that that would be the weakest link in the equation.
I have a vid of the truck on the dyno, too.
I'd have to do some digging for it, though.
It's on one of more than a few laptops around here. Of which, some are muy muy enfermo!

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